African Fat Tails

 Housing:

Fat-tails are very easy to house. Aquariums will work well for housing your African Fat Tails and for providing them with all they need. Very similar to Leopard Geckos, the AFT(African Fat Tail) is housed optimally in a 20 gallon long aquarium with a lid to keep other pets out. What the  long means is that instead of being tall like regular fish tanks, it is longer instead to create more floor space. If you are housing more than one AFT in a tank you must take into account that you need to add 10 gallons per Fat Tail. If you are housing AFT's together ensure that they are very close in size and be prepared to house them seperately if the begin to fight. A larger gecko will dominate a smaller gecko which will cause stress or even death. NEVER house two males together as they will fight to the death. Should you chose to house more than one AFT together pay attention to things such as bite marks, tail loss, or weight loss. All these things could mean that you AFT is being bullied. It may seem minor at the time but it could lead to much worse.

As mentioned beforehand, the most common terrarium used for African Fat Tails are glass tanks. In each tank there must be two hides for each Gecko. There needs to be one on the cool side and one on the hot side. Your "warm" hide needs to be open on the bottom so that the AFT can get the proper belly heat for digestion(Will discuss this more further on). Your moist hide needs to be on the warm side as well the produce the humidity that it required for AFT's. This is the main difference between leopard geckos and fat tails is the required humidity. My moist hides are ziploc containers filled about halfway with sphagnum moss. I cut a hole in the lid and mist the moss whenever it begins to dry out. The moist hide is there to aid in shedding and to assist in keeping a higher humidity. A shallow water dish should be place in the enclosure on the cool side as well. I use clay planter pot bottoms because they are shallow enough even for hatchlings. You will also need to provide a small container of calcium for them to lick at as they feel they need it. I use Gatorade lids, water bottle lids, anything like that for this and it works great. When a gecko senses it needs more calcium, it will lick the calcium as much as is needed. 

20 Gallon Long Aquarium                                                        Mesh Lid For Aquarium

Substrate

The best substrate to use is paper, newspaper, paper towel, slate, tile or packed eco earth. Many pet stores will tell you to keep your AFT on sand however this can cause them to become impacted(constipated) and their terrarium needs to be more humid than sand can maintain. Impaction is when the gecko eats sand and is unable to pass it. If this is not taken care of properly it can cause serious harm to your gecko or even death. If you’re looking for a more natural look packed eco earth (coconut fiber) works well. 

Slate Tile                                                Peel and Stick Tile                                Paper Towel

Heat & Light

Provide a hot spot of 88 to 90 degrees fahrenheit on the warm end.  It is very important to provide a temperature gradient for the animal. This is basically having a warm end and a cool end that will allow the animal to regulate its own body temperature. For heating, you will need an under tank heater, heat cable, or flex watt. Leopard geckos need the under belly heat to aid in digestion. Position your heat source under the tank on one end as to provide a heat gradient. It should cover no more than 1/3 of your tank. Your heat source should be plugged into a thermostat at all times, and the thermostat probe should be on the surface of your substrate, under your "hot" hide. The temperature on the surface of the hot side should be between 92-95 degrees.  Heat rocks may sound like a good idea but it is very common that reptiles get burned on them. 

Flex Watt                                              Heat Cable                                           Heat Mat

Feeding

Fat tails are insectivores and the most common feeders are crickets, mealworms, and superworms.  Waxworms can be given as a treat but these are not to be fed often as they can be addicting and are very fatty. Only feed as much as the gecko will consume in a given feeding. Depending on the size of the gecko this can be anywhere from 4 to 8 crickets. Left over prey running in the cage can cause stress and the gecko might get nibbled on. Babies should be fed everyday with adults being fed every other day. If you’re feeding mealworms or superworms you can leave them in a food dish for the babies. They will not overeat usually. 

Cricket                                                 Mealworm                                         Superworm

Supplementation

Calcium and vitamins are an absolute for reptiles. The most common way of offering this to them is by dusting the prey just before feeding. This can be done with the “shake and bake” method. Using a plastic bag or some type of container, add a small amount of calcium and vitamins supplement. Add a few food items and gently shake the bag until they are covered in calcium. They are now ready to offer for feeding. When dusting crickets make sure to feed them right away because they clean the calcium off. Babies should get dusted prey items at least 4 times a week but preferably at every feeding and adults 1 to 2 times per week. Egg laying females should also get dusted food items at every feeding as they are using large amounts of calcium to produce the egg shells.

Calcium