About

Pristurus Rupestris are a diurnal family of desert dwelling geckos with several locales. Specifically we deal with Guweirensis or Guweira and Saiq. ‘Rupestris’ in biological geek speak is a term that means of ‘rocks’ and is a common way of describing animals or plants inhabiting rocky areas. Which should give you a clue about their habitat! Traditionally their naturally range is mountainous, scrubby, rocky outcrops in the middle east. Specifically found in Oman, Yemen, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Appearance wise P. Rupestris are small with a snout to vent length of 2.5-3cm and an overall length of 5-7cm including tail. Their tone is traditionally matched to their rocky habitat of origin but typically grey and brown being the dominant colours with white spots and red markings. Rupestris live for around seven years and reach sexual maturity around 3-4 months old, but breeding is not recommended until at least six months of age.

Rupestris are often referred to as semaphore rock geckos along with several other species of Pristurus. Semaphoring is a fancy term to describe animals that wave limbs or tails to communicate to each other. If you have more than one in an enclosure, you’ll see these behaviours constantly throughout the day and it’s absolutely fascinating to watch!

Housing

P.Rupestris are an arboreal species but also enjoy basking. With that mind, our recommendations are as follows:

Enclosure Size

For a single animal – 20x20x30 (tall)

For male and female – 30x30x45 (tall)

Male and multiple females 45x45x45

No more than one male per enclosure is feasible unless you want to have a proper feature enclosure at least 100cm wide and equally tall to create separate territories.

I highly recommend using a glass sided, wire meshed roof terrarium with these guys. For you - they’re easier to find in tall, and for them – the mesh prevents excess heat and humidity build up.

Substrate –

Play sand or any desert mix is suitable for adults. Rupestris very rarely go to ground unless chasing feeder insects or laying eggs. Honestly it’s not a huge consideration except for babies. Speaking of babies -I don’t recommend any substrate. They’re so small, even a small amount of sand or debris may cause impaction.

Without exaggerating, Rupestris spend less than 1% of their time on the ground. Keep it simple

Climbing Opportunities

Perhaps the most important aspect of housing.

Rocks are great for climbing and basking. I have rocks under each basking lamp and see them basking multiple times per day.  Not only do they provide a platform to bask and climb on but they offer places to hide and heat retention.

Branches provide perfect climbing opportunities both on top of and underneath each branch and can be used for shelter.

Backgrounds using things like bark tiles or backgrounds are amazing for climbing opportunities. Honestly Rupestris will probably spend around 90% of their time on these walls. Another tip is using CT1 and literally painting the sides of the enclosure. One side at a time just drizzle the CT1 then paint with a paint brush, and slap some substrate on before drying and rub off the excess. Another way of doing it is Then move onto the next side, repeat, etc. I cannot stress enough how much important this aspect of keeping is for these animals.

Just a quick tip before moving on from backgrounds. If you’re planning on breeding these guys, do not have a background within touching distance of the mesh roof. Babies are tiny and can fit through the holes in the mesh. Trust me, spending three hours chasing a baby around is not fun. Ask my wife and brother who had to help that whole time, too….

Other Decorations

If you have the opportunity to provide any other climbing structures – great! T Rex skulls, Smilodon skulls, etc are all perfect for climbing and shelter.

Lighting

UVB is essential for their health and wellbeing. Use a suitable high strength UVB light form and aim for a UVI around 5-6 – essentially Ferguson Zone 4. In the wild these guys are basking in desert sun but ensure there is ample opportunity to escape from the blaze.

I personally use a 30w metal halide. But desert or dragon rated T5s work great too. Just ensure you check the strength at basking points.

Heating

Aim for a basking spot around 35-40c, 95-104f (in freedom units). With a background temperature of 30c. You can achieve this easily enough with a single 25-50w basking bulb depending on enclosure size and the excess heat will escape through the mesh.

For evening heat I use a heat mat under the terrarium set to 20c.

I have my light and basking heat set for 06:00-18:00 on a digital timer. Then 18:00-06:00 for the heat mat.

Remember to regulate temperatures using a suitable thermostat. Reptiles love some heat but don’t tolerate being cooked.

Watering

Misting is the best way to water your Rupestris. Simply get a small spray bottle and 5-8 sprays on them and around their enclosure is sufficient. They will lick the water from their mouths/eyes/head and drink from the enclosure sides. I’ve never seen them drink standing water so don’t bother with a water bowl. Get a spray bottle from a cheap hardware store, in the UK Poundstretchers sell them for 69p vs about £5 for a reptile branded one.

As an aside, every third watering I add about 20ml of Zolcal (liquid calcium supplement) to every 500ml bottle. Just for extra calcium. Really they’re only drinking a miniscule amount of water anyway and this tiny addition is just extra help for their little bodies. This isn’t really a requirement but I’ve found it helps especially with egg producing females.

Misting programme suggesting:

Up to 1 month old – twice daily

1 Month old + – Misting once daily, occasionally skipping a day to replicate natural cycles.

Feeding

A good rule of thumb for any lizard is no food source wider than the space between the Rupestris’ eyes. This is considered the thickest meal they can swallow safely. Dusting a calcium supplement each feed is recommended and add a multi vit supplement powder every 3rd feed.

0-1 Month – Micro crickets and fruit flies. Honestly this is about all they can accommodate at this young age. Feed daily.

1-2 months – Small crickets, small calci worms, small meal worms and fruit flies. Filter out your meal worms by grabbing a handful and sorting for the smallest ones possible. Feed five to six days a week.

2 months plus – Much the same as the above, except larger meal worms can now be accommodated. Crickets are really limited by width, as are the calci worms. Fruit flies are still loved as well. Feed four to five days per week.

It should be noted that as adults, a sudden increase in feeding quantity and frequency can stimulate a breeding response. Feeding daily as adults will result in babies appearing almost fortnightly (if keep with at least one male and one female, obviously).

Males and Females

Males have larger tail spines and to be blunt – a balls. If you check from side view and you can see the end of the body, bulge and then the start of the tail - it’s a dude. It is quite a distinctive bulge, females aren’t completely flat here but it’s not a proper, round ball shape. Like the guys.