Taylor's fat-tailed gecko (Hemitheconyx taylori)

Short answers

Taylor's fat-tailed gecko: How big does the enclosure need to be?

80×40×40 cm.

Taylor's fat-tailed gecko: What temperature does it need?

Daytime 27–33 °C, basking spot 35 °C, at night 20–24 °C.

Taylor's fat-tailed gecko: Does it need UVB lighting?

UVB: Recommended (UVB 5.0).

Taylor's fat-tailed gecko: How long do they live?

Life expectancy: 12–18 years.

Taylor's fat-tailed gecko: Is it suitable for beginners?

Rather not – it is considered an intermediate species (difficulty: Intermediate).

Climate

Daytime temperature

27–33 °C

Night temperature

20–24 °C

Basking spot

35 °C

Humidity

35–50 %

UVB

Recommended (UVB 5.0)

Enclosure

Minimum size

80×40×40 cm

Substrate

Sand-loam they can dig in, stone slabs, a humid box

Feeding

Food

House crickets, crickets, roaches, mealworm larvae

Feeding interval

2–3×/week

Key facts

Adult size

13–16 cm total length

Life expectancy

12–18 years

Origin

Somalia, Ethiopia – semi-desert

Protection status

Not listed under CITES; very rarely kept

Brumation

A cooler dry spell of 8–10 weeks

Cohabitation

Keeping them singly is the least stressful option - like all eyelid geckos, fat-tailed geckos are naturally solitary. A trio of one male with two to three similarly sized females can work for experienced keepers in a correspondingly larger enclosure with several heat and hide spots; drawback: the females compete for the best spot, and the male constantly pursues them during the mating season. Never keep two males together, they fight to the point of injury.

Notes

To be kept markedly drier than the African fat-tailed gecko, with a strikingly thick tail as a fat store. Because of the countries it comes from, practically available only as a European captive-bred animal.

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Related species

• African fat-tailed gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) – Beginner
• Bawangling leopard gecko (Goniurosaurus bawanglingensis) – Intermediate
• Cave gecko – Araneus (Goniurosaurus araneus) – Intermediate
• Cave gecko – Cat Ba (Goniurosaurus catbaensis) – Expert
• Cave gecko – Hainan (Goniurosaurus hainanensis) – Intermediate
• Cave gecko – Kuroiwa (Goniurosaurus kuroiwae) – Intermediate
• Cave gecko – Lichtenfelder (Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi) – Intermediate
• Cave gecko – Lui (Goniurosaurus luii) – Intermediate

All species in the care wiki →

What you need to start

To keep Taylor's fat-tailed gecko (Hemitheconyx taylori) you typically need: a suitable enclosure (80×40×40 cm), substrate (Sand-loam they can dig in, stone slabs, a humid box), a heat source with a thermostat, UVB lighting, thermometer and hygrometer, a water dish and hides. You will find equipment in the Reptoria marketplace.