I have some questions that id like to ask about crested geckos. 1.How many hides do I need? 2.How big of a tank do I need that will be good for him lifelong? 3.What do I need to buy for diet?(crickets,calcium,vitamins,etc) 4.What temperature should I keep the tank at?Humidity?
Easy quetions *cracks knuckles* Crested Geckos are an awesome addition to any family, you just cant go wrong with them. I'm going to stop myself before going into detail and answer your quetions right now... 1. at least 2, and they should be elevated because the gecko is arboreal. As long as you have a few artificial plants or maybe even store bought hides, your just fine. 2. A 10 gallon is perfect for one until its about 4-5 months old. Then you can move it into a 20 gallon tall aquarium. Which will last it until it dies. 3. They are omnivorous, meaing they eat both meat and fruit. You will need crickets as the staple meat food. And you can buy peach, banana, apricot babyfood to suit the fruit needs. I also recommend the crested gecko diet by T' rex, but not as a staple diet. 4. The temp should be between 73-79 during the day, while at night it should have a slight drop, about 68-76. Humidity can be achived by misting the cage daily with a spray bottle, the humidity should range from 60-90%. I created an accurate and up to date caresheet if you want more info, it also has better detail. If you are interested, please tell me!
CRESTED GECKO CARESHEET BY: JEFF HOWELL INTRODUCTION: Crested Geckos come from the wet and dense forests of New Caledonia and other surrounding islands. These small geckos can usually be kept at room temperature and have very basic care needs. Because of their amazing colors, alien like appearance, and their ease of care, crested geckos are becoming extremely popular in the pet trade, possibly being able to overthrow the leopard geckos rein of best pet gecko. Like other gecko species, they have adhesive like pads on their toes as well as their prehensile tail. This allows them to climb almost any surface and it gives them plenty of maneuverability in the forests from which they live. These strange geckos also have another odd attribute, they can jump several feet if they want to. They prepare themselves and seem to measure the distance and where they want to go, and then they take a huge leap. This ability allows them to hop from tree to tree in the wild, as well as escape predators. Another predator escape trick is to drop their tail. Unfortunately, they will not grow back this tail once dropped. Believe it or not, these lizards were actually thought to be extinct up until 1994 when they were “rediscovered” in relatively large numbers on the main island of New Caledonia, Grande Terra. From there they were taken to Europe then imported into the US. DESCRIPTION: The Crested Gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) is a very strange but magnificent looking creature. They have small crests that almost look like eyelashes (giving them their other name, the eyelash gecko) which run down from the head all the way to mid back. They can attain a length of about 7-10 inches when full grown, males being larger than females. There are now a large number of different colors and patterns available including various yellows, oranges, reds, browns, grays, and even white and green! HOUSING: The absolute minimum cage size for an adult crested gecko is a 20 gallon high aquarium. While two, maybe three could be happily housed in a 29 gallon aquarium. Male crested geckos should never be housed together; they will fight for territory as well as mates. These lizards tend to do fine solo however females can be kept together with no problems under the right conditions. Crested geckos have been known to make small clicking and chirping noises to one another, especially during breeding season. The enclosure should be ventilated, and because crested geckos are arboreal height is better than length when it comes to housing. For a happy gecko, the enclosure should be 16+ inches and the cage should have plenty of foliage and climbing materials. They tend to only come to the ground to hunt or explore, so be sure to make any hiding places above the ground. They seem to enjoy hiding behind or on leaves and other plants best. These geckos can be kept on a number of different substrates. The most preferred by far are coconut fibers and potting soil. However I advise that you take out any stringy pieces of the coconut so that the gecko does not choke if ingested. They can also be kept on peat moss, shelf liner, paper towel, reptile carpet, or wood chips. If using wood chips please be sure they are too large to swallow. The cage should be spot cleaned when necessary and should be completely changed every month or so. For new or sick animals, keep the cage setup simple. Use paper towel and only a few different hiding spots. Make sure it is kept sanitary at all times and keep the gecko as comfortable as possible. HEATING/LIGHTING/HUMIDITY: Another reason the crested gecko is such a great pet, is because they can usually be kept in room temperature. The daytime temperature should be about 74 – 80 degrees F. While the Night time temperature should