Stenodactylus Species Care Sheet Here!

[Mush]

Intro

The Stenodactylas Species is a very rewarding and enjoyable lizard to own, I personally own a group of S.Petrii.

They are very easy to care for so brilliant for any beginners or someone who just wants something a bit different.

They are full of character and a very active species and we often find ours out and about, digging and investigating during the evenings and thus give a lot of entertainment for such a small gecko.

They are a small gecko which make them ideal for an owner with limited space or to fit into a spare gap in an ever increasing collection.

The Stenodactylus species is found in northern Africa and southeast Asia.

I have found that many pet shops name these species many other names, we brought 2 from one shop and they were labled up as Madagascan whip tailed geckos!!! So you have to be careful when going into shops to if they are named correctly.

Common names I have come across are Dune gecko, Dwarf Sand Gecko, Jeweled gecko, whip tailed gecko and Elegant gecko.


Types of Steno

There are 3 species of steno and these are as follows

• Stenodacylus Doriae

This species appears to have a long tail however not like the petrii, thicker like the sthenodactylus.

• Stenodactylus Petrii

Note the small whip like tails in this species.

• Stenodactylus Sthenodactylus

This species has a thicker tail than the Petrii’s and has slightly different patterning.


Sizing.

All 3 species max out at a size of 3 ½ inches to 4 inches.


Colouring.

They’re colouring ranges from a tan/ beige colour to a very dark brown with patterning all over their body’s apart from their stomachs which are white.

I have personally found that no two gecko are alike, we have a few that are very dark and a few that are light and a few with a lot of patterning and a couple with a bit less.


Sexing the species.

Personally I have been unable to sex our Petrii’s as there doesn’t seem to be any obvious hemipenal bulge however I have noted on some pictures of S.Stheno that the bulges are present and easy to see.

Where to get a steno from?

We got ours from pet shops, the majority which are sold in pet shops are wild caught animals, however they are hard to come across in captivity however if you have the opportunity to choose captive bred lizards over wild caught I highly recommend you do so.
When we got ours as they were wild caught they were on the skinny side so you may need to consider feeding them up and possibly a trip to the vets to treat them for any possible parasite infections. Ours soon bulked up and grew very quickly so it seemed we had brought sub adults.

How to keep Stenos.

Stenos like to be kept in groups, i highly suggest a group of 3 or above, a Large Faunarium would give sufficient room for these however the more room the better.

We have our group of 8 in a 60cm x45cm x45cm Exo Terra.

We personally have our set up as follows.


They require sand deep enough to be able to dig into and tunnel, we have our sand depth on a gradient as the hot end has less sand so easier to monitor the temperatures.

Stenos are the only species I personally recommend keeping on sand, due to the fact they get stressed if not kept on it and by nature enjoy digging and tunnelling.
We have a small water bowl at the front however I have never seen any of ours drink from it but better to be safe than sorry.

We have 2 hides, one in the hot end and one in the cool end and the fake plant also gives additional shelter within the cooler side.

If adding in any stones make sure they are sterilised prior to being placed within the enclosure, also make sure that there is no possibility of the steno digging under it and displacing the rock so as it can fall upon them and hurt or possibly kill them.

We personally use play sand for our substrate, we found some of the reptile sands too thick, once a week I remove the stenos and give the sand a spraying so as it keeps some moisture to help with tunnel construction.

I have heard other keepers using Exo terra excavation sand with success and in the near future I may try that with ours.


Cleaning

We clean ours once a week and spot clean if i find any dirt in the meantime, the best method i have found is using a normal house hold siv and siving the sand through and it leaves any dirt behind.
Once a month roughly we replace the sand with new sand.

Temperature

I personally keep our stenos on a statted mat set at 95f, I have not used heat bulbs so cannot personally comment on them.
I do not give ours a night time drop in temperature.


Feeding

I personally feed ours medium crickets and wax worms every few weeks for a treat.

I have heard of people using mealworms, and fruit flies too however mine just have crickets and waxies.

They are very food orientated animals and love eating, ours come out of no-where to hunt their food and they hunt them well.

Feeder insects will also need dusting with calcium and/or calcium and mineral supplements every other feeding.
Handling.

It is not recommended to handle these lizards, they have very delicate skin and they can also be very fast.

Our Stenos have gotten used to being handled but it is only carried out to move
them from their viv into a holding container while cleaning/misting is carried out.


Here are some S. Petrii pics.







This Caresheet is written by Claire Vjestica 2009 and all pictures are owned and copywrited by Claire Vjestica.

Acknowledgement to Bebeop1980 for the 2 S.Stheno pictures

[rugbystar55]

thanks alot this will help me alot in the near future

[Spikebrit]

Couple of bits of advice:

Sexing of S.spetrii and S.Stheno is actaully easy if you have a male and female next to each other (once you've done it you will always now). Femals are often (especially in S.petrii) alot bigger then males, and males when mature have huge hemphile buldges.

I also use a heat lamp for my S.petrii, and find it works really well. I have a piece of slate under the bulb which maintains a warm surface throughout out the night, to aid digestion. I have also seen them basking, on many occasions. I presently keep my S.Stheno on a mat, like your's, but when i get a spare viv i think i shall use a bulb for them.

Hope that helps a little.

[Cookaaaaay]

This is really good.

[LuLu]

I have 2 S.sthenodactylus, and one has a chunky tail and the other a very fine tail. Is this a problem? They were both sold to me as Petrii's, but after doing some general research and following someones article in a fairly recent edition of Practical Reptile (September 2011 I think!) I think they are S.Sthenos rather than S.Petrii.

Can someone please advise?

[Spikebrit]

Originally Posted by LuLu

I have 2 S.sthenodactylus, and one has a chunky tail and the other a very fine tail. Is this a problem? They were both sold to me as Petrii's, but after doing some general research and following someones article in a fairly recent edition of Practical Reptile (September 2011 I think!) I think they are S.Sthenos rather than S.Petrii.

Can someone please advise?

That was my article glad you liked it.

POst up to picture on one of the threads you've bumped adn i'll let you know species.

Jay

[LuLu]

Sahara


Pebbles (This is the one with the shorter fatter tail) Is this one a male aswell? Just with the bulge in the photo? Yet I have been told they're not fully grown yet?


Also, is the second one (pebbles) a little older? It seems to have its spots? And Sahara doesnt? But you can see the spots underlying its orangey bands?

[Spikebrit]

The are both adult male S.stheno, that the second one appears to also have a regen tail. They both appear to be nice and healthy though.

They have a few different colourations some have spots others stripes.

Jay

[LuLu]

Originally Posted by Spikebrit

The are both adult male S.stheno, that the second one appears to also have a regen tail. They both appear to be nice and healthy though.

They have a few different colourations some have spots others stripes.

Jay

Names are in need of a change I think!

Thank you for all your advice! x

[Katepenberthy]

I read your article too Jay! I ordered my s.stheno this morning! And thanks mush this sheet has been very helpful!