SATANIC LEAF-TAILED GECKOS IN THE WILD! (Are we keeping them correctly)

[@Reptiliatus]

Still can't believe we had the honour and pleasure of finding these cryptic geckos in the wild my friend! It's one thing flying across the planet to be on the only island in the world they exist, it's another thing actually finding them! We shouldn't take our success for granted! Great video as usual!

[@mrsb1212]

Something I’d like to add, is not to focus on just the recommended ambient temperature but to provide a temperature gradient! And that applies to any reptile in my opinion. Have the top of your enclosure be slightly above the recommended temperature and the bottom of the enclosure slightly below. That way the animal can thermoregulate and ultimately choose the temperature it wishes to hang out at and can move to a higher or lower temperature to suit its needs at any given time! There you go, that’s my tip of the day 🦎🐍🐢🪲🐜🐌😊

[@ggoannas]

I cannot thank you enough for these videos. When I kept reptiles in my teens, the only info I could find on husbandry was rare and usually in German. I had to ask friends to translate a few paragraphs at a time. It was almost impossible to get equipment and specialized food. The effort we put into trying to keep them in the best conditions possible was enormous. These films would have been absolute paradise to me back then and they are fantastic, now. You can never stop learning and this is the best way of all.

[@loriw2661]

I love that they have the lateral line and “veins” that look exactly like a leaf. Your filming is exquisite and the knowledge you’re giving to people as to the care of so many reptiles is amazing. 🦎❤️🦎

[@californiacritic9779]

Dav always brings a reptile enthusiasm to a cinematic view. Top notch. RATTLE ON!

[@mightymorphingreptiles]

Thanks for another awesome leaf tailed gecko video, Dav “Kauffman!”🦎🍂 Oh and that Bamboo grass is really dope!

[@richardyingling6972]

Hey Dāv, when is the video with the Madagascar Hognose coming out?

[@AgeOrmstad]

Cool video Dãv👌. But what about Phelsuma grandis i hope you film those tooo 😉😁👀.

[@wpsreptiles]

How incredibly cool to see them in the wild! I've observed in captivity that not only do they blend in with their looks but also with their body posture! I've seen them sitting on branches while stretching out a leg seemingly to look like a twig!! Crazy geckos

[@RobertsRideAlong]

Was awesome to meet you. Thank you for everything. Can't wait until October.

[@TheRoyalConstrictor]

Awesome video! Thanks so much for showcasing my favorite animal on earth!

[@andylydon8416]

Amazing video! I may need to get some of these!

[@allusernamestakenlol]

I've been trying to recreate the wild habitat of a leopard gecko down to every possible factor in the environment. This content is my type of thing and to have this resource for so many different species is just awesome. Thank you so much for what you do! You do wonders for the hobby by putting these resources out there.

[@MaxPowerCaulfield]

Such a cool series you've done here, Dāv! I've heard of these and seem them before. Don't really have the need to keep them, but it's so cool to see you out here, verifying everything or dispelling husbandry misinformation. Thanks for all you do!

[@caughtafaygo]

Of course theres a need to keep them! What if, hear me out, a mystery disease ONLY infected the entire wild population of SLTG and they all perished? Wouldnt you feel bad if you had the chance to keep some captive specimen and you decided against it? ..😅 see! Theres your reason😂 youre welcome. Also agreed! Awesome series Dav and great info. What you're doing is so important

[@MaxPowerCaulfield]

@@caughtafaygo I was saying that I don't feel the need to keep them personally. I absolutely agree with captive breeding practices though.

[@BeneathTheGold]

The males tail also has little spikes pointing sideways at the top of the tail. And he’s right, phants are so adorable. Alot of the time when they sleep during the day they curl up and cover their face with their tail. I assume to block the light as their eyes are extremely sensitive to light. It is so damn cute when they do that. I used to keep phants. They are so goddamn cool. I still miss mine. It’s fantastic seeing them on your channel Dav. You’ve been really spoiling us the last few videos.Well you always do but with these Madagascar videos especially. Chameleons, uroplatus then sanzinia and then uroplatus again. I absolutely love it and seriously appreciate you sharing you’re incredible experiences with us Dav so thank you.

[@MotherTruckinReptiles]

Oooh I like how you specified some types of plants that would be ideal for the vivariums! As always, outstanding video, thank you!

[@FBIandre123]

0:39 no kusko screaming "rattle on!!"?

[@surfpanther]

Some reptile Enthusiast I am LOL I never even knew the Madagascar boa existed, of course I've always been a python guy and a chameleon guy but such a cool species. I absolutely love every time you do videos on are we keeping them correctly! By far my most favorite videos that you post! I always learn so much! You are awesome for traveling all over and making these videos and helping the reptile community!

