Micro Geckos: Colonies, Cohabbing & Natural Behavior

Episode #158 of Daffy’s Round Table. On this episode, I’m joined by Cristian from The Gecko Druid, with David from Clubtail Exotics joining me as co-host.Cristian is a reptile keeper from Italy who works with some really cool and often overlooked micro gecko species, including Tropiocolotes, Stenodactylus, Saurodactylus, Trachydactylus, Pachydactylus, and more.We get into Cristian’s collection and his approach to keeping these tiny geckos, including the differences between keeping animals individually versus in colonies. We also have a really interesting conversation about cohabbing, both keeping multiple animals of the same species together and, in certain situations, keeping different species together in the same enclosure.A big theme throughout the episode is simply learning to slow down and actually observe your animals. Cristian talks about how spending more time watching them can reveal behaviours and interactions that you might completely miss otherwise, and how those observations can eventually change the way you approach their husbandry.We also talk about microfeeders, why establishing sustainable feeder colonies is so important before you start breeding tiny geckos, and why choosing species that naturally work well with the climate inside your home can make keeping and breeding them much easier.We also get into naturalistic setups, biotopes, breeding, and what can happen when we give animals enough space and complexity to actually show us more of their natural behaviour.If you’re into micro geckos, obscure species, colony keeping, naturalistic husbandry, or just want to hear three reptile nerds get way too deep into tiny geckos, there’s a ton of great information in this one.Follow The Gecko Druid:https://www.instagram.com/geckodruid/Follow Clubtail Exotics:https://www.instagram.com/clubtailexotics/The Reptile Database:https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/Cristian’s Gecko WishlistThis is the wishlist Cristian talks about toward the end of the episode:AgamuraAgamura cruralisAgamura kermanensisAgamura persicaAlsophylaxBunopusBunopus crassicaudaBunopus orientalisCalodactylodesCrossobamonCrossobamon eversmanniCryptactitesCryptactites peringueyiCyrtopodionCyrtopodion agamuroidesCyrtopodion gastropholeCyrtopodion brevipesCyrtopodion golubeviCyrtopodion kiabiiHaemodraconHaemodracon trachyrhinusKolekanosKolekanos plumicaudusKolekanos spinicaudusMediodactylusMediodactylus heterocercusMediodactylus heteropholisMediodactylus ilamensisMediodactylus naryensisMediodactylus sagittiferMediodactylus spinicaudaMicrogeckoPachydactylusPachydactylus amoenusPachydactylus austeniPachydactylus barnardiPachydactylus geitjePachydactylus latirostrisPachydactylus macrolepisPachydactylus maculatusPachydactylus mariquensisPachydactylus oculatusPachydactylus vanzyliPachydactylus wahlbergiiPseudoceramodactylusPseudoceramodactylus khobarensisPtenopusRhinogekkoSaurodactylusSaurodactylus elmoudeniiSaurodactylus fasciatusSaurodactylus mauritanicusSaurodactylus slimaniiSaurodactylus splendidusSaurodactylus alphusStenodactylusStenodactylus affinisStenodactylus grandicepsStenodactylus mauritanicus