Flying Gecko Care Sheet (Ptychozoon kuhli)

April 29, 2016March 29, 2018 ~ BackwaterReptiles

The flying gecko, also known as the parachute gecko, is a fascinating lizard with the ability to glide from tree to tree in the wild. But because these geckos are such niche animals with unique behaviors, we recommend reading our Flying gecko care sheet prior to purchasing one.

Think you’ve got the experience but just need some care tips and info on how to care for this quirky gecko? Read on to find out how we care for ours at Backwater Reptiles.

flying gecko care sheet

Flying Gecko Physical Attributes

Because it needs to be able to glide, the flying gecko has quite a unique physical appearance. The first thing most people notice about this gecko is its flat, almost serrated-looking tail. This tail is actually able to curl up and fold itself in many different directions.

The flying gecko is also rife with webbing – webbed toes, webbed chin, webbed leg membranes, and flaps on its sides. All of these membranes and webs obviously aid the gecko when it is gliding. What great aerodynamic adaptations!

Brown, black, and beige are the main colors of the flying gecko. Generally, these geckos are brown with darker brown or black mottling or speckles. Their underbellies are usually lighter in color and more of a creamy, beige tone.

flying gecko underside — This demonstrates how the underside of the flying gecko is much lighter in color than it’s top side. You can also get a good look at the membranes folded against its body that help it to glide.

Once mature, flying geckos can range in size from four inches all the way up to seven inches long. They are moderately-sized lizards and will live for around five to eight years in captivity.

Flying Gecko Enclosure Requirements

Unless you can provide a very large, natural outdoor enclosure, it’s actually not recommended that you give your flying gecko room to glide. This is because it has been discovered that in captivity, the geckos will injure themselves by hitting the walls of their enclosure when gliding.

The best size enclosure for a single gecko is a fifteen gallon tank. Make sure that the enclosure has more vertical space than it does horizontal space as this gecko is arboreal. We also highly recommend a cage that has at least one or two mesh sides, even if it’s just the front or top of the cage. This helps regulate humidity and ensures the air inside the humid tank doesn’t get stagnant.

Although the flying gecko is most active at night, you should still have a full spectrum UV light set up. A ceramic heat lamp is also recommended to keep temperatures around 72 to 80 degrees during the day time.

The Flying Gecko has a very unique looking tail.

Humidity and moisture are highly important when it comes to keeping your flying gecko healthy. A moderate level of humidity is recommended, which means that you can and should mist the cage on a regular basis. A shallow water dish should also be provided for soaking.

Flying Gecko Feeding

Flying geckos are insectivores. They will do well on a varied diet of crickets, meal worms, wax worms, horn worms, and reptiworms. Some will even accept nightcrawlers.

We recommend feeding your gecko insects that have been gutloaded as these are higher in nutritional value.

Vitamin dusting with a reptile multivitamin is also encouraged on a weekly basis for adults. Calcium dusting on an every other day basis should suffice for growing hatchlings.

Flying Gecko Temperament

You’ll notice right away that the flying gecko is a very “sticky” animal. Although there is not a film or residue that makes its feet feel this way, you will certainly have a tough time getting your flying gecko to let go of your hand or whatever it happens to be perched on. They grab hold and hang on!

Flying geckos are naturally skittish animals and they are very fast. This means that they are not ideal lizards to be handling on a regular basis. Being held stresses them out and they will try very hard to run away from you. We only recommend handling your flying gecko sparingly and make sure that you are not causing the animal undue stress.

Flying Geckos are very quick so be cautious if you have to handle your Gecko or clean out the enclosure

Because they are secretive and timid lizards, don’t be surprised if your flying gecko hisses or snaps at you if you get too close to it. Because these are relatively small lizards, however, if your gecko does attempt to bite you, its teeth are so small that it would be very tough for the gecko to actually injure you.

Conclusion – Flying Gecko Care Sheet

While the flying gecko is certainly a cool lizard to own, because they are not the easiest animal to care for, we recommend that only reptile keepers with plenty of experience with finicky animals own them.

If you are ready to provide the care and attention this tricky gecko requires, Backwater Reptiles has flying geckos for sale.

Jackson’s Chameleon Care (Chamaeleo jacksonii)

April 26, 2016April 25, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Are you thinking about getting your first pet chameleon? One of our top suggestions for you is a great species for beginners – the adorable Jackson’s Chameleon (Chamaeleo jacksonii).

