Basic care for
Web-foot Geckos (Palmatogecko
rangei)
Housing/Environment
:
Web-foots are small geckos that get up to 4-inches in length.
A ten-gallon enclosure is a good minimum size for an adult but
could adequately house a pair or trio (1.1 or 1.2)as well. Males
should not be housed together as they are highly territorial and
will create stress for everyone.
Web-foots are terrestrial geckos coming from the coastal deserts
of South Africa and Namibia where they predominantly inhabit sand
dunes. For this reason, the web-foots have specially evolved skin
that stretches between their toes( thus their common 'webbed'
name) and promotes sturdy footing on loose sand. Webbed-feet are
also good for burrowing.
PlaySand mixed with a little peat moss and coconut fibre is a
good choice for substrate. The soils help hold burrows together,
especially when moistened and dried repeatedly. Be sure to include
enough substrate for burrowing: At least 2-3 inches for babies
and 4-6 inches for adults.
Frequently misting the top layers and keeping the sand slightly
moist toward the bottom of the enclosure helps keep burrows intact.
To moisten lower layers without saturating all the substrate,
place a PVC pipe that runs from the top of the enclosure down
to bottom layers of substrate. Pour enough water in this pipe
to moisten the bottom inch or so of substrate, while keeping the
top layer dry. Place gravel at the very-bottom layer of substrate
to promote efficient dispersal or transport of water poured in
the PVC pipe.
--Make sure the geckos cannot climb into the PVC pipe as they
can become trapped and die!
--Rocks and caves are also appreciated and used as cover while
on the surface. Live or fake plants may also be used for cover
and décor.
Heating/Lighting:
We suggest predominantly lighting from above for these geckos.
When using heat-bulbs, sub-heating devices like heat-pads and
heat-tape should only be necessary during cold winters or with
deep-substrate set-ups. A temperature range from 82-92 degrees
F is recommended for web-foots. This includes temperatures underground
in the burrows! This temperature range should stay constant throughout
the day and night. We recommend using a digital thermometer with
a probe to accurately monitor ambient, surface and sub-surface
temperatures. Red lights work well for viewing these nocturnal
geckos. Day-time use of full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs is beneficial,
but not altogether necessary. These geckos can also be successfully
kept using only sub-heating devices and no lights. We feel using
lights is more natural.
Water:
You may opt to leave a small dish of water in the enclosure. A
light misting 2-4 times a week is also appreciated, as the Web-foots
will drink droplets off of the glass sides, rocks, plants and
themselves.. The coastal sand dune deserts inhabited by web-foots
are regularly cloaked in dense fogs, even though years can pass
without measurable precipitation. Desert life has, of course,
evolved around these fogs, utilizing the ambient humidity and
dew created by the fogs to help satisfy their water requirements.
In an effort to mimic this form of moisture, we recommend spraying
the enclosures at night with a very-fine, warm mist. This can
can be done nightly if very little water is dispersed. Either
way, they should be lightly misted 2-4 times per week at night.
Feeding:
Small crickets make up the main source of food for captive Web-foots
but they also relish numerous different type of appropriate sized
worms. Make sure that you do not feed worms or crickets that are
too large. Calcium supplements should be dusted on the prey items
at least 2-3 times per week and a dish with powdered calcium should
be made consistently available in the enclosure. In addtionally
to calcium, dust the the prey items with Herptivite vitamins at
least 1-2 times per week for young web-foots and 1 time per week
for adults.
Keep your crickets and worms well-nourished on vegetables and
fruit, and/or use "gut load". Make sure to keep your
cricket containers clean at all times and remove any molding food.
