''Homopholis fasciata'', a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

known as the banded velvet gecko or striped velvet gecko, is a small

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

that lives in East Africa.

Description

Homopholis Fasciata's are small gecko's with soft, velvet-like skin. They have short, rounded heads and long, thin non-tapering tails. Their body shape is stout with a bunt and toes that have both adhesive pads and claws. Their skin ranges from green, greys and browns with a chevron-like pattern down the back. They grow to 3½" - 4½" and are known to bite. Homopholis Fasciatas are from Tropical East Africa. They inhabit wet or dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s containing large trees. They can be found hiding under the bark and in the crevasses of these trees. Mostly nocturnal but may also be found active during the day.

In captivity

Captive environment

In captivity, they require many hiding spots and 80–90 °F heating by means of a heat mat. The optimal temperature should be 75° to 82 °F daytime with a 5° to 10 °F drop at night. A daytime hot spot is beneficial; using a 10 or 20 watt halogen light works well. These geckos requires moderate to high humidity, 60 to 80%, with a gradient between one side of the enclosure and the other. This can be accomplished well by keeping the side where the water dish is located a bit cooler and spraying that area down daily. As for lighting, use plant grow lights on a timer to simulate the tropics, 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Seasonal day length fluctuations are not needed but could help to stimulate breeding. A dim night light is required for viewing

activities. A 10-gallon will work for a pair but a taller tank would be better. Set it up as forest habitat with climbing branches, sturdy plants, hiding places and a warm area or basking spot.

Feeding

Small

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

are the main staple diet along with small mealworms and various other insects when available. Excess calcium causes their neck pouches to puff out.

Husbandry

In terms of mating, males have hemipenal bulges at the base of the tail. Males also have a pair of pre-anal pores/scales just above the cloacal opening that the females lack. Egg laying may occur during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. 4 or 5 clutches of 2 eggs each may be laid during the breeding period. The hard-shelled eggs are laid under loose bark, in crevasses or buried in a slightly moist spot. They should be removed for incubation at around 82 °F.

References

External links

*http://www.petlifeforms.com/geckovelv.htm *https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Homopholis_fasciata/classification/ Homopholis Reptiles of Ethiopia Reptiles of Kenya Reptiles of Somalia Reptiles of Tanzania Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Reptiles described in 1890 {{gecko-stub