Read on to learn all about Jackson’s chameleon care, based upon our years of successful experience caring for, and breeding, these unique three-horned reptiles. When kept correctly, these chameleons thrive in captivity.

Jackson’s chameleon care

Jackson’s Chameleon Appearance

Many people are attracted to Jackson’s chameleons because of their unique physical appearance. These little chameleons have been said to resemble triceratops because the males have three horns on their head – two above their eyes and one on their nose.

Female Jackson’s don’t have horns, although they do have the potential to give birth to live babies! Unlike most reptiles, female Jackson’s chameleons don’t lay eggs. The sad side effect of this strenuous process is that female Jackson’s actually have considerably shorter lives than the males of the species.

Most male Jackson’s chameleons will grow to be anywhere from eight to ten inches in length. Females are a bit smaller and will only grow to approximately seven or eight inches total length.

Unlike their more colorful cousins such as Panther chameleons, Jackson’s chameleons tend to stay in the brown to green color spectrum. Most will be brown when they are cold or grumpy and they will be green when they are healthy, happy, and well-adjusted. Some Jackson’s will also be shades of yellow, but it’s safe to say your Jackson’s won’t be turning blue, red, or purple, even though chameleons do have the reputation for being able to change color on a whim.

Jackson’s Chameleon Enclosures

The most important element to keeping a chameleon of any species happy is a good environment with the proper lighting, food, and shelter spaces.

All chameleons should have mesh enclosures so that the air is free-flowing and doesn’t get stagnant. The open mesh also helps maintain proper moisture and humidity levels within the cage.

Because Jackson’s chameleons are arboreal, be sure to provide lots of foliage and branches within your chameleon’s enclosure.

A single animal can be housed in a cage that is at least three feet tall, although if you want babies, you can put a male and female together in an enclosure that is about twice that size.

female jacksons chameleon — Jackson’s chameleons are arboreal and need lots of foliage and branches in their enclosure to cling to.

Your Jackson’s chameleon should never (or very rarely) be anywhere on or near the ground of its cage, so no real substrate is required. You can line the cage with paper towels if you desire to make cleaning up feces, dried leaves, and other detritus easier, but it’s not a requirement so long as you spot clean the cage appropriately.

Lighting and temperature are very important for a Jackson’s chameleon. Keep your daytime temperatures around 80 degrees and make sure that the temperature doesn’t drop below 60 degrees at night. You can accomplish this by placing a full spectrum UV light along with a ceramic heat light on one side of the top of the cage. Just be sure that the foliage in your chameleon’s cage is not tall enough that the chameleon can get too close to the lights and burn itself.

Moisture is another extremely important component to keeping your Jackson’s chameleon healthy. You need to provide an automatic drip system or spray the foliage in the chameleon’s cage frequently so that it has a water source to drink from. Chameleons don’t recognize water dishes, so this is an absolute imperative.

Jackson’s Chameleon Feeding

Jackson’s chameleons are insectivores and will thrive on a cricket-based diet. They will also enjoy meal worms, wax worms, reptiworms, and roaches.

It is important that whatever insects you do feed your Jackson’s chameleon have been gut-loaded with the proper nutrients. Healthy insects = healthy chameleon.

Jackson’s Chameleon Temperament

Of all the chameleon species available for sale today, we think that Jackson’s are one of the most calm and laid back as far as personality is concerned.

It’s true that most chameleons do not enjoy being handled, but if you want a chameleon that doesn’t get stressed out by being taken out of its enclosure, a Jackson’s just might be right for you.

female chamaeleo jacksonii — Jackson’s chameleons have relatively calm dispositions and can be handled without too much stress.

Because they are relatively small, they tend to perch nicely on hands and their gripping claws don’t hurt like some of the larger species.

Jackson’s chameleons are also not known for being aggressive towards people. They might change color a bit or puff themselves up to appear larger, but you’d be hard-pressed to make a Jackson’s chameleon bite you.

Jackson’s chameleon care – Conclusion

Whether you’re new to keeping chameleons or very familiar with them, we’ve always had good experiences with Jackson’s chameleons. We would highly recommend these little triceratops chameleons as pets.

Ready for a Jackson’s chameleon of your own? Backwater Reptiles has got you covered! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our Jackson’s chameleon care sheet.

Best Pet Geckos

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Which species make the best pet geckos? We’re glad you asked! Geckos are fantastic pet lizards that come in many shapes and sizes. Some can climb walls, some are colorful, and others are just downright interesting to observe. Either way, we highly recommend a gecko for a pet if you are in the market for a lizard.

