Basic care
for
Tucson Banded Geckos (Coleonyx
variegatus bogerti)
Housing:
Care for bogerti is very similar to that of leopard geckos.
Bogerti females may be kept in groups or solo. Males should not
be housed together. We also suggest housing males separately from
females to avoid excessive breeding and stress.
Glass enclosures work best for viewing, although many breeders
house geckos in Rubbermaid tubs or large sweater boxes. A 10-gallon
enclosure is a good size for an adult group.
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 include sand, paper-towels, and bed-a-beast
(coconut fiber). We suggest Playsand mixed with bed-a-beast for
adults and paper-towels for babies. We suggest keeping babies
on paper-towels until they are 4-6 months-old.
A substrate depth of 2-3 inches is greatly appreciated by adult
variegatus as they are great diggers and will make numerous burrows
if given the substrate to do it. More substrate also allows for
more thermo-regulatory options.
Heating/Lighting:
A range in temperature is much appreciated by geckos so they may
thermoregulate. Ambient temperatures may range from 85-95+ degrees
F on the hot side and down to 70-82 degrees on the cool-side (and/or
at night-time). We suggest overhead bulbs for heating unless you
are housing in Rubbermaid tubs and thereby 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 lightly misting the enclosure at least
2-3 times per week. Make sure the surface substrate does not remain
saturated for too long. Try watering in the same place each time
(usually at the water dish) and make sure to let some water overflow
into the surrounding substrate. The geckos will seek out this
moist substrate to make humid burrows for re-hydration and clean
sheds. In this fashion, the water dish comes to function as the
roof for their humid burrow. If this is the case, you will frequently
find your variegatus under the dish or scampering out from underneath
the dish when you add water.
Food:
Crickets and mealworms make up the majority of the banded gecko
diet. Hatchlings should be fed pinheads to 2-week-old crickets.
Adults can handle 3/8-1/2 inch crickets. Small mealworms may also
be offered. Be sure you acquire your crickets from a clean source
and feed them fresh food (you may use "gutload" if you
like) and water.
Be sure to supplement the diet with calcium and D3 and vitamins.
We suggest a 1.3 ratio of herptivite to repcal 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.
