Lygodactylus Picturatus- why are they not popular?

eldalote2 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-26-2009, 07:14 PM

i have been looking into a small day gecko and stumbled upon the L. picturatus. they are beautiful little guys but seem to be not as popular as the williamsi or kimhowellli species. why is this? there seem to be not many keepers on geckosunlimited.

they are relativly inexpensive and i would like to get some as long as they are not problem children.

please let me know what you know!

hexentanz · #2 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 12:30 AM

Here in Germany they are becoming more and more popular. However many do say there is trouble raising the young of this species compared to the kimhowelli or williamsi, because of this you will mainly only find wild caught specimens available still. In turn people would rather go for a CB animal of the same price or take their chance with 'the pretty' blue wc specimen.

Me personally I love all lygos!!!

eldalote2 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 03:21 AM

Thank you! I will have to remember to ask if they are CB or WC. Definitely would prefer CB. Why are the young harder to care for? Are the adults just as hardy as williamsi?

Phyllobates · #4 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eldalote2

Thank you! I will have to remember to ask if they are CB or WC. Definitely would prefer CB. Why are the young harder to care for? Are the adults just as hardy as williamsi?

These are certainly very cool little geckos. Keep them hot and dry and give them basking spots that are not viewable from one another (I'm not a gecko expert. This is the advice given to me). If you buy wild caught be prepared to de-mite and de-worm. Neither of these actions are very easy to accomplish because these guys are small and wicked FAST!

I love my male. I almost lost him but he's putting weight back on and looking better. When he's happy he turns a cool blue-gray and his head is bright yellow. Best of luck!

Chris

eldalote2 · #5 (**permalink**) 10-28-2009, 04:28 AM

Thanks Chris! I will plan on quarantine them just like my darts. Do you think I could send out fecals just like the frogs? Have you had any success breeding them?

hexentanz · #6 (**permalink**) 10-28-2009, 05:40 AM

The young are very tiny, most lygo babies range from 1.8cm to 3cm. This makes them according to some very fragile and less experienced keepers will often experience a few loses before they get things right for them. The same could also be said for larger gecko species or frogs however. All of these geckos are still pretty new in places, so people are still learning (and any animal could get a bad rep during this process ) and in all honesty I believe this is where all the 'fear' comes from.

I would not worry, just read up on them plenty and you should be fine.

If all you find is wc specimens, you can do fecals on them like you would a frog, if you run in to issues the lab will recommend a course of treatment which you can further consult with a vet about. Should the gecko have mites, you can usually free these by gently dabbing the mite with a q.tip that has had a tiny bit of olive oil on it.

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Phyllobater - These geckos do need a good bit of humidity so keeping them 'dry' is not a good idea.

trow · #7 (**permalink**) 10-28-2009, 05:57 AM

They do in fact require humidity otherwise you will have issues with incomplete shed's etc.And another reason they are not popular is that they are cheap if they had a higher price tag there would be alot more keeper's.I keep mine outside year round in florida and they love it breeding readily in hot humid habitat that I call home.
goodluck

porkchop48 · #8 (**permalink**) 10-28-2009, 12:29 PM

I have the dwarf yellow headed ones.

I would like to get the dwarf white headed ones eventually.

I have pulled a couple eggs from mine to incubate but have also left some in the tank to incubate. The one female is obsessed with this one clutch of eggs. Constantly spending time hovering over them. I am guess either motherly instinct or waiting on a snack when they hatch :-)

eldalote2 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-28-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trow

They do in fact require humidity otherwise you will have issues with incomplete shed's etc.And another reason they are not popular is that they are cheap if they had a higher price tag there would be alot more keeper's.
goodluck

I guess that would be right wouldnt it... The Willaimsi are VERY popular and are VERY pricey. I have seen the Picturatus for $15 each.

The more I hear about how not many people keep them and know about them the more I want to own a pair and study them.

I have spoken with a supplier and they are definitely WC. I doubt I will be able to get my hands on a pair of CB unless someone has had luck breeding them.

Thank you everyone! Any information is welcomed.

markpulawski · #10 (**permalink**) 10-28-2009, 11:55 PM

I went by Strictly Reptiles today, they had a ton of WC L Williamsi, $50/pr. I was VERY tempted, there were probably 30 or 40 bright bright blue ones and a lot of females as well, most looked really healthy. They also had a smaller number of the yellow headed ones.