List of the Best Pet Geckos

Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius)

Our favorite pet gecko has got to be the leopard gecko. These desert-dwelling lizards are very common in the pet trade – and with good reason. They’re extremely easy to care for, easy to breed, and they even have easy-going temperaments. As you can see, they’re just “easy” lizards all around!

Leopard geckos are great because they can be housed communally within reason. Geckos that are of similar size are generally safe to keep together, although unless you have an enormous cage, we don’t recommend housing two males together as they will almost always fight over territory and/or females.

best pet geckos — Here is a comparison of a hatchling leopard gecko with an adult super giant leopard gecko. What a difference in size! This species makes an excellent pet gecko.

Adult male Leopard geckos will reach a maximum of around ten inches and females will stay slightly smaller. Although, we should mention that there are specific leopard gecko morphs called “super giants” that will actually grow longer than ten inches, even approaching 13 inches and much heavier bodied!

Although they’re fairly small lizards, leopard geckos actually have pretty long life spans. On average, a life span of six to ten years is expected, but if you get a male, don’t be surprised if it lives into its twenties! These are very hardy little lizards.

Temperament-wise, these geckos are almost always very docile and calm. I’ve bred hundreds of them and haven’t been bit once. They’re a hardy reptile that doesn’t require a lot of attention in captivity. Leopard geckos are probably the single easiest pet gecko to keep in the world.

These geckos are easy to feed too, readily accepting mealworms, waxworms, crickets, and roaches.

Leopard geckos are also available in countless morphs, which means you can pretty much find a leopard gecko in any color and with any markings you can imagine.

All of the preceding reasons clearly show why this species takes the top spot on our list of the best pet geckos.

Want to learn more about leopard gecko morphs? Check out the article we wrote about the most popular leopard gecko morphs sold at Backwater Reptiles.

Here’s one of our articles on creating a Leopard gecko habitat, which we highly recommend reading if you’re not experienced with these lizards.

Ready to purchase a leopard gecko of your own? Backwater Reptiles has got you covered, with everything from normal-sized, giants, and even super giants!

Tokay Gecko (Gekko gekko)

Tokays are absolutely gorgeous pale blue geckos with bright red or orange-colored spots. Visually, they are definitely quite stunning which makes them appealing to hobbyists. They even make noise, which is either a unique quirk or an annoying habit, depending on who you ask.

We maintain that if Tokay geckos were rare, they’d be one of the most sought-after species in the world, due to their appearance, size, and spunky personality.

Unfortunately, Tokay geckos tend to have a reputation for being aggressive. While this is not always the case, we’ve found that they can be a bit more prone to hiss or bite at their owner. However, with socialization and positive reinforcement, they can be trained to be docile. It just takes some patience.

When we handle our Tokays, we try to not ever restrain them as this can come off as threatening to the gecko. You should hold it loosely and allow it to sit comfortably in your hand.

baby tokay gecko — Hatchling Tokay geckos are darker in color than their adult counterparts.

Due to their arboreal nature, Tokays should have lots of things to climb on and hide in placed in their enclosure. And because they are hefty of body, we recommend a fairly large enclosure with both vertical and horizontal space.

A twenty gallon tank with a screen top lid is our go-to for housing a single lizard. The substrate we recommend is damp peat or sphagnum moss. Using a simple setup like this, these geckos thrive in captivity for years.

If you think you want to put forth the effort to train and socialize a Tokay gecko, Backwater Reptiles sells these bold blue geckos. They’re one of the best pet geckos, but for different reasons than the preceding Leopard gecko. Tokays are more of a display animal.

Crested Gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus)

Crested geckos are popular because of their cute “eyelashes” and calm and docile personalities. “Cresties,” as they are affectionately known, can be quite tame as far as lizards go, and most will readily allow being handled by their owner.

Originally from New Caledonia, Cresties used to be quite rare in the pet trade. Now they’re widely available in a variety of morphs, with some of the most popular being reds, fancies, and pinstripes.

Cresties are arboreal geckos with “sticky” toes, so be sure to provide plenty of climbing space. They like temperatures that stay in the range of 78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and will tolerate night time temperature drops to the low 70s.

Keepers maintain this temperature by using numerous methods (usually ceramic heat bulbs and pads), although we always recommend investing in a good reptile thermometer.

frogbutt rhacodactylus ciliatus — When a crested gecko loses its tail, the tail will not grow back. The gecko then becomes what is known as a “frogbutt” gecko.

