Housing:
Mitratus females may be kept in groups or solo. Males may not be housed together. You may house in mixed groups, but only one male per enclosure is best. Glass enclosures work best for viewing, although many breeders house banded geckos in Rubbermaid tubs or large sweater boxes. A 10-gallon enclosure is a good minimum size for adults. Rocks, fake plants, and logs for basking and hiding are preferred enclosure furniture. Make sure ample cave space is available, both on the warm side and cool side of the enclosure. Substrate choices can include bed-a-beast (coconut fiber), peat moss, and cypress mulch. We prefer mostly moist coconut fiber.

Heating/Lighting:
A range in temperature is much appreciated by Mitratus so they may thermoregulate. Temperatures may range from 85 degrees F down to 70 at nighttime. We suggest overhead bulbs for heating, unless you are housing in Rubbermaid and need to use undertank heaters. Place the heat source on one side of the tank only. Red bulbs are nice for viewing nocturnal geckos.

Water:
Make sure a shallow water dish is available inside the cage at all times. We also suggest misting the enclosure at least once daily. Make sure the substrate is moist, but never saturated.

Food:
Crickets make up the majority of this gecko’s diet. Hatchlings should be fed 1 to 2 week old crickets. Adults can handle 1/2-inch crickets. Mealworms may also be offered to juvi and adult geckos. Be sure you acquire your crickets from a clean source and feed them fresh food (you may use "gutload" if you like) and water. Do not feed moldy food to your crickets (this can cause serious disease). Be sure to supplement the diet with calcium and D3 and vitamins. We suggest a 1.3 ratio of herptivite to reptical calcium with D3. Place crickets in a tall cup, add the supplements and shake to coat crickets. Do this every other day for young geckos and then taper off to once or twice a week for adults (especially reduce the vitamin supplements). Make sure to offer more calcium to gravid females.

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