African Fat Tail Gecko Care Sheet
December 1, 2020
African Fat Tail Gecko Care Sheet
(Hemitheconyx Caudicinctus)
Table of Contents:
ENCLOSURES
DECOR & HIDES
HEATING
FEEDING & WATERING
SHEDDING
VITAMINS
CLEANING
African fat tails are very similar to leopard geckos in a lot of ways. These geckos are just as awesome and easy to keep! Another great choice for someone who might have less experience keeping reptiles but they’re also niche enough to grab the attention of someone more experienced. Fatties are well known for being super chill and like the leopard geckos they’re relatively easy to breed and don't take up much space. Unlike the leopard gecko morphs, there aren’t a million billion morphs out there which makes working with this species especially ideal for beginner breeders.
ENCLOSURES
Fat tails can be kept in glass terrariums, reptile racks, or plastic containers, as long as there are holes drilled into the containers to ensure that the geckos are able to breathe. I wouldn’t recommend anything smaller than the size of a shoebox to house a single gecko. A ten gallon tank can comfortably hold one to two geckos, so I would recommend sizing up if you plan on housing more than that in a single container.
DECOR & HIDES
Inside of the tank, I prefer to use paper towels as substrate for these geckos because they’re easy to change when it’s cleaning time and they pose less of a threat to the gecko’s health than something like sand. When it comes to hides, I typically provide one moist hide and one or two dry hides in each enclosure. I tend to use toilet paper rolls or the plastic hides and coconut hides that can be found in my shop. There should be at least one hide on the cool side of the tank and one on the warm side.
HEATING
There are a ton of ways to get the proper heat for your gecko (heat cable, heat pad, heat lamp, CHE) so just make sure that the method that you go with best coincides with your enclosure type. For instance, you shouldn't use a heat lamp with a plastic enclosure and so on. I would not recommend using anything inside of the actual tank that emits heat, like a heat rock. I suggest using a thermostat or a light dimmer to regulate the temperature of your heat source. Do not attempt to use a heat source without testing/regulating the temperatures beforehand. I aim for 89 degrees on the warm side of the tank and about 75 degrees on the cool side (or room temperature).
FEEDING AND WATERING
Before being shipped, GeckBro geckos are fed twice a week-- once at the beginning of the week and again towards the end of the week. I recommend using a variety of feeder insects, including dubia roaches, crickets, etcetera. Instead of hand feeding my geckos, I typically drop a handful of feeders (dusted with D3 calcium) in the enclosure. I typically do not feed mealworms or superworms to my fat tails as they are much less likely to eat them, your African fat tail will prefer crickets and dubia roaches. Your gecko should have fresh water at all times, which can be done by either providing a water dish or by lightly spraying the enclosure throughout the week.
SHEDDING
African fat tail geckos are pro shedders. I never experience issues with my fatties shedding. When your gecko is in shed, it’s always a good idea to lightly spray part of the enclosure or provide a moist hide, which can be done by using Sphagnum Moss or lightly spraying a hide on the cool side of the enclosure. You should especially watch for shed on your gecko’s toes and make sure that your gecko removes all of its shed completely in order to avoid circulation issues or other health problems. But, like I said, most geckos are pretty good at shedding so issues with this are uncommon.
VITAMINS
Every African fat tail gecko requires D3 Calcium in order to grow healthy bones and survive. Larger feeders like crickets and dubias should be dusted in D3 Calcium before given to your gecko so that you can ensure your gecko is getting the proper nutrients needed. I also like to provide a small dish with D3 Calcium and another small dish with other minerals and vitamins in the enclosure (I typically use the cap of a water bottle) so that the gecko can lick up the Calcium or viatmins whenever it wants.
CLEANING
Cleaning up after your fat tail gecko is relatively simple. Just make sure that you remove dead feeder insects within a timely manner. Geckos tend to use the bathroom in one specific spot in their enclosure, so just watch for that area and replace the substrate as needed. It’s a good idea to clean the entire enclosure at least a few times every year.