Care Guide - Elegant Short-fingered Geckos 

How much will it roughly cost you to keep an individual Elegant Gecko well including the setup and ongoing costs, this does not include unexpected vet bills or the rising cost of products over time.

Used for energy calculation : https://www.sust-it.net/energy-calculator.php

Distribution:

These creatures are widely distributed across Africa and extend as far as Israel. However, they are most commonly observed in regions with higher human populations, likely due to the increased chances of sightings being recorded.

Image captured from iNaturalist

As shown below, these geckos thrive in two vastly different regions of their range that share strikingly similar climates and landscapes. The environments they inhabit are characterized by arid, almost barren deserts dotted with rocky outcrops and sparse vegetation. Here, they skillfully hunt for small invertebrates, perfectly adapted to surviving across these challenging desert terrains.

Rating (Ease of Care): Easy  - ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

★ Quick and skittish, requires minimal handling

★ Small and delicate in size

This species is hardy and low-maintenance, making it an excellent choice for beginners. Ideal for night owls, it’s best suited for those who don’t require a pet that can be handled often. Due to their small and fragile nature, interaction should be limited to essential tasks like feeding and cleaning.

Setup Requirements:

These reptiles are compact, so they don’t require much space. They can also be housed in groups—three can comfortably live in a 30x30x30 cm enclosure. You can use either a wooden or glass terrarium, as long as you maintain low humidity and ensure a basking spot with temperatures above 30°C. With these conditions met, you can’t go wrong!

Substrate Options and Décor

For your dune geckos, a mix of sand-based substrates works best. Currently, I’m using Leolife substrate, which combines fine sand with small rocks, creating a natural and functional environment. You can enhance this by mixing in a clay-based substrate, allowing your geckos to dig more effectively. Additionally, incorporating Coco Coir into the mix improves the substrate for burrowing, helping it stay dry while providing better structure. Proper burrowing opportunities are essential for their well-being—if they’re unable to burrow, they may become stressed, refuse to eat, and suffer long-term health issues.

Heating and Lighting

Since these geckos are primarily nocturnal, they do not require high levels of UV light, even though their natural habitat has a strong UV presence. A 10.0 UV bulb is sufficient. The primary focus for their lighting should be maintaining an appropriate temperature in their environment. They need a basking spot with a temperature between 32°C and 34°C. While they rarely bask in the open, they will often hide beneath the warm area to absorb additional heat. The ambient temperature in their enclosure should range between 23°C and 29°C during the day. At night, temperatures can be reduced to a range of 16°C to 22°C. While desert habitats can drop below these temperatures, this range is based on personal research and experience.

For a more advanced approach, consider replicating their natural seasonal temperature variations. This can help stimulate breeding behaviors, especially during spring and summer.

Below is a table of average monthly temperatures from their natural habitat, accompanied by a chart sourced from © WeatherSpark.com.

I use this data as a guide: the highest temperatures correspond to basking spots, the intermediate temperatures represent the average enclosure conditions, and the lowest temperatures indicate nighttime minimums. For example, during the peak of summer, the maximum temperature in their habitat can reach 40°C. Therefore, the basking spot should reflect this during midday, while nighttime temperatures should cool down to around 27°C. Winter brumation months are particularly significant for encouraging breeding behavior. Although lower temperatures during this period are critical, and wild geckos can tolerate them without health issues, it’s worth noting that such extreme conditions are rarely replicated in captivity.

Diet and Nutrition

Maintaining a proper diet and monitoring weight is crucial for these small animals. Since they are tiny, weight monitoring will primarily need to be done visually. Here are some recommended feeder insects:

• Small locusts
• Small brown crickets
• Small black crickets
• Wax worms (occasionally)
• Flightless fruit flies

Feed them once every 2–3 days, offering 2–3 crickets or the equivalent per feeding. Occasionally, you can supplement their diet with treats like calciworms or wax worms. This can also be done before leaving for an extended period, such as a holiday.

A varied diet is essential for ensuring optimal health in most reptile species, and this one is no exception. The greater the variety of food items you provide, the healthier your animal will be. Regularly monitor their weight and adjust their diet as necessary. While this can be challenging when multiple animals share an enclosure, tong feeding is often an effective solution.

Always use supplements like Calcium and D3 powder, along with others such as Vit-A-Max, Arkvits, and Nutrobal, to ensure a balanced nutrient intake for all feeder insects.

Daily misting is required for this species, ideally in the morning or evening. However, it’s important to keep misting light to prevent prolonged humidity above 50%. Proper misting supports shedding and keeps them hydrated. In their natural desert habitats, nighttime temperature drops often result in dew forming on rocks and debris, providing a natural source of hydration.

Behaviors:

One fascinating behavior these geckos exhibit is their tendency to cluster together. This social behavior is likely an adaptation to their harsh environment, where sticking together offers protection and increases their chances of survival against predators seeking scarce meals.

At night, you’ll often spot these geckos out in the open. Their large, wide eyes are well-adapted for nighttime vision, allowing them to scan their surroundings effectively and stay alert to potential threats.

These geckos are small, agile, and incredibly fast. While they often remain motionless, they can suddenly dart to the nearest hiding spot with lightning speed if they feel threatened. Because of this, I don’t recommend handling them unless it’s necessary, such as for checking their health. That said, I’ve seen videos of geckos being comfortably held and appearing calm, so it ultimately depends on your individual gecko’s temperament. Observing and understanding their unique reactions and behaviors is key.

They enjoy burrowing through their substrate and will create intricate hideaways if provided with enough depth to accommodate their natural digging instincts. The optimal way to support this in their sandy substrate is by lightly misting their enclosure once a day. This not only meets their water requirements but also helps the sand bind together as it dries. The mineral deposits in the water cause the sand to stick, creating a stable structure perfect for burrow formation.

Day and Night Cycle

A simple 12-hour on/off light cycle is sufficient for most setups. However, if you want to optimize your husbandry practices, the table below provides the natural day and night cycles observed on the 15th of each month in eastern Israel, where these species are commonly found. In their natural habitat, daylight exposure varies from around 10.5 hours in winter to just over 14 hours in summer.

Common Health Issues

Challenges with Wild-Caught Specimens: Many of these animals were historically wild-caught, and there are numerous accounts of people encountering serious issues, such as unexplained deaths or specimens refusing to eat. These challenges are often attributed to the stress and poor acclimation of wild-caught individuals.

Fortunately, captive-bred specimens are much more resilient. Based on my research, captive-bred individuals rarely face significant health problems beyond the occasional parasitic load seen in their wild-caught counterparts.

Cleaning:

Regular maintenance is essential for a clean and healthy environment. Remove any visible urates and feces from the sand as soon as you notice them. Perform a more thorough cleaning once a week, ensuring the substrate stays fresh. Completely replace the substrate every six months, or more frequently for smaller enclosures, as these require more regular upkeep.

Brumation -

During the colder months, brumation plays a key role in triggering breeding behaviors in reptiles once the warmer spring and summer seasons arrive. For more detailed information on how temperature and lighting influence this process, refer to the heating and lighting section above.

Availability:

These geckos are steadily becoming more popular in the UK hobby as of 2024. I've noticed an increasing number of listings featuring both captive-bred and wild-caught specimens, roughly split 50:50. While wild-caught geckos dominated the market a few years ago, there has been a commendable shift towards captive breeding, which is excellent news for the preservation of wild populations. I look forward to contributing to this effort once I have fully mastered their care.

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