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Experiences
with Phelsuma guimbeaui |
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Phelsuma
guimbeaui is one of the Phelsuma species originating
from the island Mauritius, (the others species are Phelsuma
cepediana, Phelsuma rosagularis and Phelsuma ornata).
Phelsuma guimbeaui is a mid size species with a thick
body. Males are larger then females and can even get
twice the size. Males are around 13 to 17 cm and females
are 10 to 12 cm. This species is bright green with a
blue colouration on the neck, with orange to red spots
and bars on the head, body and tail. You can keep this
species in a well planted tank with a mid to high humidity.
They prefer temperatures during the day of 25-30C°.
Nature on Mauritius is becoming scarce, with the result
that the number of Phelsumas is decreasing. Devotees
of these species rely completely on captive bred offspring.
In order to keep these Geckos healthy, pure and beautiful
it is important to prevent inbreeding.
Breeding Phelsumas is not very difficult, you need one
male and one female and when the circumstances are modest
to good, they start breeding quite easily. When I started
breeding these species, my goal was to raise animals
that were not distinguishable from wild caught. I am
still convinced that if one keeps reptiles the way they
live in the wild, that this should be possible. But
how does one succeed? That's a question that I, to this
day, still have an answer to. What do they lack in captivity
that makes them less colourful as their counterparts
in the wild? t is said, that it is due to the lack of
UV light, but as far as now there are no research results
to prove that statement. |
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The beautiful colouration of Phelsuma
guimbeaui
- © Martijn van Lith |
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| It's also said
that it's due to little variety in their diet. It has also
been stated that it's a lack of minerals that suppose to enhance
the brighter colours. And it's also said that if one keeps
on breeding with the most beautiful specimen, offspring will
be as beautiful as wild caught species. Everybody has an opinion,
but actually nobody knows for sure. |
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| Of
course I also keep these animals because I simply find them
incredible. They are very inquisitive, which makes them lose
their shyness pretty easily. The interaction between the male
and the female is fascinating to watch. They are excellent
hunters, like a Cheetah they can approach their prey very
closely and catch it with a an explosive sprint or fantastic
jump. Their speed really shows, when you release a few flies
in their tank. You'll find this out the hard way when one
of them escapes. |
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In
captivity Phelsuma guimbeaui usually glues 2 eggs on
the glass or another smooth object. The eggs are white
and when they're healthy they have a slight pink glow.
When they're completely white, they are probably dried
out and when they're yellow they've gone bad. This latest
usually happens when the tank stays too humid. It takes
around 7 to 8 weeks (I've experienced 12 and even longer)
for the eggs to develop. During that period many things
can go wrong with the eggs.
The egg in the photo to the left for example, is situated
in a very unfavourable spot, in this situation it was
difficult for me to water the plant without getting
the egg wet. For this reason I cut the leave and put
it in another tank. What I didn’t realise, was
that the leaf would dry out and |
therefore shrink so after a while
the egg fell off. During the trimming of leaves in the other
tanks, I discovered more eggs and removed them. I placed them
in an empty tank near a lightbulb and kept them there at around
26ºC. |
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This
is a Phelsuma guimbeaui juvenile, roughly a month old.
It's difficult to find and catch them if you have a
heavily planted tank like I do. The eggs are usually
plastered on a smooth surface, so to prevent the parents
from eating their own young once they hatch, I cover
them with a plastic lid. As soon as the eggs hatch,
the young can easily be removed from the tank. Juveniles
are fed with fruit flies, small crickets and ZooMed's
Day Gecko Food.
To make sure they get enough calcium and vitamins, I
feed them a sweet mixture, made of 1 part banana, 1
part vitamins, calcium & minerals |
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Juvenile Phelsuma guimbeaui - © Rob
Huigsloot |
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3 parts baby fruit mix every other week. I pay a lot of attention
in feeding them properly. Proper light and proper food are
the two key elements in breeding healthy Phelsumas. They're
getting, at least I hope, the right amounts of vitamins and
minerals. They get extra amounts of calcium, especially the
females need this when they are developing eggs. Besides the
porridge, I mainly feed them crickets and fruit flies. I buy
the crickets small and raise them myself on a diet of apple,
carrot, red pepper and fish flakes. This way the crickets
are loaded with vitamins and minerals, before they are fed
to the Phelsumas. |
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| I used
to keep the offspring separated in 6 different tanks. Since
it takes a full year for them to mature, I had to put juveniles
together with semi adults. For the semi adults the juveniles
were intruders in their territory, so they got badgered and
in no time some lost their tails or had skin injuries. I once
read an article about someone who kept two Phelsuma m. grandis
males together in a small tank, who didn’t attack each
other. Usually 2 males fight till the death over territory
but when the tank is too small for one of the males to create
its territory, they leave each other alone. Remembering this,
I put all my offspring in 1 tank, added lots of bamboo and
plants to create enough run and hiding places. And in order
to reduce stress, I created 3 forage places, instead of 1
and it really worked out. There is a hierarchy in the tank,
the small ones do step aside for the larger ones, but they
all kept their original tail and none of them showed injuries.
A nice accidental circumstance is that the animals are a lot
less shy now. A few of them, who used to hide from me when
I entered the room, now even eat out of my hand. |
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