Crested Gecko Care Guide
Crested geckos occur naturally in New Caledonia, which is a temperate- weather group of islands between Fiji and Australia. The beautiful and enchanting crested gecko is easily cared for. Crested gecko food is widely available in a pre-made formula. They are easy to handle, soft and fun to watch.
SIZE:
Crested geckos grow to be approximately 6 inches long (snout to vent). On average, adults weigh anywhere from 45-50, all the way up to 75 grams. Typically, adult males are slightly longer than adult females. Adult females are slightly more rotund than males, for carrying eggs.
Babies often start out weighing only a gram or two. They are considered well established once they reach 4 to 5 grams and are over 3 months in age.
LONGEVITY:
Crested geckos have long lifespans of 15-25 years. Perhaps even longer if given proper care and nutrition. Be prepared for a long term pet. They approach sexual maturity and subadult hood at approximately 18 months old. They should not be bred until they weigh around 50 grams at adulthood, which is 2-2.5 years of age. When buying a new gecko, take into consideration the size and health of the parents, so you know you're getting a quality animal.
DIET:
In the wild, Crested Geckos feed on various insects, over ripe fruit, pollen and nectar. They have a very diverse diet, which was difficult to replicate in captivity, until Repashy began to manufacture a premium quality Crested gecko diet. Here at Gecko Goddess, we use Repashy mango, as it has three different protein sources. We mix in extra cricket protein. You can buy cricket protein online, meant for human consumption, just make sure it contains only crickets. This extra protein is essential if you aren't feeding bugs to your geckos weekly. Vitamins are also very important to supplement. Calcium and D3 can be mixed into your crested gecko diet. Repashy has a Calcium Plus with HyD mix that contains everything you need.This particular vitamin mix has enough D3 for noctournal reptiles. If you do not feed your geckos supplements, it is very likely that they can end up with metabolic bone disease which can often be fatal. D3 is essential for calcium absorption. Please supplement accordingly.
In addition to Crested gecko diet, insects are an important part of the Crested gecko's diet. Crickets are a common feeder Insect to choose. You should select a size where the length of cricket equals width of the gecko's head. Crickets should be lightly coated with a vitamin/mineral supplement that contains calcium and vitamin D3. Crickets can be offered once a week as a supplement to the Crested Gecko Diet, or if you'd prefer not to deal with live bugs, you can use cricket protein in your crested gecko diet mix, as discussed above. Isopods are also a great source of protein you can keep right in your gecko cage, if you keep your geckos in bioactive vivariums.
WATER & HUMIDITY:
Water should always be available for crested geckos in a shallow water dish. It helps to add plastic plants in the water dish, just in case a small gecko has a difficult time climbing out, and so isopods don't drown in your bioactives. Crested geckos require a relative humidity of at least 60 percent. Ideally, 80% humidity. Crested geckos require daily misting with water. They drink droplets off of plants and the glass. The cage should be allowed to dry between mistings though, so you may need to only spray your cages every other day, depending on how fast they dry.
HOUSING:
Baby crested geckos are best housed single in large plastic terrariums or in 12x12x18 sized exoterra style cages. An adult crested gecko should be housed in an 18x18x24 exoterra. Larger tanks will allow for better displays and more room for your gecko to stretch out and enjoy life. The bigger the better. Screen/mesh lids are necessary for ventilation. Crested geckos should not be cohabbed. Geckos will eventually fight or bully eachother for certain roosting spots, or food, which is stressful. Cohabitation is not recommended, as in the long term, issues can, will and do arise.
LIGHTING/HEATING:
It is important to provide different temperature gradients for optimal activity and feeding. A thermometer is essential for accurate temperature measurements. A temperature gun is even better.
Crested geckos like temperatures of 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. It can drop to the low 70s at night. It is important to keep the temperatures fairly stable to avoid stress. Crested geckos can die from prolonged heat exposure to over 80 degrees for over 24 hours. On the flip side, if they are kept too cold, they will stop eating and metabolizing properly and will have an increased risk of metabolic bone disease and weight loss.
