NEWS113
41
Infobox fürEltern
i
Infobox fürEltern
DearParents,
themaintenance of reptiles is not for small children. Your
childshouldbeat least12yearsoldso thatheorshecan look
after themproperly. It isessential to readagoodhandbookon
terrarium carewith your childbefore acquiring a terrarium.
Reptiles cannot be kept correctly by guesswork alone, you
must learnhow to treat themcorrectlyasanythingelsewould
becruelty toanimals.
Settingup the terrarium
A relativelysmall terrariummeasuring40x40x40cmcmwill
beadequate for apairof Tschiktschaks (housegecko species
of thegeneraHemidactylusandCosymbotus). Thesegeckos
are not at all worried about the arrangement of their
surroundings. Theyneed somewhere tohide, somewhere to
layeggs, foodandwater - that'sall. The restcanbe left to the
imagination of their keeper. Cork bark is very good as a
hiding-placeandsomewhere to layeggs,asareold fruitboxes
or roofing tiles.
The substrate is themost important part of the decor even
thoughgeckos hardly ever descend to floor level. But their
droppings land there, andbecause geckos need a relatively
high humidity (60-80%), this too is best regulated via the
choiceofbottomsubstrate.House-plantcompostswithaclay
content (e.g. Seramis) are ideal. The substrate shouldalways
bekeptmoist,butnotwet.Placeanumberofpiecesofwood
or bark on the bottom and put a few woodlice from the
garden in the terrarium. The woodlice will eat the gecko
droppingsandconvert them intohumus.
Housegeckosarenocturnal,butevenso the terrariumshould
be illuminated by day. Sometimes geckos like to sun
themselves, and apart from that the light serves as heating.
Thedaytime temperature in the terrariumshouldbebetween
24and30 °C, and candrop to20-22 °Cat night. A small dish
ofwater shouldalwaysbeavailable.
Regularmaintenance
A gecko terrarium of this type doesn't require much
maintenance. It should be sprayed every evening with
lukewarmwater fromaplant spray. Thewaterdishshouldbe
cleaned daily and refilled. Feed 3-4 times per week (every
otherday).
Specialnotes
Because they are so extra-ordinarily common, it isn't worth
breedinghousegeckos for the trade.Wild-caught individuals
always haveparasites, but these canbe easily treatedwhen
necessary (emaciation).
i
