Branch Demon Podcast

It is crunch time on an important project that will affect the Branch Demon Podcast. I give a brief explanation and then talk about the next ten years for you and our community.

It is reptile show season! You might get lucky and find a phant at a reptile show, but that is hit and miss with this rare gecko! I talk about what to consider when you are looking for - or have purchased - a satanic leaf-tailed gecko at a reptile show.

Sydney Jersak is a breeder of Uroplatus, and the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko, from Alberta Canada and he joins us to talk Phants!

You are new and only have one Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko. How can you contribute? You are in a very important position at this stage in our community's growth and today I share how you can help.

Is a satanic leaf-tailed gecko actually right for you? Not "do you want one" — that's easy. The harder questions are whether you can provide what they need, and whether what they give back will be enough for you. In this episode, Bill works through the honest decision framework that every prospective phant keeper needs before they commit. He covers what handling really looks like with this species...

Tonight we're talking about planting a Phant enclosure. I'll be singling out some strategies for larger enclosures because they are new to a lot of phant keepers. What is important is not just what to plant, but how to think about it.

Hydration is a critical husbandry parameter and we discuss how to tell if your gecko is hydrated and how to set up your misting and fogging system.

When you think of lights for the Satanic. Leaf-tailed gecko you need to think about lighting the environment that will nurish your gecko. Heat, white light, and UVB are covered as we think about the why of it all.

Lawrence Erickson was the owner of the first website dedicated to education and availability of Uroplatus phantasticus, the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko. In the interview, Yvette and I talk with Lawrence about what it was like in the early days and what lessons we can still take to heart today.

The proper husbandry of a Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko is individually housed. Their low intra-species aggression makes this easy to ignore. But if we are truly the keepers of ideal husbandry then we have the obligation to accept and promote the highest standards. In this episode I lay out the case for proper husbandry for Satanic Leaf-tailed Geckos being individual keeping.

The first thing we need to figure out when deciding to get a phant is what we're going to keep it in. So today we're going to look at what is important when it comes to cage selection for our satanic leaf-tailed geckos.  

Let's talk about how to spoil our Satanic Leaf-tailed Geckos. They will be living in the enclosure we make for them for ten+ years and so we want our little branch demon to have all the luxuries we can give them!

If you are getting just one or two Satanic Leaf-tailed Geckos you can easily embrace enriched keeping. Having just a few frees you to give them more space and better, enriched care. We should enthusiastically take advantage of that and spoil our little Night Fury rotten!

Meet the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko! Today I describe the beast and talk about what this little bundle of gecko is.

Welcome to the first episode of the podcast that is all about the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko ( Uroplatus phantasticus ). This is hosted by Bill Strand with regular appearances by Yvette Strand, the heart and soul of Misty Mountain Phants. In this epiosde I talk about my recent trip to Madagascar and finding Phants in the wild and discuss what that means for us working on captive husbandry.