Nephrurus Stellatus.

[A&M Gecko]

This is the rarest of the smooth knob tail. Kin's bloodline from Hong Kong it is sure the best looking of them all.
Enjoy, Alberto & Mary.

[Vince]

nice but probly over priced like all the rest

[Intense Herpetoculture]

It certainly is not over priced if someone is willing to pay it!

[A&M Gecko]

Overpriced? There are more request for those gems then you see available. These are very rare and the availability is still not enough for everyone. All those geckos are presold before they even hatch.
Alberto

[Vince]

just a gecko.

[A&M Gecko]

Not for who loves geckos.

[Vince]

leos are way nicer then these overpriced knob tails. they are a dime a dozen where they come from

[A&M Gecko]

There are 3 reason for that, leos are not from Australia, they are the easyest to breed and you can incubate for sex.

[Vince]

yep, but these are way over priced. sorry

[A&M Gecko]

As I said, no left over evey year.

[montezuma]

If that's your view then why are you posting in the gecko section?

Isn't the wheeleri the least common of the knobbies?

[Vince]

maybe rare in captivity. the mark up on these geckos is crazy. but all the power to you if your makeing a lot of money

[montezuma]

It's not all about money, it's a hobby for most people even the ones such as myself that find it enjoyable to breed and sell them. Just because someone else spends $1500 or so on some lizards doesn't make them crazy... it makes them a dedicated hobbyist that enjoys what they are doing. Personally I can't afford to drop that much on a pair but I am happy for the people that can and do.

[Vince]

yeah but there is no need for such a high price tag, the only motive is cha-ching $profits$

[A&M Gecko]

The Stellatus is the rarest of the smooth knobs, as I said above. Wheeleri is not a smooth knob but a rough knob and it is not the rarest in my knowledge, the rarest are the Aspers.
A&M

[montezuma]

I missed that... good thing I am not typing with beer goggles on, I might miss even more of what is "said"

Rarity= money... look at beanie babies. That was a fabricated rarity. There is no exporting of reptiles from Australia therefore the prices will remain high due to demand until they allow it. The reason Bearded Dragons are getting lower pricetags is due to the high amount of eggs produced in each clutch. It's simple 2nd week economics.

[Vince]

your right. but i have come to find out that a lot of knob tail breeders purposely only produce males to keep others from starting breeding projects. is there any truth to that?

[A&M Gecko]

I love knob tails maybe even more then leos now and that is the main reason why I have them and breed them. If people think I am doing it only for the $ they are dead wrong and by the way, how did I get the pairs to breed to begin with? I had to pay the high price as well, higher the what it is now because there was less of them in the market. Anyway, I would not pay 1 cent for a Picasso paint and people pay millions. If you really love it and they are rare you pay the price.
A&M

[Vince]

i agree with you on that one. and im not saying there is anything wrong with produceing all males to keep the market high, i was just wondering if that was something you practice

[A&M Gecko]

I wish I could produce males or females like leos that way I will make most females to breed more of them the year after but because we cannot do that the price will stay higher for longer.
A&M

[Vince]

i thought all reptile eggs can be temp sexed

[A&M Gecko]

No, they cannot.

[montezuma]

There are several species that can be but there are probably twice as many that can't be.

A&M... I feel the same way, I act like a Lamaze (spelling?) coach whenever I have a baby trying to get out of the egg. I think even my wife thinks I am a dork when I have one hatching. Oh well, I just enjoy it!

[KelliH]

Nephrurus are awesome geckos, I agree. And some are extremely rare. I agree with Alberto, it is similar to an art collector buying a Picasso, although a Picasso can't die on you or end up being infertile etc etc. But the analogy is similar.

We came very close to putting a deposit down on some N. asper last year. But they were going to cost $8-9000 per pair. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, mainly because they look just like a dark colored amyae. And also I can't see very many people paying ME that much for a pair of asper! So I passed. I hear there are some banded asper, I would love to get those. They are probably like $10,000 a pair though!

I do love the knobs though. When you produce asper Alberto, I probably will be a customer. When the price comes down a little! ;-)

[A&M Gecko]

Hi Kelli
I want to add that a paint does not run around or tries ti bit you, lol, you cannot pet a Picasso or feed it or breed it. The analogy is the same as you said, but for animals lovers there is no paint that will do for us.
Well, I agree about the cost of Aspers, I am waiting for a pair of those myself, not the banded ones because I could not find them but I think those are the King of knobs. Some of those are dark gray almost black with a white belly and they look impressive. I just love knobs and on top I was lucky to get Kin trade mark for the US. I will import most of his bloodline in the next years.
I will keep you in mind for the asper but at the moment I am busy with the wheeleri, my second favorite.
Alberto

[KelliH]

Ohh yeah, I like wheeleri! I will definitely get those later this year.

Yeah, us herpers have it the best, our art is alive!

