Over time I have learned many techniques in caring for my Phelsuma. I have briefly described here what I find that works best for
me. Day geckos require the proper care in order to sustain a long healthy life. There are things you should know
before aquiring one as a pet. Day geckos are more of a display animal and shouldn't be handled but by experienced keepers.
Their tails will break easily as a defense for escaping you and their delicate skin can rip. They become easily stressed if
they aren't properly taken care of and stress could lead to an early death. Some ways stress can be caused are from inadequate hiding places,
incompatible cage mates and frequent handling. Some signs of stress include loss of appettite, and they may appear darker in color.
Housing
Day geckos like to climb and require many hiding spots. A taller glass aqaurium is recommended with a tightly fastened screen top.
Screen chameleon cages are not recommended because they cannot hold in humidity. Phelsuma LOVE bamboo. You can usually get bamboo sticks from a arts and crafts store, just make sure it hasnt been treated
with anything and is natural. You can then cut them to the sizes you like and setup the terrarium. Placing bamboo vertically
and horizontally is recommended. Most species of phelsuma require a decent amount of humidity. Using live plants not only help
with humidity but makes for a nice natural environment for your gecko. You can experiment with different types of plants, but in my
opinion the best plant to use is a snake plant (Sansevieria Trifasciata 'Laurentii'). The snake plant is great for climbing on
and strives in a well taken care terrarium. You can also use types of spider plants. In my living room display tank I use
a combination of live plants along with some fake ones.
Depending on who you talk to, you will most likely get a different answer every time on what to use for substrate. You can use
anything from newspaper, soil, bark, to absolutely nothing at all. The substrate that I have been using is "Zoo Med EcoEarth". It comes in packs of 3 for about $5.99. It is made of
coconut fiber and when a brick is placed in a bucket of hot water it expands about 8 times its size. EcoEarth is a very good
immitation of soil. Another important issue is Lighting, as they require UVB lighting to help absord vitamin D3 which is
essential to prevent MTB (metabolic bone disease). They require 12 hours of light and 12 hours off to simulate their natural habitat. A timer can be
purchased for precision. The daytime temperatures should be in the mid 80's F, and drop to low 70's F at night. A basking spot
is also recommended somewhere in the 90's F.
Feeding
Nutrition is very important. I recommend crickets for feeding as they are high in protein. You should also gutload your
crickets with either a gutload cricket drink with calcium "as pictured" or some other type of supplement. Depending on the
size of the gecko use approtiatly sized crickets. The feeding schedule should be something like 3-4 crickets every 2-3 days.
You should also feed them fruit babyfood mixed with a calcium with D3 supplement powder atleast once or twice a week. Fruit
yogurt works well too.
Phelsuma must be misted daily in order to obtain proper humidity and to drink, however, Phelsuma Standingi
require dryer climates and shouldn't be misted more than every few days. I dont recommend using a water bowl for drinking.
Phelsuma normally don't drink out of bowls and it will just accrue bacteria.
