Ocelot gecko
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| Pictus Gecko | |
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| Species: | P. pictus
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| Paroedura pictus Peters, 1854
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The Pictus Gecko (Paroedura pictus) is a nocturnal ground dwelling gecko found in leaf litter in forests on the island of Madagascar. It is sometimes known as Madagascar Ground Gecko, Ocelot gecko, Malagasy fat-tailed gecko, Panther Gecko.
Characteristics
P. pictus naturally occurs as a brown lizard with black markings. Some individuals may also have a white dorsal stripe. In captivity, there are several color phases available including hypo, orange, anerythristic and amelanistic (yellow).
They usually reach a size ranging from 4 to 6 inches, with some well cared for males pushing 8 inches. Overall they are smaller than the average gecko.
The ocelot gecko is not a true climbing gecko, but does have the capability to climb a few surfaces. Whilst in captivity, this small gecko has been known to scale the sides of glass terrariums if startled. Most octet geckos do not have a tendency to bite and are very tame. At a young age, they are jumpy and hence must be handled carefully. When they get older, they generally become docile and can be held by humans without fear of bites or aggression. Geckos taken from the pet store are observed to have been taken from the wild, unless labeled as CBB(Captive Bred and Born). Most wild geckos come from Madagascar, and are known among gecko-lovers for having very interesting personalities.
In Captivity
These geckos do well in captivity and are fairly easy to handle. Hence, they have become increasingly popular in the Herpetology Community; they are ideal for anyone looking into the Herpetology hobby.
A leopard gecko requires similar amount of handling. During captivity, they tend to show some really nice patterns. Only a few morphs of this species including xanthic, snow, anery, striped, triple striped and red exist due to selective breeding. Usually geckos with these markings cost $20 to $45.
Housing
A single gecko can be kept in a 10 gallon terrarium with substrates such as Repti-Carpet, and Paper towels. For multiple geckos you can use a 20 gallon tank (this could house up to two geckos, but that is only a minimum, please get the largest size possible). But care must be taken when placing multiple geckos in the same tank. Placing males together may cause them to become territorial and attempt at killing each other. Also if you have one male and multiple females be prepared for eggs because these geckos are prolific breeders, so the safest bet for multiple geckos is having them be all female. But there might be a dominant female, which can bully the others and result in death, these animals should be separated, unless for breeding purposes. They must also be provided with at least three hides. One on the warm end (86 °F) one in the middle and one on the cool end (80-82 °F) of the tank. You may also want to provide them with a moist hide to aid in shedding, which is usually the hide on the warm end. This can consist of some sort of container with an opening for the gecko to enter and exit and inside should be something that will retain moist air and raise the humidity in the chamber such as paper towels or Peat Moss (these must be misted regularly to maintain the humidity.)
Feeding
This gecko is a true insectivore and will readily accept small live prey such as crickets and mealworms. Hatchling Pictus Geckos should be fed appropriately sized crickets dusted with a reptile vitamin supplement on a daily basis (feed as many as the gecko will eat in a 20 minute period). Once they become juveniles, feeding should be reduced to 5 to 6 times a week with appropriately sized crickets and they should be dusted with vitamins only once or twice a week. The feedings that the crickets are not dusted with vitamins they should be dusted with a pure calcium powder. Also mealworms can be place in a dish in the tank at all times; these geckos will not overeat if they are not hungry. A good rule of thumb for cricket sizes is that the cricket should be not be longer/wider than the distance between the eyes of the gecko. Usually they eat 2-3 crickets. As an alternative, some breeders and pet owners use silkworms, although that is illegal in a few countries.
Breeding
Panther geckos are mature quickly, taking less than a year in captivity. At about six months the male will be easily distinguishable due to the large bumps it will get at the base of the tail. A female will remain smooth at the base of the tail. Geckos are very easy to breed in captivity. Controlling the breeding, however, is a troublesome task. After two of these Geckos have mated and the female is gravid in about 2–3 weeks the female will lay her eggs (usually in the moist hide). The male should be separated from the female after mating to reduce stress on the female. The female will lay two eggs per clutch every two to three weeks. They will also retain sperm so be prepared for multiple clutches usually around five clutches per mating. The eggs should be incubated at around 80 °F (27 °C) and should take between 30–60 days to hatch, though there have been cases where it has taken up to 120 days for an egg to hatch. once the eggs have hatched, the [hatchlings] should be moved to a cage with the set up requirements as listed above, but a paper towel substrate should be used to avoid impaction and the tank should be of a smaller size. Once they have their first shed they should be fed as described above. As they grow and get bigger they should be moved up to an appropriately sized tank and can be on Repti-Carpet or paper towels.