Madagascar Ground Gecko (Paroedura pictus) Care Sheet
by Jim Keenan, Homegrown Herps

Make sure a shallow dish with water is available at all times. Feeding consists of a main diet of crickets coated with a vitamin and calcium supplement. Some of the best supplements on the market are Rep-Cal (calcium and vitamin D) and Nekton-Rep (vitamin). At feeding time, use Rep-Cal as a major component for vitamin and mineral supplementation. Two to three times a month use Nekton-Rep as an additional vitamin supplement - shaking this mixture back and forth to coat the crickets before feeding. Crickets may be found at your local pet store but are about $1.30/dozen. I would suggest ordering your crickets from a supplier (such as Armstrong Crickets 1-800-658-3408). You can order from this supplier at a cost of $16.50/1,000. The crickets may be kept in a tall trash can with a screen top and fed baby chicken starter mash as a diet. Water should also be made available by an inverted water dish, also available from most suppliers at a cost of $5.00. The crickets have a life span of about six to eight weeks so its best not to order anymore than you will use in two to three weeks. 
Pictus hatchlings should be fed 1/8 inch crickets and adults should be fed 3/4 inch crickets. Mealworms may be fed once a month. Feeding should take place three to four times a week. A hatchling will usually eat two to three crickets at one feeding. An adult will usually eat between five to seven crickets at one feeding.. 

Daytime temperature should be around 86-88 degrees F and may cool to 78 degrees F at night. The daytime temperature may be achieved with a spotlight, such as a fifty watt grow bulb. Make sure it is not possible for your animal to come into contact with the bulb as this will cause burns. A small part of the substrate should be heated from 85-88 degrees F. You may heat the substrate using heat strips or a heating pad made specifically for reptile cages, which are available at most pet stores. You want to purchase these heat strips or pads to place under the tank so they do not come into direct contact with your animal. Do not use heat rocks as these can get to hot and may burn your animal. Remember these lizards are ectothermic (require heat from outside sources). 

Mating takes place in the early hours of the night. Unlike other geckos this species can breed year round. 
It has happened that females have laid themselves to death. This can be prevented by separating the sexes after three or four clutches, allowing the female to build up her strength again. 

Keep a closed plastic container inside the cage with an opening large enough for the Pictus to go in and out. This plastic container will act as a hide box as well as an egg laying site for the females. Keep about two-three inches of coarse vermiculite (commonly found at garden stores) inside the container. Mist the inside of the container occasionally to keep the vermiculite damp but not wet. The eggs can become damaged by to much moisture or by becoming to dry. The female will lay her eggs inside the plastic container. 
The eggs are hard shelled and can be removed for incubation. I would suggest you pick up the eggs with a spoon as they are very delicate and may crumble if you try picking them up with your fingers. Place the eggs inside a plastic container with dampened vermiculite and cover the container with a lid and place it into the incubator. Incubation temperature for the Pictus eggs is around 83 degrees F. Check the container every few days to make sure the vermiculite maintains moisture and to let fresh air into the container. Incubation time for this species is right around sixty days. Make sure you check the containers often when its close to hatching time and remove hatchlings as soon as they have hatched. 

Unlike other gecko species the Pictus are not temperature sexed. The young however, are easily sexed within about six weeks after birth. The males will have a very obvious swollen tail base. 

The hatchlings will not feed until they have had their first shed, which usually takes about five days after hatching. 
The first couple of times the hatchling Pictus sheds it is a good idea to mist them and keep them moist during shedding as they can easily die in their shed. 

A substrate which I like to use is Canadian sphagnum peat moss. Peat moss makes a good substrate because it is a natural substance which is totally digestible, maintains moisture and naturally absorbs odor. Mix the peat moss with water and rub the two between your hands until the peat moss has absorbed all the moisture. Firmly pack the peat moss in the bottom of the cage and let it dry in the sun or under a heat lamp for a couple of hours until all moisture has evaporated. The peat moss will dry to a hard surface.