Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko Care Sheet

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Care Sheet

Common Name: Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko

Scientific Name: Uroplatus phantasticus

Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate

Notes: Out of all the marvelous species of leaf-tailed gecko, the family Uroplatus, the satanic has to be one of the most captivating. Their small size, tiny spines above their pink-grey to red eyes, and incredible resemblance to dry leaves all contribute to their charm - the males will often have asymmetrical tails with holes ‘chewed’ into the sides by nonexistent insects. These geckos are found only on the eastern side of Madagascar, hedged in by coastline and mountains in their cool tropical forests.

Handleability: Easy to handle, but not recommended. These are very small, delicate geckos, and they can stress easily. Only handle when you need to move them or inspect their health, and keep contact to a minimum.

Length at full size: 3.8 - 4.2 inches at about 1 to 1 ½ years of age.

Lifespan: Around 10 years.

Recommended Tank Size: 

Hatchlings to subadults: An 11 gallon vertical enclosure measuring around 12” x 12” x 18”

Adult animals: A single gecko can live in a 12” x 12” x 18” enclosure, but they will explore as much space as you give them. Space is especially important if you are housing a breeding pair or trio together. A 33 gallon vertical enclosure measuring around 18” x 18” x 24” or larger is optimal.

The essential components of a satanic leaf-tailed gecko’s enclosure will include a lot of vertical and horizontal climbing branches and vines that their feet can grasp well, along with a good amount of fake or live plants for cover and security. Ficus plants are especially good for their thin branches and woody stems.

Due to the large amount of water introduced into the enclosure for humidity purposes, substrate can become saturated quickly. Adding a way to drain the water from the bottom of the enclosure can be useful. There are pre-built enclosures that include a drainage port, but a drainage port can be built into most enclosures via DIY methods.

Sleep Pattern: Nocturnal. These geckos will be active at night.

Temperature Range:

Basking Spot/Hottest area in tank: 80°F (29°C) - be wary of the temperature getting higher than this, as heat stress can be quickly fatal for these cool temperature animals.

Ambient Temperature: 72-78°F (22-25°C)

Nighttime Temperature: 55-65°F (13-18°C)

Lighting/Heating: Heating is on an as-needed basis depending on the season and the internal temperature of your home, and having ways to cool the tank may be more important than heating. Due to the vertical nature of the tank, the thermal gradient will be vertical as well, with the hottest areas being near the top, and the coolest near the bottom. Most lights will produce some amount of heat, so supplemental heating may not be required whatsoever. The lighting may even have to be turned off to keep temperatures cool. LEDs are recommended for choice in lighting due to their low heat output. 

Use of an evaporative cooling system such as ZooMed’s Repti Cooler can be essential if temperatures are unable to be controlled in other ways.

While the satanic leaf-tailed gecko is nocturnal, they do often sleep in areas that get exposure to the sun through the canopy in the wild. UVB is not a concrete requirement for best health as long as you provide vitamin d3 via supplementation, but it can be beneficial, especially for breeding animals.

For UVB, a 5.0 or 6% strength fluorescent tube that spans 2/3rds of the tank is optimal, but a smaller compact fluorescent can suffice for smaller animals until they grow larger. Ensure that the UVB has no glass or plastic between the bulb and the inside of the enclosure.

Place your UVB and/or visual light on timers to ensure a 10-12 hour photoperiod.

Humidity Range: The satanic leaf-tailed gecko does best in an environment that has a cycle of humidity; 40-50% during the day, and 80-100% at night. This can be achieved via misting the enclosure down substantially in the evening and just before daybreak, made more convenient by the use of timed misting systems.

Diet:  These geckos are complete insectivores. Crickets are a solid staple of the diet, as well as appropriately sized silkworms, black soldier flies and larvae, and surinam roach and discoid roach nymphs. Good insect treats are waxworms and butterworms, as they have high fat and water content. If you have the opportunity to breed small garden snails in captivity, the calcium from their shells are very good for breeding females.

Feed your gecko every other day about 5-10 crickets, or an equivalent volume of other insects. You can offer the insects in a tall container overnight to keep them from escaping into the tank before the gecko can hunt them down.

In terms of supplementation, it depends on if you use UVB or not. If you decide to use UVB, a calcium powder without d3 will be best. If UVB is not being used, using a calcium powder that contains d3 is necessary. Dust your insects with every feeding, and apply a multivitamin twice a month. 

If you can get a hold of it, Arcadia’s EarthPro A is a great daily powder if you use UVB, along with ZooMed’s Reptivite with d3 for bimonthly dusting. If you have a hard time procuring Arcadia’s supplement, however, a high quality calcium powder without d3 from brands such as ZooMed or Repashy will suffice.

Water: Satanic leaf-tailed geckos procure their water from their food as well as from droplets of water, which will be provided from misting.

Water should be free of chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals. Use a water conditioner such as ReptiSafe, SeaChem Prime, or an equivalent brand. You can alternatively procure your water through filtration systems designed for drinking water. Distilled and reverse osmosis water are sufficient to use as well, as long as a multivitamin is used in your feeding regimen.