Sky blue offspring
Tierpark Chemnitz: Breeding success with rare reptile species
At Chemnitz Zoo, the sky-blue dwarf day geckos have given birth for the first time. Two young of this relatively small gecko species - they only grow to around five to eight centimetres - can now be seen in a terrarium in the foyer of the tropical house. The species has only been kept at the zoo since the beginning of March this year.
The sexes can be easily distinguished by their colouring. The males have a bright turquoise-blue dorsal colouring, which is also the origin of their common name. The females, on the other hand, are greenish to bronze in colour.
The animals are sexually mature at around ten months. Four to five weeks after mating, which can take up to an hour, the female "sticks" two eggs in the crevices of tree bark or on leaves. After 60 to 70 days, the eggs hatch into two to two and a half centimetre long young. As is common with many reptiles, the sky-blue dwarf gecko does not breed.
The sky-blue dwarf day gecko is threatened with extinction. The species is only found in the Kimboza Forest Reserve in north-east Tanzania. There, the animals live exclusively on screw trees of the genus Pandanus.
By keeping this species, Chemnitz Zoo is actively participating in this year's "Zoo Animal of the Year" campaign, which was launched in 2016 by the Zoological Society for Species and Population Conservation (ZGAP). This campaign is in favour of highly endangered animal species that are little known and whose threat has not yet or hardly ever been the focus of public attention.
The zoo has deliberately chosen one of the campaign's focus species. Not only because it is an endangered species, but also because a "sky blue" fits in well with Chemnitz.
In addition, the successful and coordinated breeding of such endangered species is intended to make an important contribution to their conservation, which is an important core task of zoological institutions.
Opening hours in summer:
Zoo: 9 am to 7 pm, last admission 6 pm
Game enclosure: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., last admission 5 p.m.