# Madagascar Giant Day Gecko Viv Build ?



## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

Hey guys! I just got back into the hobby. I used to care for dart frogs but moved to South Florida within the past year so have been out of the hint for a bit of time. But after being given a free 18x18x24 enclosure, I couldn't resist! ? I have always wanted to keep day geckos, and a friend of mine who lives near Key West told me that there is actually a decent sized population of giant day geckos breeding in the wild on some of the southern keys, and they could get some for me. So now I've got my two little guys living together in there. The now sure of their genders. They're each about 5-6 inches long of unknown age. If anyone has any advice on how to sex day geckos or how big they need to be before their genders can be determined let me know! I'll attach some underside pictures for reference if it helps.


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

Is your enclosure planted? Do you have pics of it? 

Been thinking about getting some day geckos myself but will probably go with mourning geckos since they don't need UV and can be fed mostly MRP...


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

*Re: Madagascar Giant Day Gecko Viv Build*

My Mistake! I forgot to attach the photos! here they are


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

Nice setup. Is that before you got the geckos? I thought you said they were living in there...


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

not sure why some the photos are on their sides.


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

more pics of the finished viv!


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

cam1941 said:


> Is your enclosure planted? Do you have pics of it?
> 
> Been thinking about getting some day geckos myself but will probably go with mourning geckos since they don't need UV and can be fed mostly MRP...


I would recommend day geckos! They're so full of energy and color. Gold dust day geckos are great, fairly easy to care for species that stay a bit smaller than P. Madagascariensis. Similar to darts, I love how active they are during daylight hours.


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

cam1941 said:


> Nice setup. Is that before you got the geckos? I thought you said they were living in there...



I'm not quite sure what you mean by this? I had the geckos in quarantine for a few weeks before they were moved to their official enclosure.


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

Very cool design, love the vines... 

I was just asking that since you said in your first post that you had geckos living in it and when I asked for pics you posted an empty tank... 

The geckos are beautiful... Yeah I am tempted but I really don't want to deal with feeders on a daily basis and I'd have to redesign and make a new top to my enclosure to account for UV.

Do you have a screen top with UV lights?


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

Nice tank.
If your geckos are old enough to sex (I'm no gecko guy so I can't say.) the one you showed pictures (ventral shot) of should be female. Males have a row of scales going from the cloaca to their knees. (Google "Femoral pores" for pictures). They may also have a bulge between the cloaca an the tail that "houses" the hemipenis.


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## Ryansobelart25 (Jul 4, 2015)

cam1941 said:


> Very cool design, love the vines...
> 
> I was just asking that since you said in your first post that you had geckos living in it and when I asked for pics you posted an empty tank...
> 
> ...


Oh ok I understand! Do you have any pics of your enclosure? I would love to see it. & yeah I have a screen top enclosure with a t5 fixture with 4 6500k bulbs and my UVB bulb just arrived in the mail today, so in that picture was just a ceramic heat disk I had on there temporarily.


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## Ryansobelart25 (Jul 4, 2015)

Sammie said:


> Nice tank.
> If your geckos are old enough to sex (I'm no gecko guy so I can't say.) the one you showed pictures (ventral shot) of should be female. Males have a row of scales going from the cloaca to their knees. (Google "Femoral pores" for pictures). They may also have a bulge between the cloaca an the tail that "houses" the hemipenis.


Thank you for the advice! That was all very helpful! I'll check on my geckos for the signs you noted. Maybe I'll post a few pics on a gecko forum of their vent sides to see if they have any guess on whether they're old enough or not, because honestly I have no clue on their age.


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## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

lilherp25 said:


> I'm not quite sure what you mean by this? I had the geckos in quarantine for a few weeks before they were moved to their official enclosure.


When he posted this you had only posted pictures of an empty tank (and one with a cat), but no geckos. I was reading the post at the same time and got equally confused because you said the geckos were already in there, but no pictures. I think it looks nice, and the animals look great. My only thing I would question is are those bromeliads going to get too big for the enclosure.


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## Ryansobelart25 (Jul 4, 2015)

thane said:


> When he posted this you had only posted pictures of an empty tank (and one with a cat), but no geckos. I was reading the post at the same time and got equally confused because you said the geckos were already in there, but no pictures. I think it looks nice, and the animals look great. My only thing I would question is are those bromeliads going to get too big for the enclosure.



Yeah that was mistake, I was having issues uploading the images & thank you! All of the broms I have are what I believe to be miniature species; Chiquita Linda, neoregelias 'wee willy', fireballs, etc


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## SMenigoz (Feb 17, 2004)

I've raised 1000's of day geckoes over the last 20 years and I think you may need to re-think your tank design. Yours is set up more for darts; geckoee (especially large bodied ones like grandis) will trample your delicate plants. Better to use sturdy pothos and position bamboo throughout, especially up near the lights where they like to bask.


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

SMenigoz said:


> I've raised 1000's of day geckoes over the last 20 years and I think you may need to re-think your tank design. Yours is set up more for darts; geckoee (especially large bodied ones like grandis) will trample your delicate plants. Better to use sturdy pothos and position bamboo throughout, especially up near the lights where they like to bask.


Thank you for the advice! maybe ill have to get some more sturdy plants. Are pothos that much more sturdy than broms? I'`ve never had pothos in a tank, just as a house plant and they seem rather flimsy?


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## jimmy rustles (Mar 10, 2013)

I have no idea if this is just for them while they are juvenile or if it is thought as their permanent home, and I know that you guys dont have the same ideas about vivarium size as in europe, but im just gonna throw out there that 18x18x24 does seem a bit small for active day geckos as big as P.grandis.


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## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

I've never had a gecko, no idea what they need. But the tank looks great. I love the little purple passion plant, one of my favorites.


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

jimmy rustles said:


> I have no idea if this is just for them while they are juvenile or if it is thought as their permanent home, and I know that you guys dont have the same ideas about vivarium size as in europe, but im just gonna throw out there that 18x18x24 does seem a bit small for active day geckos as big as P.grandis.



Thank you for the advice! I did quite a bit of research and that was the size many of the sites recommended for a pair. But if it seems they need a larger enclosure as they grow, I will definitely upgrade  always looking to find a reason for a larger tank!


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## lilherp25 (Mar 29, 2010)

tardis101 said:


> I've never had a gecko, no idea what they need. But the tank looks great. I love the little purple passion plant, one of my favorites.


thank you! I love them too, especially under the correct lighting the purple really glows!


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