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Golden Gecko Habitat

22 14:35:37

Question
I currently own 2 Golden Geckos. I THINK they are both male, the person I got them from did not sex them and I tried once I got them home. What would be the best or some form of set up(housing) for Goldens? I have looked and looked online and there is not a lot of information on this particular breed. I know they are tropical and with that know they need the humidity. What would be a good source of information on this type of gecko and housing set up? I want to get them comfortable because they are wonderfully behaved right now (when held or moved for cleaning) and would like them to feel..."at home" lol. I have them in a 20g long tank with vented top. I have a very rounded tree bark in (faux bark) for climbing and hiding. Not being sure of how to set up a proper drip system I have been keeping the bedding moist and plenty of water down. There are currently crickets (loaded and dusted) with them, but they don't seem to be eating them. ANY help you could offer would be amazing! Sucks when not even wikipedia has good information. =(

Answer
Hi Carrie, It sounds like you already have a good basic knowledge of what they require. Keeping them happy and stress free means recreating a bit of their natural environment, a warm, humid forest.  I used to use a combination of plastic and real plants when I housed goldens. Pothos plant is an easily grown vine with large leaves that does well in vivariums. Make sure any real plant is rinsed well before adding it to the enclosure. Cork bark or clean driftwood is attractive and gives them plenty of sturdy climbing surfaces. They should have a warm spot of 85 - 90F in one end of the tank. Goldens will drink droplets from the leaves after a thorough misting but you don't really need to bother with a drip system for them. Drips have to be used with chameleons but they can be a bit of a nuisance. You need to set up a receptacle container for the drip or your substrate will quickly become too wet. I found that a water dish and misting a couple times a day was fine for the goldens.  You can cover part of your screen top with clear packing tape to increase the humidity.
There is an adustment period for new reptiles and they often don't eat for several days in a new environment, that's quite normal. I'm a bit surprised that you are able to handle them easily, they usually don't tolerate it that well. I might suggest you keep handling to a minimum until you get them settled in and eating. Once they are settled in you might also start seeing aggression if you do have two males. The males can be quite territorial and may need to be separated. They tend to be a lighter yellow colour then the females  and if they are mature you should be able to see preanal pores on the underside of the hindlegs  and / or hemipenile bulges in the tail of the males.  In addition to insects goldens will also take some sweet fruit like bananna. They prefer to lick up fruit so baby food works well for this, just a small capful in the enclosure.