[@BrundonC]

Does anyone know where to find that grass bamboo?

[@clistiarobinson34]

Such really cool geckos, dāv I hope you have an amazing weekend.

[@stevenhall8964]

what does Farrah's height have to do with temperature?

[@geogeorge7771anti]

7:35 I can't find that type of bamboo or what's it call

[@readyalways1414]

I love the content on your channel BIG DOGGIE 💯👣 You explain things the way they should be BIG DOGGIE 💯👣

[@wangtaztic]

Ramrod them right in the B hole. LOL Yes. Thank you for adding comedy to your absolutely fantastic information for keepers.

[@avaogara]

beautiful I thought my crested gecko blended in ..but that leaf tail really camouflage s

[@cara9648]

They are adorable. I love their leaf tails!

[@seangere9698]

Dāv, don't forget about the tier drop marking under the eyes, though it is not a 100% ID on males, but it does help if you can't see the tail at first glance. This is my favorite species of Geckos. I have been waiting for a few years now for you to do an episode on them. Thank you so much. I really miss my colony from when I was still living back in the states. I use the term colony loosely. I had 10.30 of them in 10 setups for breeding. I was trying to see if I could prove out colors. It was a bit of a hit and miss. I did produce about 1/3 of the desired colors from the trios I had put together but I wasn't able to get a higher result then that. Though I was able to produce some with much higher vibrancy of the desired reds, blacks, and purples, not mixed other then the red and black or the purple and black combos. I was getting pinks here and there as well but most were a base color of browns with splotches and stripes of lighter tans and darker browns like the male you show at the start of the episode. I would get some with a few small to medium amount of reds, pinks, blacks, greens, and purple. But I had to give them away when I moved to Germany. It would have been way too stressful for them to import them from America all the way to Germany. This was also before they were put on the Cites list.

[@SurvivorVio]

Hi Sean, I am from Germany and I so have some breeding trios of phantasticus aswell. What holds you back from getting them again here in Germany?

[@seangere9698]

@@SurvivorVio Mostly its finding them for a reasonable price. Most breeders, even those that sell them at reptile shows are asking between 300 and 500 each and that is way more then I am willing to pay. I understand that it has been almost 20 years sense I last purchased any and 10 years sense I last sold any but going from 100 to 150 each to 300 to 500 each is way too much of an increase for me to get back into them.

[@SurvivorVio]

@@seangere9698 the Differenzen Here is that the US geht's their stock from cheap WC Imports while in Europe they all come from captive breeding and obviously with the difficulty breeding them they have always been more expensive. Prices Always were 600-750€ a pair and are Just going up the Last 2-3 years to now reach 4 figures for a couple. I actually think the price increase could even be higher, since it is an expert species that shouldn't be kept by everyone. I wish the US would ban imports aswell to see the same price increase and focus on captive breeding instead of importing them by masses and letting so many of them die in the process. This is just my two cents, but I feel the german pet trade with Uroplatus is a bit more sustainable, while obviously leading to higher prices and lower availability, which is a fair trade off for me.

[@seangere9698]

@@SurvivorVio All of the ones I purchased were CBs and I only purchase CBs of any animals I have kept except for the first Dart frogs I purchased almost 30 years ago when they were just starting to show up in the hobby. I'm sorry but the way Europe breeders raise the price on CBs vs WCs it's not really a wonder why a lot of people still pay for WCs. Though sense Uroplatus phantasticus is now on the CITES list for limited yearly export from Madagascar I can understand a slight increase for WCs and in extension CBs but an increase like it is now for CBs is insane. I agree there is way too much WC importation in the US but it does come down to supply and demand. It's part of how business works and there's no way around it. But yeah would you spend 600 to 700 or more a pair if you are used to spending half that price for CBs in another country? Now if you went from living here in Germany and moved to America would you be more willing to spend 300 at most a pair or would you still be willing to spend 600 to 700 per pair knowing you can get the same exact quality for half the price? Do you now see the dilemma in it for me for not getting back into them here in Germany? If there was a higher demand for them I would maybe think about getting back into them but for the price they are not a viable spices to think about getting more then a pair and even that is a huge price to pay. There isn't a large enough market for them to even be a reason to breed them. There are other species that are in higher demand and much easier to keep and if you do end up breeding them you can relatively easily and quickly sell to babies, unlike with Uroplatus phantasticus where you can sit on babies for months or even over a year before someone might purchase them. Yes I would like to get some as pets but I'm not ignorant enough to not know the value of even producing them on a small scale to help with housing and upkeep and really here in Europe there just isn't a high enough demand to help with that. And from what I can see that is the reason the price is so high here in not only Germany but all over the EU. It is a double edge sword. You want what you spend on them and with a low demand it raises the prices even more as you have to sit longer on what you are trying to sell for the few people willing to pay that price vs lowering the price from the start and allowing younger and newer people to the hobby enjoy such a beautiful and wonderful species, in extension creating a larger market for them to be able to sell to. In essence a lower price creates a higher demand and thus making it more profitable in the long run to supply them. Again it comes down to the old saying Supply and Demand. High prices lower the demand causing the prices to go even higher lowering the demand even more and causing the prices to raise even more and so on till it comes to the point that no one is willing to spend the money on something that has no true market value and only something that someone gets purely a decoration for a couple of years before they get bored of them and more on to something that is more colorful and more active like Dart frogs or even other species of Geckos.

