Caging

Uroplatus phantasticus, the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko, is a surprisingly hardy gecko. But, of course, the closer we get the caging environment to their liking the stronger they are! In describing caging and other husbandry I will share what I do. I make no claim that this is the only way to be successful and can point to numerous others who do things differently and raise up healthy geckos. All I will do here is share what has worked for me.

This care guide represents the latest in our approach to husbandry. There have been many things changed from what we presented before.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko husbandry starts with their enclosure. Our enclosures are typically glass or PVC to retain humidity. If you live in a place with a cool, wet atmosphere then you could consider a screen cage. But the majority of us will require solid sides to give us the required humidity. I recommend a 24”x18”x 36” enclosure for a single phant or larger.

In the past, I listed a minimum size recommendation of 12”x12”x18”. And, yes, many people still keep them long term in that size cage. But when you see them bounce around at night you will realize that they can certainly use more space. And, as our job is to provide the best life possible for our geckos, I am doing away with stating minimum sizes for survival and sharing my recommendations for their best life.

The bigger the properly set-up cage the better!

Cohabitation

Satanic Leaf-tailed Geckos have low intra-species aggression. At least, as far as physical violence.  And so, phants are often kept as pairs or even trios. This is the way I started my breeding project. But over the years and the hundreds of phants I have worked with, I noticed the different growth rates, the subtle competition, and, occasionally, the physical violence that comes with cohabitation. These negative aspects disappeared with the ones I raised and kept individually. I have noticed a consistent increase in quality of life with individually raised phants and so, for the last five years, every phant has been kept individually from hatching. The only exceptions are during mating or, rarely, during photo sessions. Although cohabitation has traditionally been a practice for phant keepers and breeders, I cannot recommend it. As herpetoculturists, it is our job to remove as much stress from their lives as possible and cohabitation is a benefit only for us breeders to keep more phants in the same amount of space. I know of no benefit that they derive from cohabitation. Until we determine that there is some benefit that outweighs the downsides any of us can observe, if you have reason for having more than one phant, keep them individually.

How Do I Set Up A Cage?

I set up all my Phant cages to have a soil floor and live plants growing. I use bio-active environments for my display cages, but this is not a focus of mine.

The first step is to create the soil layer. For this I use the standard soil and drainage strategy used by dart frog hobbyists. At the bottom layer I place about 1″ of clay balls that will form my drainage layer. On top of that I place a layer of shade cloth as a barrier to the couple of inches of soil I place on top. Plants are planted in the soil and I often put a leaf litter on top – especially in my female cages.

Clay Ball Drainage Layer

This is where all the water will be stored. I use clay balls as they will not degrade by being wet. This layer is put in to give the water in the system a place to gather and sit without soaking the soil and turning it into mud. The purpose of our next item, the fabric barrier, is to ensure that the soil and the clay ball layer do not intermingle in a muddy mess.

I get my clayballs from Amazon in a large bag. They are called “Hydroton”,”Leca”, or Hydroballs. If you have only one cage then a single smaller bag will do. Obviously, the size of the cage floor print will determine how much you need.

Lay down about one inch of clay balls. This is enough water storage for me. Since the terrariums are enclosed and watertight the only loss of water is through evaporation. Thus we will have to be mindful how much water we put into the system. We desire the water level to be, at maximum, just touching the bottom of the soil layer. It may take some refining to strike a balance.

Fabric Barrier

The fabric barrier’s purpose is to keep the soil separate from the drainage layer. If there is a breach in the barrier the soil will leech into the drainage layer and there will be a muddy mess. The idea is that the water drains through the soil so it does not saturate that soil layer. The healthy system has water moving through, not sticking around in large amounts.

At Misty Mountain Phants we use 90% shade cloth, but any water permeable barrier will work.

Soil Layer

Anything you put in the soil will be staying in your vivarium because there is no way out. Thus we use organic soil. ABG mix or any other soil intended to be used in a vivarium is acceptable. We have been using Terra Firma bio-active soil from The BioDude.

Leaf Litter

Leaf litter is an important ingredient for a woodland floor. Those of us breeding phants recognize leaf litter as a prime location for the laying of eggs so we especially make sure the cages with females have a layer of leaves. We use leaves that we gather ourselves.

