Uroplatus pietschmanni Caresheet
By
Matt Coyne
INTRODUCTION
Uroplatus pietschmanni entered the pet trade even before being described by
science. It has a variety of common names that include Corkbark
Leaf Tail Gecko, Spiny Leaf Tail Gecko and Undescribed
Leaf Tail. Corkbark Leaf Tail Gecko is the most
commonly used name. Currently almost all of the Uroplatus pietschmanni offered for sale are Wild
Caught. These are one of the rarest species of Uroplatus
and often a pair will sell for $400+
NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Curenntly they are only known to come from Amboassary
Gara in
DESCRIPTION
Uroplatus
pietschmanni is an arboreal and nocturnal species of gecko. The most amazing
thing about them is their camouflage. They are arguably the most camouflaged of
all the species of Uroplatus when in the right
environment. In fact Uroplatus pietschmanni
was first described in 2003 undoubtedly due to their excellent camouflage. Uroplatus pietschmanni
attains a size of around 6 inches as an adult. They for the majority are more
robust looking than the other leaf tails. Females are slightly larger than the
males. Unlike U. sikorae,
U. fimbriatus,
and U. henkeli
this species does not have any dermal flaps (flaps of skin on the outside of
the body). While most of the other Uroplatus species
appear smooth and sleek the general appearance of U. pietschmanni is bumpy and the whole
body is covered in soft spines. Color varies greatly based on a number of
different factors. During the day they are mostly brown colored with patches of
green, black, white. At night they are almost a uniform ash grey color. When
stressed, cold, or gravid they become dark and sometimes an almost black color.
Their most distinguishing feature is the light colored stripe from the eyes
down to the tip of the snout. This stripe is undoubtedly to break up the
outline of the gecko and suggests that they reside on lichen covered trees.
Males and females are easily sexed. Males have a large bulge at the base of the
tail and females have none. Females also develop calcium sacks at the base of
the neck.
QUARANTINE/ACCLIMATION & TREATMENT OF
PARASITES
If you are
buying Wild Caught geckos you are going to have to deal with a number of
issues. Most imports come in a little skinny and dehydrated but generally seem
to look pretty good unlike many of the other Uroplatus
species. Acclimation is very simple with this species and most specimens seem
to bounce right back and get accustomed to their new home pretty quickly. When
you first get your gecko keep it in a dark and cool area for about a week. Try
to disturb it as little as possible. Make sure you spray it two to three times
per day when you first get it. I would also recommend quarantining all geckos
individually for a month. This will help prevent the spread of disease and or
parasites and allows you to nip any problems in the bud before they spread to
your whole collection. Imports will often have red mites on them. These need to
be treated as soon as possible. When you first get your gecko make sure to
thoroughly check the whole body including the two pads a favorite hiding spot
for mites. I use Reptile Relief on mine which works extremely well. Treatment
of internal parasites is best left to an experienced veterinarian.
CAGING
Large screen and
glass cages seem to work well and are preferred over glass. Keep in mind these
are an arboreal (live in the trees) species so the cage should be vertically
oriented. Screen is easier for the geckos to cling to and also allows for
better ventilation which in turn keeps mold from growing. I think that the
importance of good ventilation is often downplayed with Uroplatus.
My cages have glass on the front, back, and bottom with screen on the rest.
Plants should be included in the cage. Broad-leaf, sturdy plants with thick
stems seem to be preferred over pothos and ficus. I recommend leaving the plants in the pots because
not only does it make cage cleaning a whole lot easier but females seem to like
to lay their eggs in the pots. Slabs of corkbark and
sticks of arm width are placed so that the geckos have access to the whole cage
via the corkbark and sticks. For substrate I use
Coco-fiber. Other substrates such as peat moss and green moss can be used but
in my experience they break down rather rapidly.
FOOD &
WATER
Variety is the
key. Crickets and/or roaches make a good staple food but other prey items
should be offered if possible. Crickets should be dusted every feed with a
calcium supplement and every other feeding with a vitamin supplement. I feed
mine moths and grasshoppers during the summer. Snails are taken with special
relish by this species but are only accepted by females. Snails are also a
great way to boost calcium intact for breeding females. A food cup seems
to work well for some of the geckos but others will refuse to eat from it.
These geckos will not drink from a dish, at least in my experience, and need to
be sprayed. I spray my enclosure very thoroughly once a day.
Note: Make sure any
field collected prey comes from areas where pesticides and herbicides are not
used.
HEATING
A heat gradient
is provided in the cage with it being around 73-74F on the low end and 75-76F
on the high end. I also use a spot lamp for a basking location which reaches a
temperature of the mid to high 80’s depending on the season. Temperature fluctuates several degrees depending on season. Night time
temps are around 65F but can drop to the low 60’s to high 50’s without a
problem. I use a small nocturnal heat light during the winter when it gets
really cold which they really like, it also seems to boost their activity and
food intake. The main thing to remember with these geckos is to make sure they
don’t get too hot. The ambient cage temperature should not enter the high 70F
or 80F degree range. On the hottest days of the year the ambient have
temperature for me is around 75F-76F.
HUMIDITY
Humidity is
around 65-70%. I don’t strive to keep this species really wet and for the
majority of the day their cage is relatively dry. I spray my cage very
thoroughly once a day. Since my cage is screen it usually dries out relatively
quick.
LIGHTING
An incandescent
lamp for heat and a full spectrum UV fluorescent light should be used. It is
not clear if UV is needed for calcium absorption in this species but it never
hurts, plus it will help the plants in the cage grow. Also even though this isn’t
a very colorful species of gecko they show their best color under UV light.
These are nocturnal species of gecko so a day time and night time should be
simulated. Keep in mind that although these are nocturnal they are not cave
dwellers so keeping them in the basement with absolutely no light during the
night time is not a good idea. Make sure there is some light at night in the
room the geckos are kept in.
BREEDING
Uroplatus
pietschmanni seems to be one of the most difficult species of Uroplatus to breed. There have been very few bred of this
species and this is one of the reasons I do not recommend this species for
beginner reptile keepers. I keep mine in pairs of one male to one female. Some
people have experimented in keeping them in groups in various arrangements of
males to females but this does not seem to aid in breeding this species.
Females lay 2 eggs at 2-3 month intervals. Breeding time seems to be from late
summer to spring. Mating involves lots of tail waving plus vocalizations and
may appear violent but no damage is actually done. A neck bite is sometimes
implied. Gravid females develop a darker and a noticeably different body shape.
It is still unclear as to what triggers breeding but an attempt to mimic the
seasons of
HATCHLINGS
Hatchlings are
approximately 2 inches in length and accept 1-2 week old crickets. Fruit flies
are too small and are not accepted. They should be sprayed several times a day
to keep them from becoming dehydrated. Hatchlings should be kept in a small
enclosure that is not clear. They do have very good visual perception and if
kept in a glass or plexi-glass cage will spend
countless hours trying to crawl through it. I keep my hatchlings in large
cottage cheese or yogurt containers that have been washed out and modified to
accommodate them. They can be housed together. Hatchlings should always have
food available to them. Besides crickets the hatchlings will also accept small
moths and grasshoppers.
HANDLING
These geckos
should be handled only when necessary. Occasionally taking them out to take a
few pictures or to examine them is okay but frequent handling is not advisable
and will lead to a stressed, unhappy gecko.
CONCLUSION
Uroplatus
pietschmanni is a very enjoyable species to work with. Since they are such a
rare species I would only recommend them to an advanced reptile keeper. There
is still a lot to learn about them and I hope to be adding to this car sheet in
the future.