Western Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko

Western Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko

Nephrurus Levis P.

Look who is here! These are the Knob-Tailed Geckos — one of the unique and desirable specie among the reptile keepers around the world.

Knob-tailed geckos are rapidly gaining popularity, and it’s not surprising. Native to Australia, these distinctive geckos are named for the small knob at the tip of their tail. Moreover, they’re known for their profoundly rasping bark that leaves no one indifferent.

If you want to have one of these exotic friends near you, then you have to learn how to take a good care of your new friend. It may be hard in the beginning but you will succeed as long as you prepared for all kind of situations.

As a way of start, I advise you to read carefully the care sheet presented below.

INTRODUCTION

There are 14 species and subspecies of knob-tailed geckos, and most are available in the reptile trade. Eleven species are in the Nephrurus genus, with two of those species broken down into subspecies. N.levis has three subspecies, and N. wheeleri has two subspecies. Sometimes the distinction of a subspecies may be confusing due to lack of the information of those unique creatures.

A Smooth knob-tailed geckos may be taking for N. laevissimus, but  N. levis is more often called the Three Line Knob Tail. The same morphology and similar characteristics of the subspecies make it hard for the recognition. Moreover, it is important to take into consideration that size, shape, color and markings may distinct significantly among the reptiles. In comparison to others N. levis pilbariensis belongs to the Pilbara region, and has a definitive feature – a large scattered granules on the throat. The tail is usually larger and flatter than N. levis, overall size often noted as slightly larger.

Blackxreptiles gives you an opportunity to get to know better the Western Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko, it´s main features, characteristics, individual observations in order to help you to take care of your pet in appropriate way.

WILD HABITAT

Nephrurus Levis P. species is found in Australia. Smooth knob-tailed geckos are distributed throughout the arid interior of Australia, occurring in all mainland states and territories. They are prevalent throughout the state of South Australia, including as far south as Adelaide. They can be commonly found as far north as Tennant Creek, Northern Territory; as far east as Bourke, New South Wales and as far west as Western Australia’s coastline.

The smooth knob-tailed gecko prefer a wide range of habitats, including arid, semiarid, open woodland, arid scrubs, spinifex covered deserts, sand-plains and dune-fields.

Knob-tailed geckos are measured based on their snout-to-vent length. Smaller species of knob-tailed geckos, including Nephrurus wheeleri, N. levis and N. deleani, have a length of approximately 4 inches. The largest of the knob-tailed geckos, Nephrurus amyae, has a length of 5 to 5.5 inches. Tail sizes also vary among knob-tailed gecko species. Nephrurus amyae has a relatively short, narrow tail, but N. levis P and N. wheeleri have longer, broader tails.

Nowadays, it is hard to say how long knob-tailed gecko can live in captivity because of the relatively short amount of time this species are on the reptile market. The life span of these geckos is relatively shorter comparing to others, and lasts about 10 years according to the observation.

THE TERRARIUM SETUP

When looking for an ideal home for your western smooth knob-tailed gecko, there are a few things that are really vital to keep your pet healthy and relaxed:

• An adult knob-tailed gecko of any species needs a 10-gallon aquarium or terrarium.
• Baby knob-tailed geckos should be housed individually. You may house babies in plastic boxes 14 inches long, 7.5 inches wide and 4.5 inches tall.
• Pairs should be housed in a standard 2ft. aquarium.
• You may also use plastic boxes 16.5 inches long, 10.5 inches wide and 6 inches tall in rack systems.
• It is not necessary to use lid because these species do not climb.
• As a substrate use the desert sand. Substrate should be moist but not wet.
• Provide a drinking bowl.

Knob-tailed geckos are best kept individually. However, because many keepers of knob-tailed geckos intend to breed their animals, commercial rack systems are commonly used. You may use plastic boxes 16.5 inches long, 10.5 inches wide and 6 inches tall in rack systems. A 2cm layer is mounded up to approximately 15cm at one end, where an upturned terracotta flowerpot saucer is used as a home site. This area is moistened by misting every couple of days so that the sand does not dry out. These are burrowing animals, which tend to dig extensively in the mounded sand.

