Hi! I really hope you're active on here ( I can't see time stamps on mobile ) - I'm getting my first AFT gecko next week hopefully, I have his terrarium and getting his bulbs, substrate and decor next ( I don't have the gecko yet but he's reserved ), he's a juvenile and I'd love tips and advice on Aft care! I've done my best for research but I'd love to hear from someone who keeps them
Hi there! congrats on your first fat tailed friend! they’re such good lizards : D
here is an aft caresheet i really like, and here is a really in-depth one for leopard geckos, but it is nearly identical for afts (be warned, there are a lof of graphic images in that one as it goes over a lot of health issues and injuries. they may be scary or discouraging, but it’s good to know what the signs are for different problems.)
i can’t say too much from my personal experience as i only have two fat tails, and every one is a little different, but i’ll share this:
-fat tailed geckos come from a slightly more humid environment than leos do, so spraying them a little more often helps them not get chapped lips. suki will come out and lick the walls and floor when i spray her tank : )
-don’t worry too much if they don’t eat all the time! This is a worry that a lot of first time lizard owners have, since not every animal refuses food like lizard can. Geckos can be kinda picky about their environment and food. Some won’t eat in a feeding bin, some don’t like to be watched, etc. Of course, if it’s been a long time or you suspect there are more things going on, get them checked out. the first time mundee went into brumation i was so scared! in the cooler months their bodies naturally slow down and they won’t eat or do as much. some people purposefully lower their temps to get it going as it sorta helps with their breeding instincts, but if you want you can keep their temps the same. Ambient room temp does play a role, too, though. (the first time i didn’t mess with mundee’s tank but he still did, and last year both mundee and suki went into brumation)-you might get a picky lizard or you might get a lizard that eats anything that moves. if you have a picky one, try out all the appropriate food that’s available to you (crickets, mealworms, dubia, phoenix worms, etc etc) and find out what they like. It’s still good to try to feed a variety, but sometimes they just don’t like something. mundee won’t eat any worms :o
-enrichment is something rarely talked about in basic caresheets and stuff, but it is really important to try ad provide it if you really want your lizard to thrive. here is an amazing article about enrichment with Leos. it talks about how textures and smells can be interesting for geckos, and in what ways they show that they are interacting with stuff. There’s also super interesting info about enriching feeding time! i actually tried one of these with suki. i had this little wiffle ball and thought it might be cool to see if she would try to get mealworms out of the holes. i was worried she wouldn’t understand it but she went crazy over it! She’s always been excitable over food but she was really nosing the ball around and trying to get the worms out ! it was so cool to watch.
i wouldn’t take any of my personal advice as expert or something, but i hope it can help a bit! and remember that it’s always good to keep researching, and compare information sources and stuff. new things are always being discovered, and proper care is always changing for the better. learning about animals is fun!!
