The African Fat-Tailed Gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) is a captivating species native to West Africa, known for its docile nature and unique appearance. Beginner reptile enthusiasts who want an interesting pet with a striking appearance and a docile nature should consider adopting an African fat-tailed gecko. This care guide provides essential information for keeping Caramel Zulu African Fat Tail Geckos healthy and thriving in captivity.
An African Fat-Tailed Gecko
Introduction
The African Fat-tailed gecko is a species of terrestrial gecko native to several countries in west Africa. While the climate which they inhabit is typically somewhat arid, they spend most of their time in a hiding place with ample moisture and humidity. They are becoming increasingly common in the pet trade, and can make great pets.
Natural Habitat and Appearance
African fat-tailed geckos are native to West Africa, ranging from Senegal to northern Cameroon. They prefer dry Sahel and dry/moist savannah for habitat, and are generally found near rock crevices and among the leaf litter of dry forests.
African fat-tailed geckos are 8-10″ lizards with soft, almost “pudgy” appearance: a long, stout body, stubby limbs, an oval head, pebbled skin, and a plump, segmented tail. Normal coloring is brown and tan/beige stripes, with a possible thin white stripe along the length of the back. Through selective breeding the reptile trade has been able to produce numerous color variants of the African fat-tailed gecko.
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At just over seven inches long, this gecko’s most striking characteristic is its accordion-like tail that can grow to over an inch wide. Their tails are used for fat storage, so when food is scarce their tails are able to sustain them for a while. The African fat-tailed gecko is equipped with the ability to lose its tail when threatened or attacked. If the tail is lost, the new tail will have a more rounded shape, similar to the head. It may not match the body coloration and pattern of the gecko. The tail is also where they store their fat, an important energy reserve.
Fat tail
Enclosure
African fat-tailed geckos may seem small, but they still need an enclosure that is large enough to give them adequate opportunity to explore, hunt, and generally exercise natural behaviors. They are also terrestrial, which means that they are a ground-dwelling species, and generally prefer terrariums that are wider than they are tall.
This is why the minimum recommended enclosure size for a single African fat-tailed gecko is 36”L x 18”W x 18”H. Wherever possible, larger is strongly recommended! Although they are considered terrestrial, African fat-tailed geckos are built to live amongst rocks, and are capable climbers.
An adult African Fat-tailed gecko should be housed in a 20 gallon long or a larger tank with bigger being better, but make sure it has enough floor space! They spend most of their time on the ground and most vertical space will be wasted, although they do enjoy some climbing so it’s important that the tank has about 12-16 inches of height. Juveniles can be housed in a 10 gallon long, but you’ll want to upgrade it once your gecko reaches adulthood or a length of about 4-5 inches. You can use either glass or a plastic tub, as long as it’s secured, the proper size, and all of the basic care requirements are still met.
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Suitable Enclosures:
- Kages 36″x24″x18″ PVC Reptile Enclosure
- Toad Ranch SF36 3’x2’x19 Luxury Reptile Enclosure
- Repti Zoo 36″ x 18″ x 18″ Reptile Terrarium
This species is generally considered to be solitary, and does not appear to live in groups in the wild. Seufer et al. notes that a pair can be successfully housed together in a large enough enclosure, but keep in mind that if the geckos don’t get along, they can fight and severely injure one another. Males in particular are known to fight.
Hides and Decor
Decorations play a vital role in your African fat-tailed gecko’s enclosure as environmental enrichment. Enrichment items encourage exercise, stimulate your pet’s natural instincts, and help promote overall wellbeing. And, of course, they make the enclosure look nicer! Without décor, your gecko’s terrarium is just an expensive box of dirt.
Hollow logs, thick branches, leaf litter, ledges, and artificial or drought-resistant live plants work well as décor in an African fat-tailed gecko terrarium. You can also provide additional hideouts.
African fat-tailed geckos require a minimum of 3 hides. One warm, one cool, and one humid. The humid hide should be located either in between the two sides of the tank or on the warm side. If it’s on the cool side, it can cause URI. You can use hides from a pet store, or you can make your own, but a hide needs to be a place where the gecko can fully hide its body and feel secure. For decor you’ll want to add lots of foliage, sticks, rocks, logs, and other natural materials. If you do decide to go bioactive, you can use live plants, but if you want a more sterile approach, you can use fake plants.
You will also need a water bowl full of standing water. Geckos don’t typically drink standing water but they will on occasion and it’s a good idea to offer it regardless.
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Heating and Lighting
African fat-tailed geckos are nocturnal, which means that they are primarily active at night. This means that they are likely to prefer cooler temperatures, are exposed to low levels of indirect UVB during the day, and have exceptional night vision.