A drinking bowl may be provided, however I have found that the animals prefer to lick droplets of water when the cage is misted.

For the decoration use one or two hide boxes within the cage to provide shelter and security for the gecko. Hide boxes should be pitted on the small and dark side rather than the large and open side, and they should have only one entrance-exit hole. Usually, I use 8-inch-diameter plant saucers for adults and 6-inch saucers for hatchlings.

As for the heating and lightning:

• During summer month normal background temperature should be held at approximately 78 degrees, 24 hours a day;
• Use a heat source to raise the temperature;
• During winter month should be provided cooling and resting;
• No overhead or basking light.

Keep in mind, the winter period should be minimum 3 month. During the 1-3 weeks lower the temperature gradually. From 4 till 9 weeks keep daily temperature around 75 degrees and at the night 62 degrees. For the final 10-12 week raise a temperature gradually.

Knob-tailed geckos are nocturnal, so they do not need overhead lighting or basking lights. In fact, this type of lighting can stress the gecko. Heating is best applied by a heating element. An under tank heater works well with an aquarium or terrarium. You may also use a Flexwatt heat tape or heat cables work well with rack systems. Place the heating element on one side of the cage, so a temperature gradient results. The hot side should be kept around 87 to 89 degrees.

Humidity and water

The way you water your knob-tailed gecko depends on what species you have. In our case, we are talking about smooth-skinned species, including Nephrurus levis, N. l. pilbarensis and N. deleani. For these species a more humid environment is preferred. The best way to create more humidity is to spray directly the sand underneath (or inside) the hide box. In this way, humidity will be spread within the hide box and provide enough moisture to render additional misting on top of the hide box unnecessary. Moist sand also provides the appropriate substrate for digging burrows, which is necessary for this gecko.

Water dishes are not necessary for a knob-tailed gecko’s cage, but water is an important requirement. Spraying the cage twice a week is the best way to give a gecko the proper amount of water.

FEEDING

In the wild, knob-tailed geckos have quite a great assortment of the delicacies. They are pleased with ants, spiders, cockroaches, crickets, scorpions, caterpillars, beetles, and even smaller geckos and skinks. In the captivity, you still can make your gecko feed and happy with the right diet. The proper ration for the Western Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko should include:

• Crickets, cockroaches, mealworms;

• prey items should be gut-loaded with fresh vegetables or a commercial gut;
• Some mineral supplements with the every other feeding (calcium and vitamins)

Most keepers feed their captive knob-tailed with crickets, also cockroaches and mealworms. However, knob-tailed geckos prefer the movement of prey items, and mealworms are not as visually stimulating as some insects, so they might not induce a feeding response. Roaches might be a problem to catch to because they’re faster than crickets.

Before being fed to hungry geckos, all prey items should be gut-loaded with fresh vegetables or a commercial gut load in order to provide the most nutrients. Adult animals are fed 3-4 large crickets twice a week. Furthermore, it is important to dust feeder insects with a vitamin-mineral supplement containing calcium and vitamin right before feeding time.

Most keepers feed their captive knob-tailed geckos crickets or cockroaches from four to five times a week depends on your per appetite.

Always pay attention to the tail as it will tell you a lot about health condition. The tail is used for fat storage. It reduces in size as an animal loses weight.

SEX DETERMINATION

Taking in consideration the fact that males are considerably smaller than females, it is possible to guess with some accuracy the sex of clutch mates at an early age. Confirmation is made by examination of external genitalia at approximately 6 months of age. Females are quite flat around the cloaca, whereas males have a noticeable swelling.

In addition, mature males possess a small white “pimple” on each lateral surface close to the base of the tail. It is possible to detect this from a dorsal aspect.

