Crested Gecko Care Sheet

[xvickyx]

Well I haven't been keeping reptiles very long, but thought I would try at writing a little about them and what I have learnt so far.

Comments would be greatly appreciated. Also on my website here

Why a Crested Gecko?
Crested Geckos are semi-arboreal lizards, spending most of their time in small trees/branches and shrubs. They are native to Southern Grand Terre, New Caledonia and at least one small surrounding island (Isle of Pines).

Crested geckos (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) were thought of being extinct, but were rediscovered in 1994, since then they have become one of the most popular lizards kept.

Crested geckos are great first reptiles, as they are relativity easy to look after, tame easily and are beautiful to look at. They can be kept at room temperature, providing your house/room does not get too cold, heat mats can be used to up the temperature a little but they MUST be controlled by a thermostat.

What size Vivarium?Crested geckos are a small lizard rarely growing over 8" in length. A single adult can be comfortably kept in an Exo Terra 45 x 45 x 60 remembering that height it more important that length, as they do spend alot of their time in the branches.

What decorations should I have in my Vivarium?
Cresties love to climb so you should provide lots of branches and vines, these can either be artificial or real (remember when using real to thoroughly clean and soak before putting into your Cresties viv). You can use silk, plastic or real plants, I have chosen to use silk plants, due to the ease of cleaning and maintenance, I think a planted viv can look visually stunning, and one day would like to experiment with this.

Feeding
A commercial crested gecko diet (GCD, Repashy 2 part), is usually well-accepted and is the easiest way to ensure a well-balanced, nutritious diet. It can be supplemented with crickets and other prey insects for variety and to allow the gecko to exercise its hunting instincts. Any insects fed should be slightly smaller than the space between the gecko's eyes, and should be gut loaded prior to feeding, and dusted with a calcium supplement.
Fruit can be fed several times a week as well as a treat. You can try mashed fruit or jarred baby food; they often like bananas, peaches, nectarines, apricots, papaya, mangoes, pears, and passion fruit (these can be frozen to keep longer). Also bee pollen is enjoyed by most cresties if mixed with fruit or GCD, Repashy.

Feed in the evening; juveniles should be feed daily but adults do not need to be fed every day (3 times a week is recommended by many keepers).

Substrate
For substrate it is good to use something that can retain a high humidity. You can use paper towels (what I use), orchard bark, eco soil, coconut fibre, moss, or peat. Some cresties can be prone to ingesting the substrate whilst hunting, and is this is the case, moss (which can be over the top off coconut fibre or other substrates) or paper towels would be more suitable, as ingesting any substrate can be harmful to you crestie. I have chosen paper towels as this is easily thrown away and replaced.

My Gecko has lost its tail?
Don't worry! This is a defence mechanism used gecko to get away from predators when scared or threatened, this does not effect the gecko in anyway, and usually heals quickly (but remember to keep an eye on the wound). Cresties are one of a kind in that the tail will not grow back once dropped. Please be careful handling you Cresties and be gentle with them at all times.

What is a Frogbum?
I have only recently learned what this term means, and it is an expression for a Crestie without a tail. cute ah?..

What is a RUB?
A RUB is a "Really Useful Box" which are commonly used for lizards or snakes, they are cheap alternatives to Vivs and can be just as good, but just maybe not look as visually appealing as a wooden or glass Viv, they can also be stacked on top of each other, which makes them ideal for people keeping many reptiles. They come in a wide variety of sizes one to suit everyone. You can buy them from all good stationary stores and online also.

RUBS
Argos RUBS

What temperature?
Cresties can bee kept comfortably at room temperature, but only if your room does not get too cold (or too hot!) Cresties are VERY intolerable to temperatures over 85f and this can be fatal to them. If your house does get a bit on the chilly side you can always use a small heat mat and thermostat to raise the temperature a bit, a thermostat MUST be used to control the temperature and make sure the heat mat does not over heat, as previously said Cresties are intolerable to high temperatures. A daytime temperature gradient of 72-80 F (22-26.5 C) should be provided, with a drop at night time to 65-75 F (18-24 C).

What about Humidity?
The humidity for Crested Geckos should rest between 60% - 90%. Daily spraying 1-3 times should keep the humidity high enough or you can use damp sphagnum moss in the Viv to help raise the humidity. You will need a good hygrometer to regularly monitor levels as humidity is very important for your Crestie. Regular mistings should be done morning & evening with warm filtered water or when you feel it needs misting. Crested geckos are more likely to drink from water droplets left from the mist than from a water bowl, so misting is very important.

© Vicky Farrell 2010

[Samanthaa]

This is a great sheet
Do you know what size RUBs are good for cresteds?

[Tommy123]

For when there adults?

[Samanthaa]

Both really.

[Tommy123]

Not everyone recommends rubs for adults, but it can be done. You can put them on there side, so there arboreal.

[xvickyx]

I would personally keep them in Exos. But RUBs can be used

[Tommy123]

Yeah, I agree with Vicky. But when people breed, or have loads, this is when there most used. You may aswell buy an exo-terra if your getting only 1 or 2, it looks so much better.

[SteveCourty]

Im looking at getting 3 (1 male 2 fem) in a home made unit how big a space will i need. The floor space will be 2 - 2 1/2ft so width and height to suit this.

[xvickyx]

I think that sounds good height is definately the most important, them being arboreal

[SteveCourty]

Sorry i meant its a 2 1/2ft deep floor space so how high and wide would i need to go! Im guessing a cube of this size would be big enougth?