be about 65 - 75 degrees F. You should allow a period of cooling during the winter, especially if you plan on breeding. Do not let the temperature exceed 84 F! In the wild they are protected from the intense heat by the trees, they can stress out and die from temperatures being to hot. A 12-14 hour period of light is beneficial to the crested gecko. It should vary from season to season, becoming cooler and darker during the winter and hotter and brighter during the summer. Being nocturnal, these geckos do not need UV lighting; however it won’t hurt to have it. It is somewhat beneficial to them. The humidity for a crested gecko should be between 60%-90%. Daily spraying 1-3 times a day should keep the humidity high enough. Mist the cage heavily at night when they are most active. It seems that they become more active and willing to feed after being sprayed. DIET: Crested geckos are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and fruit. This is yet another reason why they make such wonderful pets. They can be fed crickets, silkworms, and roaches. Mealworms and waxworms should be fed sparingly due to the high amount of fat in waxworms and the hard exoskeleton in the mealworm. They can eat many types of fruit, which can be served in baby food. They will eat peach, apricot, banana, pear, apple, and others will also be accepted. Younger animals should be fed insects every day or every other day, while adults will eat insects 3 times a week or so. They should be fed 2-6 food items about ½ -1/3 the space between the eyes. The rest of the diet should compose of various fruit baby foods. Adults should eat close to a tablespoon of baby food at a feeding. They should also be fed the crested gecko diet made by Allen Repashy of the Sandfire dragon ranch. It has all the essential nutrients needed in it to keep a crested gecko happy and healthy. Some may stick their nose up to it, but you can offer some mixed with the fruit baby food for those picky eaters. For added protein, your gecko can also eat meat baby food such as chicken. But please, never solely feed baby foods only, it is best to keep their natural instincts as best mimicked as possible. Therefore hunting is somewhat essential. For young cresties I recommend offering different supplementation. They should be fed crickets or baby food dusted with calcium 5-7 times a week when young, and about 3 times a week when adults. They should also be fed a multivitamin supplement that can be dusted onto food items 1-3 times a week for babies and only about once a week or every couple weeks for adults. They should also be fed spirulina and bee pollen once a week mixed with baby food for added nutrients. NEVER FEED things that you just find in your yard! Fireflies are extremely deadly and can kill your gecko if eaten. The risk of parasites or if the bug got into pesticides is too great to risk. Only feed insects that you are sure are safe. For water, a small and shallow dish should be available at all times. Most will learn to drink from this however they will get most of their water from licking surfaces that have been recently sprayed with water. HEALTH: The crested gecko is a very hardy lizard in captivity. There are very few diseases they can get, and most are treatable by a vet. One of the biggest concerns is shedding. While shedding the gecko will turn very dull, and possibly almost white. Don’t be alarmed if you see your gecko eating its skin after coming off, this is 100% normal. The entire process can take 15-45 minutes. Be sure to keep the humidity very high so they can get it all off easier, and if there is some still on the toes or around the tail be sure to keep the humidity up. If you are worried that the shed skin will not come off, take a cotton swab and dampen it. Then slowly push the shed skin off. This is important because if the skin does not come off, it can constrict and completely take off the toe of the gecko. HANDLING: Personally, I find these geckos to be even tamer than leopard geckos. They are much easier to control because they cling to you with their toes and they have soft skin. These geckos will generally allow you to handle them for short periods of time, if handled gently. These geckos tend to calm down with age, and will usually become very laid back in most cases; however there are a few who are flighty. I don’t recommend handling young crested geckos under the age of four months; this is the stage when they are most likely to drop their tail. Keep handling as enjoyable and stress free as possible; never handle your gecko roughly, if they drop their tail it will not grow back. My crested gecko is very tame from a little secret I found out. I only feed my crested gecko fruit baby food outside of the cage, therefore every time I walk into the room he runs up to the top of his enclosure waiting for me to open the screen top. The moment I open it, he leaps onto my shirt for his daily 20 minute handling session that ends with his baby food treat. SEXING/BREEDING: Crested geckos are not completely sex dependent like some other species. However when the temperature is cooler more tend to be more females than males and vise versa but this is not always