[@seangere9698]

@@SurvivorVio I really hate the whole idea of Beginner, Experienced, Expert level. Nothing is out of reach for beginner in the hobby if they have the right information and dedication to learning what is needed to house and keep the species happy and healthy. When I started keeping Darts as well a phantasticus there was little to no information on how to keep, house and what to feed them. It was all trial-and-error. Yes I lost my share through the beginning stages of learning what works and what doesn't but if there was someone with the knowledge I have now back then that was actually willing to teach me, unlike a lot in this hobby where they like to keep all their knowledge to themselves instead of helping other keepers, we would be much further in successful keeping of so many species in this wonderful hobby, but there are way too many keepers out there with years and decades of knowledge that refuse to share their own experiences on what works and what doesn't. If you give a beginner the knowledge base on how to properly care for a species and they take that knowledge to heart and implement it successfully does that now make them an expert or are they still a beginner?

[@mattneuhauser7728]

These leaf-tailed geckos are so awesome their coloration so cryptic in their patterning beautiful

[@baleogunsondai614]

I REPEAT, These Series are so Superior when it comes to keeping reptiles.

[@LanceKirkman]

Excellent video, thank you Dav! #RattleOn

[@jpslizards]

Love your videos Dāv. I doubt you will see this comment since you're at the show but I'll see you at Tinley!

[@bryonflaherty5957]

Great video

[@kristinmontague9084]

Just amazing, thanks for the info as always.

[@rebeccafriend4854]

So cute! Rattle on! This trip has been amazing!

[@sherrybrzeczka7966]

That was awesome!

[@hannahpatriciadavis-jk6wh]

Hi dav

[@BeneathTheGold]

I kept my phants in 18 by 12 glass vivs. I could stand infront of the vivs for half an hour looking through the glass and still not be able to locate them. Thats how good their camouflage is.

[@SuperGiantGeckosLLC]

😊they’re all out there doing their own episodes , saw Dions version already. Now Dave👍 guess Wickens next😊

[@lukemorgan8447]

I'm mad. I mad about Madagascar, I so would like to travel there. Lots of awesome things to see.

[@sinenomine4540]

very cool

[@graffic13]

Seems like a SLTG needs a drip wall in their enclosures.

[@stevenhall8964]

Saranic soft furs?

[@maadams1985]

It really doesn't seem too much different from having a crested gecko

[@DougBull-jo9vc]

Imagine the things we haven't come across.

[@maadams1985]

It looks like it's a crested geckos cousin

[@bryonflaherty5957]

Who was the genius wearing slides while hiking in the jungle of Madagascar?

[@lukemorgan8447]

75*F even with 85% has to be more comfortable than a lot of jungles.

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

I wonder if the more notched the male's tail, the more successful he is with the ladies. Do the females take the time to assess the raggedy ass nature of the males' tails?

[@slitheryserpents]

💜💚💚💚💜

[@VeronicaLeigh79]

Their faces are the most adorably evil faces I've ever seen. 😍

[@Alchemy_LDN]

if you really like these animals you would leave them in the wild. why remove them from their natural habitat? why encourage others to do so?

[@onesevenfour_moto9794]

Captive breeding 🎉

[@Alchemy_LDN]

@@onesevenfour_moto9794 are they endangered?

[@onesevenfour_moto9794]

@@Alchemy_LDN I’m not aware if they are or are not endangered in the wild , they do have well established populations in captivity tho so owning these animals poses no risk to wild populations as they are being bred in captivity

[@Alchemy_LDN]

@@onesevenfour_moto9794 If they are endangered then a proper regulated captive breeding programme is fine. Ripping these beautiful , delicate creatures from their natural habitat and transporting them across continents to sell to anyone is abhorrent.

[@onesevenfour_moto9794]

@@Alchemy_LDN I agree it is very cruel to take a wild caught animal and keep them in the confines of captivity.

[@wherearemytaxdollarsgoingt9913]

Terrible name