The easiest way to provide heat is a ceramic heat emitter in a reflector type fixture placed on the screen top over one side of the tank, so that the temperature of basking areas reach the desired range. An emitter is regulated by a thermostat, where you can set your temperature to 75 or so degrees. It is important to keep one side of the tank unheated, so that the crested gecko can choose a cooler area to regulate their body temperature.
If you have live plants in your vivarium, light can be provided by a fluorescent bulb running the length of the tank. This will also give your gecko a thermal gradient to choose. Crested geckos tend to rest in foliage or shelters during the day and are active at night. Crested geckos do benefit from UV lighting, but it is not necessary if you supplement the diet with D3, which you should. Since they are nocturnal, keep the lights off at night. Side note for uvb bulbs, they expire after 6 months of use, so it's important to be changing them diligently, or using d3 at least twice weekly.
SUBSTRATE & CAGE FURNISHINGS:
Coir (coconut fiber, sold as compressed bricks) mixed with peat and soil is a good choice for growing live plants and holding humidity. Crested geckos of both sexes enjoy digging and sleeping in the substrate. We recommend using fine substrates as opposed to bark chunks, which pose an impaction risk if ingested.
Isopods and springtails are a good edition to the substrate. These invertebrates serve as a cleanup crew, eating waste and leftover food. As a bonus, they can serve as a source of protein for a gecko. They also will compost organic waste and make that waste bioavailable to vivarium plants.
Crested geckos feel comfortable resting in foliage and amongst branches and bark panels. Good landscape materials include cork bark sections for vertical and ground level shelters, and climbing areas. Cork bark hollows are great as hiding spots. Do not over clutter the tank. Leave plenty of open space for the gecko to hop around. Live plants are recommended, but fake will do as a substitute, in combination with wood and bark will provide a perfect habitat.
Live plants can be rewarding and easy to grow in gecko enclosures. Some hardy, user friendly, low light plants you can try in your gecko enclosure are snake plant, pothos, and smaller dracaena and ficus varieties. Do not pick very delicate plants, as geckos can trample and kill new growth on delicate plants. Pick plants that will work with your lighting. Do not pick high light plants, like Hoyas, if you do not have adequate lighting. The plants listed above, are lower light plants that will do well under low fluorescent or LED lighting. Plants are a good way to regulate and hold humidity in gecko enclosures, plus they offer hiding essential hiding spots for geckos.
It's all about providing microhabitats for your gecko to enjoy. A warmer humid hide, a cooler humid hide, same with bark hides, offer them different places to roost with various microenvironments. Make sure they have perches and ledges covered partially with foliage to make them feel safe and secure.
ACCLIMATION:
When you get a new gecko, it's best to put it in a proper enclosure in an area in your home where you have no other animals (quarantine). The recommended quarantine period is 3 months.
During the first 3 weeks, it's best not to handle your gecko at all. Let it settle in and adapt to it's new home. This is the most stressful part of a gecko's life. Do all you can to ensure it's privacy and lower stress in any way you can, which usually means, feed and water it, and leave it alone. After three weeks, if you notice your gecko beginning to have a steady appetite, now is the time to begin gentle handling.
Hand over hand handling is the best approach. Never enclose a gecko in your grasp. Instead, act as a platform for your gecko to walk, hop or leap on. Expect your gecko to leap and attempt to flee. Be patient, and limit interactions to under 10 minutes a day. It's also wise to start handling a skittish gecko in an area without clutter, in case it leaps away. Over time crested geckos calm down and tolerate handling well.
UNBOXING:
When you get your new gecko home, it will be scared and stressed from being in a travel container. Do not attempt a handling session. Instead, place the gecko in its freshly misted enclosure with food, and allow it to decompress and begin acclimation. Expect that your gecko may jump or run from the travel container when you open it. Be prepared for this, and unbox the gecko near it's new cage to reduce chances of a flighty gecko running off into the void.
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If you have any questions, please contact us. Happy Gecko Keeping!
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