You can feed your Crestie live insects such as crickets, mealworms, and roaches, although because they have become such common pets, many stores and breeders now sell pre-prepared crested gecko food. It comes in a powder form and you simply add water. The liquid that results contains everything your Crestie needs to stay healthy, although we do recommend supplementing with living food for the sake of variety.

If you’re interested in breeding Crested geckos, here’s a tip: add plenty of cork bark rounds to their enclosure. This tends to stimulate breeding.

Backwater Reptiles sells healthy crested geckos of various sizes and morphs, so check them out today if this sounds like the species for you.

Conclusion – The Best Pet Geckos

Geckos make amazing and entertaining pet lizards for a litany of reasons. They often have docile personalities, are relatively simple to maintain in captivity, and generally remain a very manageable size.

Leopard geckos and crested geckos are great options for first time gecko owners with little to no experience, whereas the Tokay gecko is a better option for the more experienced reptile enthusiast. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our list of the best pet geckos for captivity!

Most Popular Bearded Dragon Morphs

April 20, 2016April 19, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

Bearded dragons are extremely popular pet lizards. Not only are they well behaved, moderately-sized, trainable, interactive pet lizards, they’re also available in a multitude of morphs. We aim to list the most popular Bearded dragon morphs in the world for you.

Many morphs means you can essentially “customize” your bearded dragon to suit your personal aesthetics. With careful, selective breeding, bearded dragons have essentially become designer lizards.

Some people might feel overwhelmed by the vast number of bearded dragon morphs available on the market today. What do all the descriptive terms mean and how do you choose which lizard you want?

In this article, we’ll lay out the most popular morphs and describe them in detail. Keep in mind that because these are all the same lizard, temperament, personality, and care requirements are all the same. These animals are only different in physical appearance.

Normal Bearded Dragon

Normal or standard Beardies are not necessarily one specific color. They can be a mixture of yellow, brown, red, orange, and tan.

Genetically, they are the result of a breeding between two dragons with different traits. In other words, they come from breeding a “normal” with a “pastel” or a “red” with a “normal.”

normal bearded dragon — This normal hatchling is a bit on the yellow and red side. As it grows and matures, it could become more tan or brown.

As far as price point goes, these are the most inexpensive beardies since no special genetic pairings are required to produce a normal.

And don’t let the name “normal” fool you. They can be quite stunning in coloration and markings just like any of the other morphs.

Pastel Bearded Dragon

A pastel Beardie is lighter in color. They are bred to have reduced pigmentation in their scales with fainter patterns and high lights. Often times, this morph’s nails are translucent too.

This means that a pastel red bearded dragon will express muted red tones in its scales. Similarly, a pastel yellow Beardie will be much less of a vibrant yellow.

This morph is also known as “hypo” which refers to the lack of pigmentation present in the lizard’s skin.

Leatherback Bearded Dragon

Leatherbacks are interesting because in addition to being very vibrant in coloration, they actually have a different texture than a normal bearded dragon.

The name “leatherback” actually comes from this Beardie’s smooth back. It has no spikes on its back like a normal dragon, although it does have a fringe of spikes along its sides and on its head.

leatherback bearded dragon — Leatherbacks have smooth backs, but are not as scale-less as the silky back morph.

The scientific reason leatherbacks have smooth backs is because they actually have smaller scales on their backs which makes them feel smoother. Because the scales are smaller, they also seemingly pack more pigment in, thus making the Beardie appear more vibrant.

Silky Bearded Dragon

Out of all the bearded dragon morphs, silkies or silkbacks are the most unique in physical appearance and the easiest to distinguish at a single glance.

Silkies are essentially smooth, hence their morph name. They almost feel and look like they have proper skin instead of scales, although this is not the case. In reality, silkies are the result of a cross between two leatherbacks with the end result being a lizard that is doubly smooth because its scales are doubly small.

Although silkies can be bred to be a variety of different colors, they will almost always be more bold and vibrant than most other morphs.

Red Bearded Dragon

A red bearded dragon is exactly what it sounds like – a red lizard. The red color can be bright like a tomato or duller like a brick. Just keep in mind that the more outrageous the red color of the Beardie, the more costly it will generally be.