BREEDING

This species of gecko needs to go through a hibernation period to be able to breed.

• The geckos can breed approximately 7 months of age, although most individuals take a little longer.
• Mating will take place shortly after temperature is raised following winter cool.
• All animals being put into hibernation should be healthy adults.
• Hibernation should last a minimum of 2 months, maximum of 4, and should be started in the end of the fall.

Gravid animals can be recognized from either the ventral or dorsal surface by the pale outlines of eggs in the abdomen. Young, unprepared geckos that are put through hibernation are likely to starve to death, and be stunted if they survive to reach adulthood.

When planning a breeding:

• First, separate your animals into their own containers to help prevent stress and keep males away from females.
• Next, stop feeding your animals and watch carefully to see when they stop defecating. It is important that they empty their bowls before hibernation because it can cause impaction and will not be properly digested by the animal while it rests and can kill the animal.  It normally takes two weeks after you have stopped feeding them for them to stop defecating.  While you have discontinued their food intake you should leave their heat stable, but if you are using any lighting that is visible to the animals you should gradually drop it over the next two weeks from 12 hours of light to 8 hours.
• Next, slowly begin cooling the animal´s cage and bring the ambient temperature down to 60F, and continue to mist one side of the cage very lightly once a week. The animals will remain in their hibernate state for 2-4 months, or until you bring them out of it.
• To bring them out of hibernation you will slowly reverse the steps you took to put them into hibernation. First you will raise the temperature, then increase the lighting and begin normal feeding and watering.
• After the animals have been out of hibernation and eating regularly for at least 2 weeks you may introduce your pair and breeding will begin. . 

The female lays her eggs within a month of mating and attempt to bury her eggs in the moist substrate.  Two eggs are laid in each clutch and females have been reported to lay up to 6 clutches a year but less is more common, her first year a female may only lay one fertile clutch.  You will want to retrieve the eggs as soon as possible as wet sand can kill an egg very quickly.  It may also be a good idea to take the female out of the male’s cage after successful breeding or gravidity has been noticed to make egg finding easier. 

NEWBORN KNOB-TAILED GECKOS

Very carefully remove the eggs without rotating them into a small incubator with 1:1 weight ratio of perlite to water.  Incubate between 80 and 85 °F, the eggs will hatch in 50-80 days.  Hatchling care is identical to adult care, and they are best kept singly to prevent stress and potential tail loss.

According to my experience clutch mates are almost always one male and one female. Therefore it is important to keep clutches separate upon hatching since most people will prefer to obtain a pair. Hatchlings do not require any special treatment; they are kept in small containers for several months in order that they do not have trouble locating food items.

HEALTH ISSUES:

Keeping your pet gecko happy and healthy all the time — quite a challenging task for a parent. There might  problems occur with shedding due to low humidity or lack of vitamin A in gecko’s ration. You need to increase the overall humidity in the terrarium. Also use special vitamin products approved by veterinary.

Knob-tailed geckos are tolerant of handling, but they are not as tolerant as other gecko species, such as leopard geckos or crested geckos. Allowing a knob-tailed gecko to walk from hand to hand for short periods of time is alright, but it is not recommended to keep the gecko from its cage for prolonged periods of time. Some species might drop their tails if they’re really stressed, but it will regrow later. When they feel threatened, they often growl and bark in order to defend themselves. Although it is fun to handle your pets, so you may admire the unique beautifulness of your knob-tailed gecko without any distraction.

SUMMARY

To sum up, the knob-tailed geckos is an exotic treasure to have in your collection. Blackxreptiles advice it to an advanced reptile keeper who has previous experiences with gecko pets as these are hardy animals to do well in captivity. However, the relatively easy breeding and keeping, it’s unique features makes it an attractive specie to have.

Note: The care sheet presents the general information on the specie. It is aimed to help you with the most common questions and solutions. In cases of displaying serious symptoms or strange behavior please contact the professional assistance.