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Hemitheconyx caudicinctus

Francine, Earl, and Robbie

H caudicinctus is more commonly known as the African Fat-Tailed Gecko, a perfect name for a gecko with a chunky tail found in Africa. Despite similarities in appearance, AFTs prefer vastly different habitats than Leopard geckos. AFTs spend their time in savannas, focusing their time on higher humidity burrows. These hardy little geckos are becoming more popular in the pet trade, as they are just as docile as leopard geckos. Wild-type animals have thick, alternating light and dark brown patches. Some have a white stripe running down their spines. Due to an increase in popularity and selective breeding, AFTs can also be found in a wide range of oranges, blacks, whites, and other colors.

 

Francine, Robbie, and Earl are named after our favorite dinosaur family from the 90s. They are great with people and being handled. All are trustworthy with kids and adults, making them great reptile ambassadors for those who are a bit shier around scales.

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Earl was purchased in 2021 at the Tinley Park Fall NARBC. He tends to be the highest strung of the three, which mostly means that he moves slightly more. He is potentially heterozygous for an "Oreo" morph. The white stripe on his back is a dominant trait.

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Robbie and Francine are a female duo who prefer to be housed together. They are occasionally split for a small amount of time, but can almost always be found hiding together when in the same enclosure.

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Interested in keeping an AFT? Below are general parameters for making your gecko comfortable. For more information, Extant Relatives recommends Reptifile's detailed care sheets.

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Lifespan: 20 years

Cage Size: Minimum 36" x 18" x 18" (Wider rather than tall)

Day/Night Hours: 12/12 OR 14/10 (Summer) to 10/14 (Winter)

Active times: Most active at night

Day temps: 75 F

Hot Spot: 90 F

Night temps: 70 F

Daytime humidity: 70% (50%, dry season)

Nighttime humidity: 100% (70% dry season)

UVB: Low

Substrate: Arid substrate: Lugarti Natural Reptile Bedding, BioDude Arid Mix, OR mix of 40% topsoil or coco fiber, 40% fine sand, 20% Excavator Clay.

Diet: Variety of vitamin- and mineral- dusted insects.

Decor: Terrestrial - rock hides, climbing rocks (securely placed), cork tubes/pieces, dry leaves, arid-tolerant plants or artificial plants.

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Our setup: ExRe houses AFT geckos in 20 gal/gecko minimum, horizontally-oriented enclosures. These terrestrial reptiles spend most of their time lurking in warm, humid hides, venturing out to hunt for small insects. To provide a natural habitat and maintain an appropriate humidity level, we use an arid substrate mix of 40% cocofiber, 40% very find sand, and 20% Excavator clay. Enclosures are misted heavily once or twice per week with a large water dish available for soaking. Isopod clean-up crews mostly live under these dishes. Temperatures range from 90F at one side of the cage to  of the enclosure to 70F on the other. They use the full range of their enclosures to regulate their temperature and hydration, though they seem to prefer sitting at 80-85F. Puck lights provide light for their plants and their day/night cycle. We do not use UVB with our AFTs, though they are closely monitored and receive Vitamin D supplementation. ExRe's AFTs dine on a staple diet of 6-8 large crickets fed 2 times per week. Once per week, we rotationally substitute in silkworms, dubia roaches, hornworms, mealworms, and (very occasionally) waxworms for enrichment. 

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Francine ventures out to hunt for unsuspecting crickets.
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