It should also be noted that the red morph term can be combined with other morph traits. For example, you can have a Beardie that is a “red leatherback” or a “red silky” or even a “red translucent.” The red name is mostly a modifier, although it can also be the main descriptive element in the type of Beardie.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what color or morph your bearded dragon is. All beardies are great pet lizards that enjoy interacting with people. Which morph you end up choosing will be largely based on your personal preference and budget.

Made a decision which morph you want? Or are you ready to check out more morphs than the ones listed in this article? Head to the Backwater Reptiles website and check out all the bearded dragon morphs we sell!

Weirdest Reptile Adaptations and Behaviors

April 12, 2016April 11, 2016 ~ BackwaterReptiles

We sell some pretty fascinating and bizarre animals at Backwater Reptiles.

In this article, we’ll talk about our favorite five weirdest reptiles and amphibians and discuss everything from strange physical appearances to peculiar adaptations.

Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)

The desert horned lizard AKA the horned toad is definitely an interesting little lizard. Due to its flat body, squat face, and spiked “crown,” the horned lizard certainly has a distinct physical appearance.

But, this seemingly ordinary lizard is known for a far more macabre behavior. When a horned lizard feels threatened, it can actually squirt a stream of blood out of its eyes up to a distance of five feet! This serves to surprise and disgust predators and hopefully keep the horned lizard from being eaten.

Although it might seem like a cool trick to get your pet horned lizard to squirt blood from its eyes, we definitely don’t recommend trying it. This is because it means you must put the lizard under extreme stress as this behavior is sort of a last ditch effort by the lizard to save its own life.

Desert Horned Lizards are available for sale on the Backwater Reptiles website.

Surinam Toad (Pipa pipa)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why the Surinam toad makes our list of strange reptiles and amphibians. In fact, you can tell just by looking at this frog that it is unusual.

As far as physical appearance is concerned, the Surinam toad is extremely flat with beady little eyes and it resembles a leaf. It also has a strange triangular-shaped head and moves about in a very awkward fashion when it’s out of the water.

In addition to looking very outlandish, the Surinam toad has some bizarre reproductive habits. Rather than laying eggs like most amphibians, the Surinam toad hatches its babies from the skin in its back!

After a series of elaborate mating dances, the female winds up with fertilized embryos that develop into a honeycomb shape on her back. Eventually, fully formed froglets will hatch from the honeycombed skin.

Backwater Reptiles has strange-looking Surinam toads for sale.

Toad Head Agama (Phrynocephalus mystaceus)

These lizards appear pretty normal at first glance. They resemble a cross between a bearded dragon and a horned lizard with pug-like faces.

However, if you make a toad head agama angry, they unfold skin flaps on the sides of their head to appear threatening. The result is reminiscent of something out of the movie “Predator.”

We think this bizarre defense mechanism alone gives good reason for these lizards to make our list of weirdest adaptations.

Want your own “Predator” agama? Backwater Reptiles sells healthy toad head agamas.

Mozambique Rain Frog (Breviceps mossambicus)

We’ve put the Mozambique rain frog on our list of weirdest reptiles and amphibians for two reasons.

First of all, this is one grumpy looking frog. Not only is it squat, and flat-faced with a balloon-like body, but its feet point inwards which we think makes it resemble a bulldog. When it walks, the rain frog is pigeon-toed and the resulting waddle is quite comical.

Aside from being physically awkward, rain frogs don’t have a traditional frog’s voice. In other words, instead of croaking, rain frogs emit a high pitched squeak or squeal akin to that of a kitten mewling for its mother. It can be quite humorous to listen to, so long as the reason for the frog’s cry is not distress.

Interested in a pet Mozambique rain frog? Buy one from Backwater Reptiles.

Egg Eating Snake (Dasypeltis sp.)

Even though physically, the egg eating snake appears very ordinary, it possesses an adaptation that is just bizarre enough to land it on our list.

As its name suggests, the egg eating snake does in fact, consume eggs for meals. Unlike “traditional” snakes which eat mostly small rodents, the egg eating snake feeds exclusively on eggs.

These species of snakes swallow eggs whole, which is quite a feat in our opinion. Once the egg has been swallowed, the snake uses muscles and bony protrusions on its spine to crush the egg and suck out the liquid inside. The final step is regurgitating the crushed egg shell after the egg’s insides have been swallowed.

Quite a strange way to eat, don’t you think?

If you’re ready to welcome an egg eating snake into your home, you can purchase one from Backwater Reptiles.

Conclusion

Each of the animals on this list possesses at least one unique or strange behavior or adaptation that we find endearing. We also think each of these critters make good pets!

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