Getting my first lizard

[Mince]

After a year of pestering my missus to "allow" me to get a lizard, she has finally relented. I have therefore decided to get a crested gecko as, as far as I am aware, are ideal for an amateur and do not need live food which was the bit that freaked her out. I understand I need to get a 20 gallon tank, but what are the measurements of this? Also, can someone please tell me how much the set up and running costs of a gecko are and whether it is a good idea getting a pair of them. I've done my bit of reading up on the internet on them but all the information just seems recycled; I also have a 4 year old, who no doubt will want to pester it - are they that tolerant?

Many thanks in advance.

Mince

[SnuffBunny]

Do you want to get yourself a grown on crestie or start off with a baby?
Basically, (Im not a pro btw lol) For more then one crestie to live together "happily" they have to both be females, so grown on sexed geckos would be your best bet, but! Sexed female cresties cost a little bit more than an unsexed juvie or even a male adult...two males together as you proberly know already as you have done some research will fight and more n likely kill eatch other.
The 20l tank thing, type in Exo terra into google and itll come up with different sizes for you. like 60cm by 40 by 60 or something.
You'd need a taller tank/viv for a crestie as they climb and what not...as far as your four year old goes, I dont think cresties would be good with being pestered, they could drop they're tails or and get stressed out.
They are nocturnal so would be asleep when your 4yo is up anyways!
As the live food thing goes also, I let mine have live food a couple of times a week as it helps me to monitor health and calcium intake and what not.
Hope that helped?
xxx

[spend_day]

first of all welcome to the forums

i dont keep cresties myself but i was thinking about it (and still am) and have looked into keeping them quite a bit

for one an exo terra (they make vivariums and are one of the most readily available manufactures) 45x45x60cm (LxWXH) would be a good size. for 2 the 60x45x60cm would be better.

you can house pairs together but males will fight and a male female pair might breed (or the male might stress the female out with wanting to breed) if you were to get a male and u wanted more i would suggest a 1 male 2 female group.

as for the child if a crested gecko "drops" its tail it doesnt grow back also as far as im aware they can be shy and sometimes skittish when handled so get it used to human contact before bring the child in and make sure your kid knows not to hold it by the tail and to be gentel

[Mince]

Thanks both for the reply, I guess I'll have to scare the nipper so he wont touch him! Is a baby crestie harder to look after or would one recommend getting an adult? I will probably go for the 2 females and feed them on the T-REX stuff. Any idea how much they would cost over a year on average pls?

[andy007]

Hi
If your house is generally warm, you wont need extra heating for them, so in that respect would be cheaper to keep than say Leo's.
I wouldn't advise housing 1 male with 1 female, he may pester her too much.
The T rex crested gecko diet is becoming increasingly difficult to get We get the Repashy 2 part diet from Pangea, but it has to be ordered from USA. Got ours in 4 days

[andy007]

With regards to how much......2 sexed females are gonna cost you in the region of £300, if you can find any???

[linda60]

Hi I have 1 crestie in a 45x45x60,here's a link for cheek exo terras Cupar Garden Centre Terrariums also how to convert gallons to sizes Conversions and Aquarium Volume Calculator @ petfish.net hope this helps,good luck,with whatever you decide.