All lights should be turned off at night. You can use a 12/12 day/night cycle, or you can vary day length seasonally to encourage more natural hormonal rhythms. If you choose to do the latter, lights should be on for up to 13 hours/day during summer, and down to 11 hours/day during winter, with gradual increments in-between.
African Fat Tailed Gecko Setup - Quarantine Set up
African Fat-tailed geckos do, like most reptiles, need a heat source of some kind. This is a bit of a debated topic, but I would recommend either a CHE, DHP, or Heat mat. Heat sources to NEVER use include heat rocks and colored lights.Reptiles can see red light and it can hurt their eyes and disrupt their day/night cycle, so never use a red, purple, or any other colored light for an AFT, especially not at night. Heat rocks are also not a good heat source because they cannot be regulated, and often overheat which can end up burning your gecko. ALL heat sources must be connected to a thermostat (thermoSTAT, not a thermometer) to ensure they do not overheat.
African fat-tailed geckos do best in an environment that cycles between wet and dry seasons:
- Rainy/warm season - 70-80% daytime, 100% nighttime
- Dry/cool season - 50% daytime, 70-75% nighttime
Here are the recommended temperatures for African Fat-Tailed Geckos:
| Season | Area | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| RAINY/WARM (April-October) | Warm hide | 90-94°F (32-34°C) |
| Cool side | 72-77°F (22-25°C) | |
| Nighttime | 72-77°F (22-25°C) | |
| DRY/COOL (November-March) | Warm hide | 79°F (26°C) |
| Cool side | 68-74°F (20-23°C) | |
| Nighttime | 63-64°F (17-18°C) |
Generally speaking, a ~50w PAR30 halogen heat bulb or two should be plenty for achieving the desired temperatures in your African fat-tailed gecko terrarium. However, if the bulb is mounted inside the enclosure, a halogen bulb is likely to be too intense and I recommend an incandescent spot bulb instead, such as the Exo Terra Intense Basking Spot or ReptiZoo Intense Basking Spot. Exo Terra provides approximations of expected basking temperature based on distance on their site, but you may still need to experiment with bulb wattage to get it just right.
To measure the general temperature of different areas of your terrarium, you can use an infrared thermometer (a.k.a. temperature gun). To passively track basking temperature, use a digital probe thermometer, with the probe placed on the basking surface under the heat source.
UVB Lighting
African fat-tailed geckos are capable of surviving without UVB lighting as long as they receive a high-D3 calcium supplement, but they are most likely to thrive when UVB is provided. In order to get the right strength of UVB (measured by UV Index, or UVI), distance, obstructions, and fixture type must be considered. The distances listed below should be measured from the gecko’s back on the basking platform to the UVB lamp.
If you do choose to use UVB, you need to get a linear tube UVB bulb and fixture. Compact UVB such as a coil is dangerous as it gives off too much UVB in too little a space and can hurt your gecko’s eyes and cause other health issues. A T5 UVB is recommended, T8 has been found to be less effective.
Lamp placed over mesh:
- Arcadia ShadeDweller 7% - 8-12″ / 20-30cm
- Zoo Med T5 HO ReptiSun 5.0 - 14-20″ / 35-50cm
Lamp installed under mesh:
- Arcadia ShadeDweller 7% - 10-16″ / 25-40cm
For best results, use an Arcadia or Vivarium Electronics brand T5 HO fixture. Josh’s Frogs and Bio Dude T5 HO fixtures are essentially the same as the VE. The UVB lamp should be installed on the warm side of the enclosure, overlapping with the heat lamp, because heat and UVB work together. The UVB lamp itself should span no more than half the enclosure’s length.
Humidity
It is also important to your gecko’s health to provide them with consistent access to an area of higher humidity. This can be done with a “humid hide” - a cave or hide with moistened substrate (NOT sphagnum moss), placed on the cool end of the enclosure. This helps your gecko shed successfully and stay hydrated. Keep the humidity levels in this hide around the same as your current target nighttime humidity.
You can monitor humidity levels in your humid hide with a digital probe hygrometer with the probe placed in the middle. You will need another device if you want to monitor the humid hide separately.
To increase humidity levels in the enclosure, use a handheld pressure sprayer.
Humidity is an important topic for AFTs, as they need a higher humidity than leopard geckos and other terrestrial species. AFTs come from different parts of West Africa that have different climates, humidities, and rain amounts, but the general consensus is it is usually fairly arid. However, AFTs retreat into moist hiding places and spend most of their time there, so in captivity you’ll want to replicate that. Target humidity is around 60%, you don’t want it to go too high (75%+) or too low (below 40%), so they don’t have issues such as stuck shed or URI. Proper humidity can be achieved by twice daily misting, with a dry period between misting to allow the decor to dry off which prevents mold. A digital hygrometer is needed to measure humidity, as analog hygrometers and thermometers can be very inaccurate and unreliable.
