Description
Breeder Background:
My introduction into herpetoculture was a crested gecko, followed quickly by another when I was 9 years old. Even before that, I would spend my days running around our property and hunting down any snake and lizard that I could find. I stayed invested in reptile keeping, specifically breeding crested geckos, for almost 10 years. I produced my first clutch of crested gecko eggs, and eventually babies, when I was about 12 years old.
I researched many species and read tons of books, and started volunteering and helping at reptile shows as early as I could. I finished my Bachelor of Science in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology and am currently a few years away from graduating from vet school, where I want to focus on exotic animal medicine, surgery, and zoological medicine.
Over time, I gradually moved away from crested geckos and decided to exclusively focus on the Uroplatus genus of geckos, or the Madagascar Leaf-tailed Geckos. I now own a collection of multiple species of Uroplatus, which I breed in captivity in an attempt to help alleviate pressure on the wild-caught trade.
In 2016, I started Tree Critters as a way to show my collection of animals to other enthusiasts and share my passion for reptiles and husbandry with the rest of the reptile hobby. I have been lucky enough to own and produce some of the rarest Uroplatus in the world, including Uroplatus pietschmanni, or the Cork Bark Leaf-tailed Gecko, of which there are only 5 in Canada, and they are all currently in my collection.
There is very little known about Uroplatus in general, and very little literature available, which can sometimes make it difficult when working through problems. However, I take up any challenge and learn more as I go so I can share information with other Uroplatus keepers in the small community of keepers in North America and around the world.
Current Projects & Species:
- Mossy Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus sikorae)
- Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus)
These are the most popular among collectors and hobbyists, and the amount of pattern and colour variety in them is absolutely incredible. For me as a breeder, it never gets old hatching babies. Not one baby is the same, and I have gotten everything from high white, white collars, mossy green, blotched, and even high orange and green from the same pair. Very little is known about genetics in Uroplatus, and I am excited to follow my holdbacks’ progression and selectively breed certain traits in order to try and understand gene interactions in the genus.
I currently have eggs from my Uroplatus pietschmanni, or the Cork Bark Leaf-tailed Geckos, and hope to be able to hatch some of those this year. That would be my greatest achievement personally, as this species is incredibly rare in captivity. I currently have 2 females and am hoping I can produce at least a few offspring in 2026 and beyond.
In the past, I have also successfully produced hundreds of Crested Geckos, of which I had a collection of well over 100 back when I still worked with them before I got into Uroplatus exclusively.
Wishlist Species:
• Giant Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus giganteus)
• Spear-point Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus ebenaui)
• Henkel’s Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus henkeli)
• Common Flat-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus)
• Green Tree Monitor (Varanus prasinus)
• Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)
These are some of the long term projects and species I would eventually like to pursue and work with in the future. I plan to expand my collection once I graduate vet school and have more time available than I currently do. Green Tree Monitors and Emerald Tree Boas would also be dream display animals for my home one day.