Pictus (panther) geckos: tropical or arid?

[LIZARDLOVER]

I'd like to try and address this issue once and for all. I have read and heard multiple different accounts on how to keep these lil guys, and each one seems to say something different! Are they tropical, such as a humid Eco earth type terrarium set up? or arid, such as a sandy desert type terrarium? I currently keep all of mine on Eco earth and have noticed that they seem dull in comparison to when I got them (from a breeder who used a sandy desert terrarium). However they still seem healthy, with the only noticeable issue being some difficulty shedding (odd since it is humid). What is your experience? Which have you used and what was the result? Lets try and solve this dilemma!

 

[jakehinds]

I don't have one, but so far i've seen both. But they are actually from a dry forest. So like cypress mulch substrate and little shrubs with 40-50% humidity

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

Thts the set up that I currently have, or at least similar to it.

 

[jakehinds]

I'd like to hear what you guys think about the pictus geckos! I'm looking to get one for a first gecko and would like some input. Are they as easy as leo's?

 

[erkinde]

I keep my two pictus on reptibark, whick is fir bark chips, they love to burrow in it. Humidity around fifty percent, I only mist for sheds.

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

And so far they have been healthy? The problem I have is gender based, my females are thriving and are as healthy as an ox, yet the males seem to go downhill after a little while. I lost my nicest male for unknown reasons, and my other one is starting to look a bit unhealthy with sightly sunken eyes and weight loss. And to answer your question jake, I love them they are an awesome species to work with but a little fragile do to their size. They can be handled, but are fairly flighty and shouldn't be held as much as a leo.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I know someone who uses a planted viv for a group. Seems to work well. Have you taken the male to the vet?

~Maggot

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

It's not worth a vet trip, I have a rising suspicion that they were wc and just don't have the will to live in captivity much like crotaphytus collaris tends to be.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

...Your dying gecko isn't worth a vet trip? Seriously?

~Maggot

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

It's not a fixable or curable ailment, it's like the crotaphytus, wild caught individuals (especially males) can lose the will to live in captivity, the only thing I can do is try to hand feed it and provide the most comfort I can.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

And you know that it's incurable because he's been examined by a vet, right?

~Maggot

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

No because I've dealt with it before in other species with the same symptoms.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Don't those symptoms also apply to treatable parasites?

~Maggot

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

Not as much, when you've dealt with wc individuals before you recognize the symptoms. For instance parasites would be eating and not gaining weight, whereas he refuses to eat completely.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Not really. Anorexia is also a symptom of parasites. Not eating and weight loss is so nondescript that it could be caused by a plethora of things, and there's no way to know what they are without checking. And if they are WC, then it's pretty much guaranteed that they have parasites.

If you don't want to take your dying gecko to the vet - or, hell, just bother to send them a fecal sample - that's fine. Just making sure that's what's going on. Anyway, you've gotten the answer to your question for this thread, so there's no point in continuing it. I wish the best for your gecko, but I have little hope for it.

~Maggot

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

With all due respect I've probably been keeping reptiles longer than you. Also you have no experience with these particular species. I know what I'm doing and I know I'm justified in doing it.