Substrate
Providing substrate for African fat-tailed geckos is a bit of a controversial issue, but the short of it is that as long as a naturalistic substrate is used, and the gecko is adequately heated, hydrated, has access to UVB, and is otherwise healthy, there’s nothing to be worried about.
For African fat-tailed geckos, it’s best to use a well-drained, naturalistic substrate that is similar to what is found in their native habitat. This substrate should be layered at least 4″ deep to allow for burrowing behavior.
Substrate Options:
- DIY semi-arid mix: 40% organic topsoil, 40% play sand, 20% Zoo Med Excavator Clay
- Lugarti Natural Reptile Bedding
- Zoo Med ReptiSand
- Exo Terra Desert/Riverbed Sand
- Exo Terra Stone Desert
Loose substrate is the best as it allows for digging enrichment and is more natural, but it does run the risk of impaction. To avoid impaction, don’t use high risk substrates and make sure your temperatures are where they need to be (see heating and lighting section.) You can also lower the risk of impaction by adding flat surfaces to the enclosure, such as slate rocks.
Solid substrates can be used, although they are very unnatural and also have some cons. The solid substrates I would recommend are non-adhesive shelf liner and paper towel. There’s not much to them, they’re just flat surfaces but for paper towels it’s important to replace them every few days so they don’t get too dirty or deteriorate. Paper towels also don’t do well with high humidity setups so I wouldn’t really recommend paper towel for a prolonged amount of time though it can work (see Quarantine section.)
Substrates to avoid are pure sand, calcium sand, vita-sand, silica sand, reptile carpet, sand mats, gravel, mulch, millet, crushed walnut shells, and corncob bedding, which can cause a number of health issues including impaction.
New African fat-tailed geckos should be >6 months old and must pass quarantine before naturalistic substrate is added to their enclosure. Before then, use paper towels or blue shop towels.
Feces and urates should be removed daily, and contaminated substrate should be scooped out and replaced.
Diet and Feeding
African fat-tailed geckos are insectivores, which means that they eat insects. The key to providing a healthy, balanced diet for your pet is VARIETY. Provide as varied of a diet as you possibly can, and you will be rewarded with a healthier pet that always looks forward to mealtime.
Live insects are a must for your gecko, as neither species eats plants, fruits, or vegetables. When deciding what kind of insects to feed, keep in mind that all of them have different nutritional properties and require different care (yes, you need to care for the bugs). Crickets are the most popular and readily available food choice. An alternative to crickets is dubia roaches. These roaches do not make noise, cannot jump, live longer, and have a more beneficial nutrient level than crickets. They are pricy and can be a challenge to find, but overall are a better choice.
How often an African fat-tailed gecko needs to depends on age: The general rule is to offer 2 appropriately-sized bugs per 1 inch of your gecko’s length, or however much they can eat in 15 minutes. Juveniles should be fed daily, and young adults fed every other day/every 3 days. Adults whose tail is fatter than their neck can be fed every 5 days.
Feeder Insects:
- Crickets
- Dubia roach nymphs
- Discoid roach nymphs
- Black soldier fly larvae
- Mealworms
- Darkling beetles
- Hornworms
- Silkworms
- Grasshoppers/locusts
Feeder insects can be easily sourced online from reputable breeders such as Dubia.com, Beastmode Silks, and Luna Roaches.
Insects need to be gutloaded with fruits or veggies for 24 hours prior to feeding. Suitable gutloads include:
- carrots
- sweet potatoes
- apple
- potatoes
- CGD
- Gutloading mixes
Make sure the insects are no bigger than the space between the gecko’s eyes, otherwise it could choke.
Insects to avoid include:
- Mealworms (for geckos under 6 months old)
- Superworms (for geckos under 6 months old)
- Wild-caught insects
- Butterworms
Can be fed as “treats” or in moderation:
- Superworms (geckos over 6 months)
- Mealworms (geckos over 6 months)
- Hornworms
- Waxworms
Supplements
All insect feeders should be lightly “dusted” with calcium powder to balance the calcium-phosphorus ratio. Multivitamin powder can be used every once in a while to provide extra nutrients. All-in-one powders provide a balanced dose of both at once.
There are many options in terms of supplements, but Repashy CalciumPlus LoD is a solid all-in-one supplement for African fat-tailed geckos that have appropriate UVB. For best results, use as directed by the manufacturer.
You can choose to buy calcium and vitamin supplements separately, or purchase an all in one. If you choose to do them separately, you’ll need a calcium powder with D3 and a vitamin powder such as vionate. You can purchase all-in-one options like Repashy Calcium Plus and Zoo Med Reptivite with D3.
If you do not use UVB, you need to use a calcium supplement with added d3. If you do use UVB, you should use pure calcium without added d3 as it can cause an overdose if you have both d3 supplement and UVB.