true. Crested geckos are sexable between the ages of 4-6 months. Males develop obvious hemipenal bulges at the base of their tails at this age, and can easily be told apart from females. Crested geckos are relatively easy to breed. Most will breed readily once placed together however most breeders recommend a winter cooling period to stimulate natural behavior and give the females a break from breeding. Females are capable of being bred at about 12 months of age while males at about 8 months. Both should be healthy and plump for breeding. Be sure to supplement the female with added calcium during this time to help reduce calcium deficiency. Females like to lay their eggs in moist dark places. If you use coconut fibers, then be sure to be on the look out for eggs if the female is gravid. Place a laying box in the enclosure that measures about 5” x 5” x 4” with a hole at the top for entrance and exit. The eggs should be removed within 24 hours of being laid or they will dry out. If the eggs are kept within the enclosure and optimal hatching requirements are met, than the eggs may hatch inside of the cage. However I advise that you take the newborns out immediately or the adults may make a meal out of them. The best way to get a female to use the nest box would be to have a simple setup with few plants and simple substrate. Females can lay 1-2 eggs per clutch and they can lay up to 18 eggs per year. The average being about 12 eggs. Once the eggs are collected you can place them in a sealable plastic container with about 1 or 2 holes in the side for ventilation. I don’t recommend putting holes at the top due to evaporation. You can open the incubator 1-3 times a week for several minutes for added ventialation. You can use a variety of substrates for the incubator, including perlite, vermiculite, potting soil, or coconut husk. Most breeders prefer perlite over anything else, which you can purchase from most garden stores. Place about 2 inches of the substrate in the container and keep it at a 1:1 ratio of water and dry substrate or a little wetter. The temperature should be between 73-80 degrees Fahrenheit inside the incubator. After about 60-90 days there should be little crested geckos exploring their new and bazaar world. HATCHLING CARE: Hatchlings are best kept in small Rubbermaid containers with paper towel or non adhesive shelf liner as a substrate until they are about 1-4 months old. The only furniture that should be found in the cage during this time would be a couple of hides and a shallow water dish. I advise you to keep hatchlings in separate containers until they reach about a month old, to reduce stress and the risk of nips from cage mates. Then once they are about 4 months they should be back in their own enclosures to avoid territory or breeding disputes with males. Once they reach sexual maturity you can keep them in adult sized enclosures. Newborn crested geckos will not eat until after their first shed, which can be anywhere from 2-5 days after hatching. Feed hatchlings small crickets that are about ½ the distance between their eyes. They should consume about 2-6 food items daily. Babies should be fed more meat than fruit, and should be offered baby food about 1-3 times a week with crickets also. Be sure to take all crickets that are not eaten out of the cage so not to stress your gecko. LONGEVITY: Crested geckos are strong and hardy. Because they have only been kept in captivity for a few years their true life span is not know. However it is believed that like most other lizards, they are capable of exceeding 20 years. With proper care, these lizards can live anywhere from 10-20 years. ENJOY!
Hang on better I'd better change my caresheet to Jeff, I was doing a school project when I stratded it and I always say jeffrey on my papers. You guys can call me Jeff or JEFFREH but Jeffrey reminds me of my aunt.... yuck! lol I'll change my sheet. Hey, off topic but whats your name wideglide? j/w Thanks for the caresheet compliment, I worked pretty hard on it. Took me almost a week. Hope you guys found it useful!
I'd be willing to bet bpkid found your sheet useful. I would say you adequately answered his 4 questions and then some.....and some, and some and some and a little more even!!
JEFFREH...the deed has been done lol here is the link to your caresheet http://www.freewebs.com/kl1k/mycrestie.htm
Indeed, now for the finalization paperwork... Bah forget that! "WAS NOT WRITTEN BY ME but by a friend who knows his **** when it comes to cresties..." LMAO! Looks great, much better on your site than it would anywhere else. It was my pleasure letting you use it. bpkid, no problem at all. Keep doing research and when (if) you get a crestie, it will be in great hands! Good luck!
Hey Jeff.....yes it is a good caresheet, I agree & I encourage you to offer it to others who may need it....I think that's great & all.....but one thing that does kind of bother me is that you post the whole caresheet in the actual post. it takes up way too much space dude.... why can't you PM it to that particular person in need? Or maybe even email it? Don't you think that would be a little more practicle? Just a suggestion dude for future posts.
