care sheet
Lygodactylus williamsi
Appearance and lifespan
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Lygodactylus williamsi is a small lizard species native to Tanzania, East Africa. This species is active during the day and spends most of it's time high up in the leaf crowns of screwpine trees. The species is extremely endangered, mainly due to the illegal pettrade and the destruction of the species' habitat. Because of this, the species is listed as CITES appendix I. CITES appendix I species should never be sold without a legal document from the local Environment Institute.
conservation
The Kimboza Forest Gecko Project is a conservation project that aims to save the critically endangered electric blue gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi) from extinction.
Luel Reptiles acts as a sponsor of the project by designing illustrations for the project's merchandise products. All gained profits from the products are donated directly to Kimboza Forest Gecko Project.
The project uses gained funds for concrete measures in situ at the Kimboza nature reserve. The area is protected from forest fires and smugglers, among other things.
Read more & donate:
Adult geckos remain around 5-8 cm in size, including the tail. The coloration on males is often bright electric blue and on females greenish or bronze. As a baby, all of the geckos have a greenish coloration and their adult colors will slowly develop as the gecko grows. The lifespan of this species is around 5-10 years. Lygodactylus williamsi is mainly a solitary species, so only one individual should habitate per terrarium. However, if you happen to obtain a pair for breeding purposes, they can be cohabitated of course.
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Lygodactylus williamsi should not be handled, as this species is extremely fast and due to their small size, can escape in the blink of an eye. Due to the small size, the risk of injuring the gecko is also high if you attempt to handle it. Instead, you should rather try to catch the gecko with some kind of a deep and transparent cup, for example. This way, you do not need to touch the gecko and it reduces the risk of accidentally injuring it. However, you should not try to catch the gecko, unless it is being moved from one terrarium to another, taken to a veterinarian or you will need to check its state of health.
Photo: Wikipedia
Terrarium
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The minimum size of a terrarium for a single gecko is 45x45x60 cm. Despite being small in size, Lygodactylus williamsi is a very active species. If you choose to purchase a larger terrarium, they will surely make use of the whole space. I can recommend Exo Terra terrariums, because they are generally safe and have a mesh lid, which suitable for UVB lights.
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I definitely recommend a bioactive terrarium for this species. A bioactive terrarium means that it is "alive". Bioactive terrariums contain real plants and “clean-up crew” insects, which take care of the cleanliness of the terrarium. Springtails and tropical isopods, like the dwarf white isopods for example, make a great clean-up crew. The clean-up crew take care of the terrarium soil and consume any feces or dead plant matter. Springtails mainly eat mold, meaning they prevent the soil from molding. Isopods eat dead leaves and all kinds of other dead material like feces.
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The terrarium should be full of plants and branches, so that the gecko will have lots of places to hide and climb on. Broad-leaved bromeliads and begonias good plant choices, for example. Bromeliads in particular are beneficial, as that the Lygodactylus williamsi like to hide between the leaves.
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However, plants purchased from stores should be rinsed very thoroughly with water before planting them into the terrarium. Rinsing will wipe out any chemical residues, that could be harmful to the gecko. Soil should also be removed and rinsed off of the plants. Try to get the roots as clean as possible. The careful cleaning of the plants should get rid of the possible pests that might come along with them. After rinsing the plants thoroughly, they can be planted in the terrarium with a new substrate. For example, coconut peat and natural peat are good and safe choices for substrate. The substrate should never contain any fertilizers.
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Even the adult Lygodactylus williamsi are so lightweight, that the leaves of some the smaller plant species will easily support the gecko. Since the geckos might escape in the blink of an eye, the terrarium should definitely be a front-opening one. Sliding or hinged doors can be opened only slightly, when feeding or misting the gecko. If the terrarium has a lid on top, the entire terrarium will be completely open and the risk of an escape is higher. When the lid will be placed back on, the gecko might also get stuck underneath it and be injured, or even die. And of course, since this is a small species, all the small gaps in the terrarium needs to be carefully covered in order to make the terrarium escape-proof. For misting, I recommend purchasing a separate automatic misting system. Automatic misting reduces the risk of escape significantly and is also very easy and effortless to use.
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Humidity and temperature
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Lygodactylus williamsi require misting once every evening, so that the humidity will rise to around 80-100%. During the day the humidity can drop to around 55-75%. Depending on the ventilation and decor of terrarium, additional misting during the daytime might be needed to maintain the humidity. The geckos also often drink from the waster droplets left on the walls after misting. Even with frequent misting, a water cup should be always available for the gecko. Good ambient temperature is around 23-26 ​​° C and at night it can drop closer to 20-22 ° C. During summertime, the temperature outside might be warmer, but even then, the ambient temperature of the terrarium should not rise above 27 ° C for a long period of time. Ambient temperature above 27 ° C can be dangerous, even fatal, in the long run. Despite the recommended ambient temperature being below 27°C, Lygodactylus williamsi need a basking spot of around 30°C. The basking spot should be placed on the upper part of the terrarium so that the lower part will be cooler. Humidity and temperature should be monitored with a guality digital thermo- and hygrometer combo with an external sensor. It is important to have an external sensor in the combometer, as it is the most accurate way of measuring.
Lighting and uvb
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5-7% UVB as well as bright lighting are very important for Lygodactylus williamsi. When the UVB light is placed on top of the terrarium, the top should be made of amesh material, where the UVB light is placed on. Glass does not pass much, if any UVB rays through. For the day lighting, I can recommend Arcadia Jungle Dawn. They are very bright and also beneficial for the plants.
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Feeding
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All suitably small feeder insects, such as small crickets and fruit flies are suitable for Lygodactylus williamsi. In nature, this species also consumes
flower nectar. For this reason, CDG foods such as Pangea and Repashy should also be offered to the gecko, as it is part of their natural diet.
Buffalo worms or small meal worms can be given as a treat, but not as their main diet due to their high fat content. However, fruit flies alone should also not be fed as their main diet, as they are quite poor in terms of nutritional value.
Dusting food with vitamins and calcium is essential. Since this species naturally receives vitamin D3 in nature, they do not need to be offered it with every feeding. Personally, I still occasionally dust their food with calcium containing vitamin D3. Repashy Calcium Plus is a great product containing all the essential vitamins and calcium included in one product.