Who keeps Phelsuma?

[Chase]

Hello all!

Well I am thinking about getting a pair of Phelsuma, but don't know which species to start with. I really have my heart set for a bigger species, such as Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis or Phelsuma standingi. I do have a proper enclosure set up for them already, I just wanted to get some tips before I start getting serious about it. Any help will be great!

Thanks,
LPR08

 

[Lizardlover]

Yours truly. I have 2 grandis and I love them, what did you want to know in particular?

 

[Chase]

Yours truly. I have 2 grandis and I love them, what did you want to know in particular?

Care tips, breeding tips (if you have any), and any other little things you've learned along the way. Are yours CB?

LPR08

 

[Olimpia]

I have a CB standingi, she's 10 months old but I haven't had her more than a couple months myself. She's fun though, super curious and active. She definitely likes it warm, like the caresheets say, and she enjoys licking bits of fruit off my fingers. I'm still working on having her not bite me if I handle her at all - which, you know, I need to weigh her every once in a while and all that good, check-up stuff, so I'd prefer it if she were more cooperative.

 

[Lizardlover]

They are very curious but also very shy. They will come up to lick fruit or eat a cricket but any sudden movements and they dart off. They love large vertical perches, like maybe a very thick branch. They are arboreal but in a different way than chameleons because in my experience they prefer perches that are very thick so they can scoot to the other side if they get startled, I used to have some thinner perches in with them but they never utilized them. I haven't bred them but they don't seem to difficult to breed. They love the south Florida weather and I keep mine outside a lot, I started with one and just got a second a few weeks ago. I feed them Repashy but give them the occasionally fruit or insect.

Edit: they are both CB.

 

[Chase]

I am having a tough time deciding which species I want. I would bring them outside to take advantage of the Natural UV, so it'd be like the chams.

Thanks for the tips y'all

@Danny- do you know if Ben will have more CB grandis soon. Last show I went to he had a ton.

LPR08

 

[Lizardlover]

We may have some now.

 

[Chase]

We may have some now.

Cool. How about the standingi?

LPR08

 

[susieqff]

Hello all!

Well I am thinking about getting a pair of Phelsuma, but don't know which species to start with. I really have my heart set for a bigger species, such as Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis or Phelsuma standingi. I do have a proper enclosure set up for them already, I just wanted to get some tips before I start getting serious about it. Any help will be great!

Thanks,
LPR08

I have kept P grandis for 15 yrs or so. Great pets. I have bread mine many times. They should not be handled. Their skin is fragile and it bruises and can slough off, they also will loose their tail if u really spook them. They stress. They can be very friendly with time and I have several that will eat the Repashy MRD off my fingers and one female that after 12 yrs still darts away.
I use 18x18x36 screen cages. I live on the beach so it's humid by me but I have some cages where I have replaces the screen with plexiglass or just Press and Seal works just as well. I make PVC trees for all my gecgos(cresties too) and they hide inside, climb and they are a breeze to clean. They need cover and I have live plants in all my cages too.
I feed the Repashy MRD 3x wk and crickets or silkworm or something else once a week dusted with the Repashy CalPlus.
If u want to weigh them as in the other post, I'd reccomend scooting them into a container that has already been weighed and not handling them. They store their fat in their tail and they grow steadily. I've never felt i needed to weigh mine.
They are pretty, active diurnal pets. I love mine.
Susie
Pm me if u like

 

[Lizardlover]

We definitely have standingi

 

[susieqff]

Standings get a bit larger, feeding is the same, and they like their temp a bit warmer. They really like their space. You will like which ever one you decide.

Susie

 

[Chase]

Standings get a bit larger, feeding is the same, and they like their temp a bit warmer. They really like their space. You will like which ever one you decide.

Susie

Do you keep standingi? If so, if you've bred them, did you keep the eggs/young in with the adults?

LPR08

 

[susieqff]

Do you keep standingi? If so, if you've bred them, did you keep the eggs/young in with the adults?

LPR08

No. They eggs are always removed and incubated. They lay usually 2 eggs every 4 or 6wks. You couldn't keep track if u left them in and they would be damaged. And to make sure they are kept at right temp and humidity they need to be separated.
S

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Like you, I was drawn to the bigger species. We have 1.2 grandis, and they were our first.

But my girlfriend got a lineatus and a quadriocellata and they are just as entertaining. Each species has its own traits.

Our grandis are hand tame, my gf has worked with them and they are friendly as can be, and sometimes we let them run around the room at their own leisure.

The lineatus is probably the most interesting to watch, as she is CURIOUS as can be. She is always jumping around investigating things. Any new furniture in her vivarium is meticulously inspected over and over.

The quadriocellata is friendly as well, hand tame (WC that was brought in this summer), and has a very mellow personality.

We also have L. williamsii which I would recommend. They are small and very active. A great choice if you also have small chameleons or dart frogs, since they will gorge themselves on fruit flies and other small insects that you'd have on hand anyways for your other pets.

We are also hoping to get some klemmerii soon, and some standingii to free roam and catch loose bugs (apparently Standing's day geckos are the best to free roam as they choose a territory and stay there.)

I have friends with klemmerii, and I would suggest those as the best starter. They are naturally more non-aggressive, can live in groups (though care should be taken as usual), and their young can be raised with the adults.

 

[Chase]

Thanks for the information. I really want a larger species, as I will only get one pair, so I really want to get the larger ones, as they're what I really want. I am really leaning towards the grandis, as I know some breeders locally, so I can pick them up there.

Do y'all see males getting aggressive with females if they do not want to breed?

LPR08

 

[susieqff]

Thanks for the information. I really want a larger species, as I will only get one pair, so I really want to get the larger ones, as they're what I really want. I am really leaning towards the grandis, as I know some breeders locally, so I can pick them up there.

Do y'all see males getting aggressive with females if they do not want to breed?

LPR08

Yes. It's a luck of the draw. If ur pair gets along they can stay together. I have had several pairs over the years that did. On the other hand I have had pairs nearly kill each other and had to be separated as soon as they were put together. The larger species r territorial.
Susie

 

[susieqff]

Like you, I was drawn to the bigger species. We have 1.2 grandis, and they were our first.

But my girlfriend got a lineatus and a quadriocellata and they are just as entertaining. Each species has its own traits.

Our grandis are hand tame, my gf has worked with them and they are friendly as can be, and sometimes we let them run around the room at their own leisure.

The lineatus is probably the most interesting to watch, as she is CURIOUS as can be. She is always jumping around investigating things. Any new furniture in her vivarium is meticulously inspected over and over.

The quadriocellata is friendly as well, hand tame (WC that was brought in this summer), and has a very mellow personality.

We also have L. williamsii which I would recommend. They are small and very active. A great choice if you also have small chameleons or dart frogs, since they will gorge themselves on fruit flies and other small insects that you'd have on hand anyways for your other pets.

We are also hoping to get some klemmerii soon, and some standingii to free roam and catch loose bugs (apparently Standing's day geckos are the best to free roam as they choose a territory and stay there.)

I have friends with klemmerii, and I would suggest those as the best starter. They are naturally more non-aggressive, can live in groups (though care should be taken as usual), and their young can be raised with the adults.

Zen,
I have never had the smaller species but they are on my list. They r so beautiful and I can't wait to have some. Maybe a pair of klemmeri...
Susie

 

[Chase]

Can you keep them in screen enclosures?