The leaf litter at the bottom of the cage is part of the over-all environment. The leaves insulate the soil from desiccation and create a micro-climate within and underneath.

Leaf litter is important for breeders of phantasticus as it is here that the females will look to lay their eggs. At Mist Mountain Phants we like to do partial leaf litter where we will cover half the soil floor with leaves. This allows different humidities at ground level. The female is then able to choose what level of cover she desires for the laying of her eggs.

And, with the conditions acceptable to the lady phants, you will be privileged to have the chance to hatch out one of these tiny dragons. The white shape under these leaves is an egg. Be very careful when disturbing the leaf litter in a cage with a female that has had contact with a male!

Phant Plants

Uroplatus phantasticus literally hang around. You will find them sprawled out, hanging, and in the most unnatural positions. This, of course, is their defense. By looking like dead leaves hanging off of branches they can avoid looking like something good to eat. We make sure there is a substantial branch selection that they can do just that. Although they will hang off of plants just as much, we can fill their cage with beautiful plants and rely on the branches to provide the solid perching that plants, especially the smaller varieties available at retail, sometimes fail to provide. Between both the plants and branches, the phant should be able to find a good hanging spot.

Plant selection is pretty simple. We shop our home improvement store nursery section. Of course, any appropriately sized plant can be used. Phants are not known to nibble on plant leaves so the toxicity is not a direct concern. We do not know if there are any plants that escaped crickets would eat, be not toxic to the cricket, but then toxic to the phant who eats the cricket. (that was a mouthful). I say this not to create concern, but to acknowledge that things are never clearcut. Suffice to say that I have used a wide selection of indoor plants and have had no issue with plant toxicity.

I gently rinse the leaves before using the plant in the terrarium. I then remove the plant from the pot and inspect the root ball. I am looking for any insects or spiders that are tagging along. A spider in a cage where a baby phant hatches is a heartbreaking combination that can lead to disaster. So I, as a breeder, am obsessive about ensuring that spiders are nowhere near any of my cages.

Pesticides are a concern, but most plants I have access to are from nurseries that use systemic pesticides and so they are internal to the plant. Those I cannot wash off and it just has to dissipate over time. But this process does not affect the geckos.

It is very important for me to have sufficient leaf cover in my cages as I use UVB to provide for vitamin D3. Even though I use the low UV Index of 1 at the top of my cages I want to give my phants the ability to choose how much they expose and how much they hide. The more choices they have the better they can take care of themselves.

Below is an example of some plants that I have used in my cages.

Branching the Abode de Phant

I make sure each cage is filled with both a variety of plants and branches to offer a wide variety of perching, hanging, and highway areas. I make sure the branch structure gives my phants access to every area in the cage. The plants then fill in the cage space with hiding places.

I use a variety of diameters in my cages. While many of the Uroplatus species enjoy thick, vertical branches, phants make use of horizontal branches and thin, fanning out sticks from which to hang like dead leaves.

If you use glass cages, you can use pieces of velcro stuck to the sides to provide grip for branches. I then use friction to hold the branches in place.

A good phant cage will combine a network of branches and a dense leaf cover that allows travel to any part to the cage and sleeping with any level of exposure to UVB.

Simple stick-on piece of velcro can provide the grip necessary to friction-hold branches in place. Phants are not known to be trouble-making cage inhabitants and are unlikely to hold parties rowdy enough to knock them loose. That said, they are quite active jumping around at night so make sure the branches are firmly installed.

Conclusion

We Keepers of the Phant are lucky in that our subjects lend themselves so nicely to us creating a gorgeous, lush environment for them. We can enjoy the beautiful environments even without pointing out to our guests that there is actually a mythical beast incarnate hanging right in front of their eyes! Usually, we see pictures of cages of breeders. These are generally around the minimum size necessary. If you are keeping a phant for pleasure then consider going larger. Create an incredible environment! Sure, that makes it more difficult to see your gecko, but that just makes it all the more special when you do see your miniature gargoyle slinking through the branches. Come spy on your gecko at night and you may be surprised how active and easily seen they actually are!

Allow getting your phantasticus to be your first step into an enormously incredible world of lush vivarium environments!