Shoot, I wouldn't trade my geckos for any Picasso, heck I wouldn't even trade them for a Van Gough, and he's my favorite artist!:)

[Wendy Sell]

Hey Alberto, thanks for saving me a pair of asper and wheeleri this year from Kin...He is a swell guy isn't he......sitting on a goldmine. Must be nice to buy up all his geckos!
Too bad my stellatus came from the same blood as yours. We need new blood already and they just got here......I am working on that ;) Good luck! Hopefully by this next season I will produce some babies for everyone to enjoy. I love my little guys;) They are a great gecko......but the price tag....wew. They don't come cheap!:( Take care, Wendy:)

[montezuma]

A heads up for everyone...
Australia is considering allowing limited exporting. The reasons for this is due to the high cost of stopping illegal exportation. There are several australian websites that you can find this info. I found it about 3 or 4 weeks ago on http://www.australianreptilesonline.com/

[A&M Gecko]

Hi Wendy
Kin has 6 different bloodlines of Stellatus, I do not think we have to worry about new blood if you got them from him. The best think to do is buy 2 males from unrelated lines and keep on crossing the babies. We should not have problems. I agree, these little geckos do not come cheap. but that is because they are very rare, the price tag will go down little by little.
Alberto

[tabitha]

Best of luck. They really are nice looking
Tabitha

[frillman]

I really don't think some of these people understand how rare these geckos are? To even own a pair of nephrurus asper in Austrailia you need multiple permits and several years in the industry. Other species like Deleani are nearing extention in the wild. I think its funny to say geckos for a few thousand are over-priced compaired to all these lame ball python morphs selling for excess of 10-20K per snake. Last time I check the ball python was one of the most common snakes in the world.
James

[KelliH]

I really don't think some of these people understand how rare these geckos are? To even own a pair of nephrurus asper in Austrailia you need multiple permits and several years in the industry. Other species like Deleani are nearing extention in the wild. I think its funny to say geckos for a few thousand are over-priced compaired to all these lame ball python morphs selling for excess of 10-20K per snake. Last time I check the ball python was one of the most common snakes in the world.

Great point, and you are right on.

[sbrech]

Yes, knobtail geckos are very nice ones, especially n. stellatus ( see what i found a few days ago in my incubator) !

hope you will enjoy the little one !


http://www.designergeckos.de/images/stellatusbaby.jpg

[Geoff]

I like Knob-tailed geckos and yes they are very common in the wild except one species. I've found as many as 15 asper in an hour on the gib river road. I think the reason Australian keepers don't have too many is due in part to that fact most people live in the big cities. Of course getting the permits from NPW is not an easy task. I would think the US has more species being bred than they do in Aus. due to the fact you cannot collect them without a permit..good luck with that.

As far as the price here in the USA of 10,000 for a adult pair of asper? Anyone that would pay that needs a brain transplant. I don't car what species of knob's they are all worth about the same. I would not pay more than 200 or 300 per gecko. I love these geckos and I've seen most species in the wild as they are very common in its just a matter of how hard you look and time of year.

This is an asper found in the North Western Kimberley.

sorry I know this is an old thread.

Anyone have experience with Kin in Hong Kong?

[Geckz]

Wow, nice picture...kind of looks brownish black. Looks like a male...but I can't really tell...so did you end up bringing any back? ;-) Do they search you when you get on the planes? I would love to have went herping and finding wild specimens...I would want to grab all those beauties though, they are just to darn cute! Its actually looks to be smiling :-)

Alberto has a nice pair that are pratically black.

[South Dixie Dragons]

very pretty gecko

[dragonflame]

Oooooh nice pic! I wonder what it's like, knowing that something is so rare and expensive here then going to where they live in abundance and seeing all of them you know? Like walking in a dream. Sorta....

[dragonflame]

PS that was my 100th post here!

[South Dixie Dragons]

I think people have a bad habit of taking things for granted..I am sure in their native homeland people don't think they are any big deal..but we do!

Same thing here..I am in Florida and I see gators all the time, some one comes here from some other state and are just fascinated by them...to me they are like piegons...

[Geckz]

Yep, gators scare me...lol

I used to catch them with my hands.

[Geoff]

Wow, nice picture...kind of looks brownish black. Looks like a male...but I can't really tell...so did you end up bringing any back? ;-) Do they search you when you get on the planes? I would love to have went herping and finding wild specimens...I would want to grab all those beauties though, they are just to darn cute! Its actually looks to be smiling :-)

Alberto has a nice pair that are pratically black.

Great thing to do if you have the permits otherwise not. Lucky my friend J. Weigel, ARP had the permits.

If you are thinking of doing it you might want to read the following links

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4602#Fauna

http://til.metro.co.uk/metro/weird/article.html?in_page_id=4&in_article_id=13859

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/31/nfrog31.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/10/31/ixworld.html



http://www.smuggled.com/CHS1.htm

http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,16312778%5E2761,00.html

http://forum.kingsnake.com/deutsch/messages/114.html


Australian wildlife laws are still in the stone age.

[Geckz]

So I would have to get permits to take these species out of Austrailia? Smuggling seems risky and well, not to worth it, but then again, it would be...

[Nico@Geckoworld]

how much is it?