Posted in Getting Started - Rhacodactylus
There are a number of cages available online and at your local reptile specialty store. You can find terrariums made of glass, screen and even tub-style-racks that conserve space and material. Rhacodactylus geckos are arboreal so a vertical cage will be more beneficial than a horizontal one. A large enough enclosure to provide ample space to move around with a great deal of hiding places and climbing branches is recommended. When selecting a cage you will want to base your decision around your climate, heating and air conditioning during the seasons and personal schedule.
Glass Cages
Both Zoo-Med and Exo-Terra offer front opening enclosures with removable screen tops and accessories for these revolutionary designs. Both cages offer "ports" for cords to travel through from inside the cage out. This makes hiding any monitoring systems or power cords for accessories such as waterfalls a snap. Ventilation is provided through a screen top that is removable. Lighting fixtures and stands are offered for these cages and are quite efficient and affordable.
Glass has the added benefit of holding moisture over screen cages. Glass cages will aide in keeping a proper humidity cycle. A humidity cycle is the increase and decrease over a days period allowing the cage to dry out for a duration during the day. A proper humidity cycle will help prevent bacterial disease.
Screen Cages
Screen much like glass is available in varying sizes to meet the requirements of the three stages of growth that reptiles go through. A screen enclosure is awesome for cleaning. You can move the screen cages to the outdoors and spray them down with a garden hose. For environments with high humidity during the summer such as Florida or Georgia these cages allow the most air flow of all the varying materials.
Partial screen cages are also available with either plexiglass or real glass being used for one or two sides of the cage. The difference in humidity needs to be researched further to address if this is anything other than an aesthetic benefit or not.
Plastic Cages
The use of plastic to make cages has been even popular in recent years. The benefits are in favor of plastic; relatively cheap cost, lightweight, holds humidity, easily drilled for additional ventilation or power cord access and well... they look good! In a mediterranean climate where the humidity never reaches above 60% slims the choices of caging and puts plastic cages on top. Plastic arboreal cages are limited and only a few companies produce them. VIew our links area for some of these companies.
Breeding Racks
Breeding racks use tubs made by companies such as Sterilite that would normally be marketed for sweater boxes or storage. There is minimal ventilation provided through the rack allowing humidity to stay consistent for a greater period of time. Easy access to the tub is a great benefit and saves time from opening lids or sliding screen tops off terrariums. Cleaning is a snap with removing the tub and using a commerical or garage sink. There are innovative designs coming out each year and product and development meeting the demand for various species makes the breeding racks a top notch cage system for breeding geckos on a large scale.
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