Fat-Tailed Gecko Care Sheet

Things to consider

First and foremost, there are many things you need to consider before getting a Fat-Tailed Gecko. If cared for properly, fat tail gecko can live up to 20 years in captivity. This is a long term and serious commitment. Ultimately, they will only be able to rely on you to meet their needs.

Do not buy on impulse. Do your research first.

Are you set up for your new fat-tailed gecko?

Have you located a qualified exotic veterinarian?

Do you have the time to commit to a fat-tailed gecko?

Can you afford the upkeep of a fat-tailed gecko?

How do you feel about having live feeder insects in your home?

Housing Your Fat-Tailed Gecko

Fat-tailed geckos do not require a large enclosure but it does need to be large enough to maintain a good temperature gradient, for thermoregulation purposes. There must be a hot side and a cooler side for them to escape from the heat when they need to.

I would recommend a glass Reptile enclosure or aquarium.

Never keep more than one male fat-tailed gecko in a single enclosure. They are territorial and will fight. Housing multiple females together is fine as long as they are similar in size. You may also house a couple of females together with one male as long as they are all of breeding size (45 grams or more).

Substrate

The best substrate you can use for a fat-tailed gecko is Reptile Carpet. You can also use paper towels, butcher paper, tile or newspaper. Many fat tail gecko keepers use sand but I personally do not recommend it. It can cause impaction problems, especially in babies and juveniles.

Heating

Fat-tailed geckos require the surface temperature on the hot side of the tank to be 90 degrees and cool side of the tank to be 75 to low 80's degrees.

It's best to provide the heat source from under the tank rather than above so using and under the tank Heat Pad is the most appropriate heat source. Heat Tape is another suitable option.

Lighting

Fat-tailed geckos require 10-12 hours of exposure to light but be careful not to use a light that will overheat the tank. Because they are nocturnal lizards, they do not require any UVB lighting. 

Furniture

Items to include in your fat-tailed gecko enclosure are:

At least two Hides or Caves. One should be kept moist with wet paper towels or Moss at all times to aid in shedding and should be kept on the cool side of the tank. A second hide should be kept on the warm side.

Shallow water bowl

Temperature Gauge

Keeping your Fat-Tailed Gecko Hydrated

Fat-tailed geckos come from a dry environment but will still need some water and humidity. Keeping a small water bowl with fresh water should suffice.

Diet

Fat-tailed geckos diet mainly consists of crickets and mealworms.

Other insects that can be fed include, wax worms and silkworms

If you are feeding crickets, remove any uneaten crickets after a couple of hours. If they are left in the tank, they may annoy your fat-tailed gecko by biting it.

Mealworms are feed in a Mealworm Dish and will not be able to escape so it's fine to leave them in the tank.

Supplements

Multivitamin

You can add vitamins to you fat-tailed geckos diet by gut loading your crickets. You can also dust their crickets with a multivitamin just prior to feeding the crickets to your fat-tailed gecko.

Calcium

Calcium is very important to you fat-tailed geckos diet. There are a couple of ways to add calcium into their diet. You can dust their crickets prior to feeding, or you can put a small bowl with a pinch of calcium powder inside the tank.