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Mossy Leaf-Tailed Gecko
Uroplatus sikorae
The perfect Malagasy moss mimic. The sikorae blends the art of shadow-casting (via dermal flaps on its jaw) with impressive dermal painting that replicates bright green, white, and gray 3D mossy outgrowths on its back.
Class:Squamata
Order:Squamata
Family:Gekkonidae
Genus:Uroplatus
Species:Uroplatus sikorae
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 100 %
Day temperature
20 - 22 °C
Ambient temperature
20 - 22 °C
Night temperature
16 - 18 °C
Basking spot
30 - 35 °C
Adult size
12.3 cm
Minimum enclosure
>= 80 L
UVB
Low/Medium
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Humid, perpetually cool montane and sub-montane forests of eastern and central Madagascar. They live strictly on the trunks of small to medium trees completely overgrown with dense mosses and wet lichens.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Uroplatus sikorae belongs to the family Gekkonidae. Known as the mossy leaf-tailed gecko, it was described by Boettger in 1913. There are no recognized subspecies, although genetic studies indicate significant divergence between regional populations.
Behavior and Habits: Invisible by day. They methodically choose a trunk that perfectly matches their specific colors (the whiter ones seek lichens, the greener ones seek moss) and flatten themselves head-down against it, remaining motionless even if touched, blindly trusting their camouflage.
Morphology: Medium size, 6-8 inches (15-20 cm). Besides the dermal fringe on the sides (like fimbriatus, though less showy but very clear along the throat), the true prowess of sikorae is the skin pattern. It possesses small three-dimensional scaly excrescences and colorations (which the gecko can voluntarily intensify or darken) that exactly replicate patches of vivid green real moss on the flanks and rump.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Comfortably sized and well-ventilated (minimum 18x18x24 inches). The bioactive enclosure should be set up with branches covered in rough live bark, abundant vines, and Java moss, Tillandsia, or real ferns, providing the perfect backdrop and maintaining a healthy, wet microclimate.
Lighting and Heating: Strictly montane COOL CLIMATE animals. Extremely sensitive to lethal heat. The daytime thermometer must be solidly fixed around 68-72°F (20-22°C) and must absolutely not touch 77°F (25°C). A sharp nighttime temperature drop down to 60-64°F (16-18°C) is the essential element to keep them alive and reproducing. No heat spots allowed.
Humidity and Hydration: Drenched environments at night but drying out by day. Humidity must cyclically hit 100% in the dead of night thanks to continuous rain systems. They only drink rainwater or condensation by licking it off their own snout or surrounding leaves.
Feeding and Supplementation: They prey by silently descending along the trunk. Crickets, snails (decisive in the wild for calcium intake), isopods, and sub-adult Drosophila. Calcium integration is critical to prevent these fragile geckos from suffering bone collapse during egg-laying.
Compatibility: Strictly solitary or housed in compatible male-female pairs. They are non-aggressive but highly stress-prone lizards. Never house males together. They must not be housed with active diurnal species or aggressive tankmates.
Health and Common Diseases: Prone to respiratory infections if ventilation is inadequate or conditions are stagnant. Heat stress is a major risk, as temperatures above 25°C can cause rapid death. Prone to calcium deficiency during egg-laying.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Humid, perpetually cool montane and sub-montane forests of eastern and central Madagascar. They live strictly on the trunks of small to medium trees completely overgrown with dense mosses and wet lichens.
Origin
Africa and Madagascar
Reptile profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 12.3 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 12.3 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 12.3 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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