[Craigbaines]

Hey guys,

My viv is wooden, with glass doors and is 2ft, by a ft by 2ft high.

Im planning on putting a crested gecko in there, now its way too big for a babie right?

anyway, atm i have bark, which iv now learnt is no good either ?? and iv got an exo terra background coming, iv got a peice of wood to climb uup and a plant, but im planning to buy more plants to fill it all up.

Iv also got a food/water dish.

Iv ordered the 2 part diet to come, and now im left woundering if i should buy a babie, an adult or what....

Iv been told that the bark needs to come out compleatly, and that if i buy a babie i need to get a faunarium instead.

Also, the wooden viv will sweel with the humidity and then hold bacteria and could harm the crestie, what are your exsperiances with this?

Abit more guidance would be greatly appeciated,

Thanks,

Craig

 

[sparkle]

HI craig, the humidity issue with the wood could cause mould spores unless the viv is 100% sealed. Also as I mentioned on msn the wood may swell and rot.
As i mentioned also the size of viv for a hatchling is very large.. a faunarium would do just fine though a hathclingbaby would literally be lost in that size of viv.

As for the bark.. personally i dont use bark after having some problems.. cresties are not good aimers when feeding live and since their poos are tiny they get everyhere so keeping bark properly clean can be a pain.

Compacted eco earth is a good choice or paper towels with soil boxes which is what i use.

if you seal your wooden viv 100% then theres no reason why you couldnt get an adult crestie

Hope some others have some additonal advice..

 

[oakelm]

Im new to cresties too, from what I have read and been advised it is better to keep hatchlings in faurnariums so you can monitor them as in a viv that size you might never see them. But if you go for an adult you could go straight for the viv.
As for humidity, before I considered cresties I have kept snakes for 12 years, 10 of those years being snakes that require very high humidity and were a delicate species so bateria would kill them off quickly. I have used wood vivs without an issue for them. I would recommend sealing it really well. Dont forget the exposed wood where the vents are fitted, they lasted a good 6-7 years before I had a refit anyway. Good hygiene is of course a must to stop any type of bad bacteria. I plan on using wood vivs when they are big enough and can be sexed.

Finally good luck with the crestie(s) they are cute little critters.

 

[Craigbaines]

Ok, its good to know others have used wooden vivs ok with high humidity.

Im currently sealing it all up as best i can now.

 

[sparkle]

Yes you can use wooden vivs but you HAVE to seal.. not just the bottom part either where you initially had. I know you asked me last night why you had to seal the sides etc.. I had also told you this last night on MSN. I understand several other people have explained about the hatchling not going into a tank this size and about using a smaller faunarium with paper towels for a baby crestie too. Its great to have lots of input and different ideas but I think on this one the conseus is the same.. 100% fully seal the wooden viv everywhere..



I have water dragons and we use wooden vivs for them but the WHOLE viv is sealed vents/ joins everything it took ages and a load of aquarium sealant but it has to be done. One viv weve had nearly 3 years now and its 100% fine but since craig explained last night on MSN he had only done the flooring of this viv and he hadnt done the rest i had mentioned unless he does hed be better off with a faunarium or a glass tank.

I appreciate you want it to look nice as you mentioned craig but it has to be functional and long lasting preferably. As long as you take your time and get it right.

I would also remove the light you have in it as I also said last night. You suggested using it to find your crestie if you were looking for it but to be honest a light being switched on suddenly in a tank outwith the day/night cycle isnt the best idea for a calm crestie. I know you mentioned using it for show but cresties shouldnt have bulbs like that on at night. if you really want lights then id use the nice luma roack lights. They are waterproof and LEDs that are uses in aquariums, I use either red or blue colours in mine and as they are fully waterproof there is no isue with spraying water either.

As for the bark I think I covered the reasons behind not using it last night for a hatchling and an adult ( pretty sure we were on msn chatting for about an hour to an hour and a half about the set up and feeding) .. but to reiterate adults often end up with a mouthful of substrate as cresties have such large jaws/ mouth and are such clumsy hunters... and its not an easy to clean substrate.. often poos etc would be hard to notice in a bark floor. As for babies.. kitchen roll is best that way you know if they are eating too.

Eco earth for older cresties and sub adults is also fine as long as it is compacted down.

I find paper towels work well and i also use a soil box which i fill with exo earth and place in my vivs. This makes it easy to clean but also gives the crestie humid soil in the viv too.

Hopefully now you have got the answers to the questions you were asking

I think we also lastly discussed about whether it would be better to wait to find an adult you liked for you tank as it was too large for a hatchling.

I hope something will come up in classifieds soon.

Good Luck

: victory: