Crested Gecko Set Up

Sounds like fun!
Keep us updated.
My baby gecko is nearly an adult and I have to upgrade him too. But for now he is happy in his tank.

 

it will for sure be a fun little project, pretty excited to get started but I feel like it will get expensive XD. this is all because I was at Big Al's a few days ago and saw all of their terrariums all setup and ended up getting inspired/motivated.
yeah he is definitely due for an upgrade soon lol,

 

it will for sure be a fun little project, pretty excited to get started but I feel like it will get expensive XD. this is all because I was at Big Al's a few days ago and saw all of their terrariums all setup and ended up getting inspired/motivated.
yeah he is definitely due for an upgrade soon lol,

Agree! Big Als always has something making us want to buy...

 

right? there were a ton of things I wanted to buy; fish, shrimp, plants, new aquariums, etc. the only thing they were lacking were terrariums to buy because if they did have one I would have gotten it lol

 

Keep us updated! I’m excited!!

But the entire Christmas Cactus plant is toxic to crested geckos from what I can gather! It will probably also rot due to the high humidity in a gecko tank. Succulents and spineless cactuses generally don’t do well, you’ll want to get plants that can handle being watered often. The others will be fine especially the prayer plant, they look amazing in gecko tanks.

 

Keep us updated! I’m excited!!

But the entire Christmas Cactus plant is toxic to crested geckos from what I can gather! It will probably also rot due to the high humidity in a gecko tank. Succulents and spineless cactuses generally don’t do well, you’ll want to get plants that can handle being watered often. The others will be fine especially the prayer plant, they look amazing in gecko tanks.

really? everywhere was saying they were safe for geckos. yeah after looking into it a bit more research it looks like they likely won't do that well in the tank

 

alright managed to get the exo terra 18x18x24 along with a few things. haven't gotten the springtails yet though

 

the tank was way heavier then I thought it would be lol. I had to have my dad carry it into my room and my mom to lift it into the car.

 

I ended up mixing eco earth and plantation soil because I didnt have enough of the Eco Earth left.


my prayer plant is one of the plants I added into the tank. ended up with two as it apparently multiplied at some point lol


RattleSnake plant also went in. its not very tall but is pretty bushy and has sturdy leaves.


the wood I ordered came in as well. its not very big but is a great little climbing spot for him


I kept the background it came with because I like it and I don't really want to build one at the moment. although the nose is broken but I like how it looks with the missing nose.


here is the full setup right now. I'm fairly happy with it right now but I need to get better/more hiding spots for my crestie

 

Looks great!!!!

 

here are the bulbs I currently have for the lamp. I might have to get better ones but these should be fine for a few days


I did pick up a hide. its a moss hide that comes with chains to hang it but I don't know how to hang it and I don't have anything to put it up high without falling yet


also picked up some repashy mango blend as that is the food I originally wanted to try out when I first got him but didnt know where to find it. luckily there is a reptile store called House of Scales which carries a bunch of reptiles and supplies (wish I knew about it when I was looking to buy a reptile lol). so far it has the best aroma out of the foods I currently have. smells wayy better and stronger then Pangeas Watermelon & Mango. there were a bunch of other blends that interested me but I controlled myself lol


I managed to get a pic of him after I put him in his new home. He looks majestic XD although I did get a camera as well today so I will be able to get better pics in the future!

 

managed to find better bulbs that shouldnt produce much heat today after work. hopefully the plants do well with it

 

Tank looks great!! I switched 2 of my 6 terrariums to bioactive and my cresties love them!! Dracaena and Snake Plants make great plants for them my creative loves them and hiding in their leaves. For the lights make sure that the kelvin reading is at least 5000k normally I go with 6500k but I have had great luck with 5000k. As long as the light says “daylight” it should grow plants just fine. Another thing I’ve noticed for cresties is that they love cork tubes!! Mine is shaped like a huge tree trunk which my crestie loves!! You might want to consider a leaf litter layer if you’re going to add isopod gives them a little something extra to munch on and keeps your crestie from the soil

 

I love bioactive steups!! Check out serpadesign on youtube, he's done two great crested gecko bioactive setups!

 

Tank looks great!! I switched 2 of my 6 terrariums to bioactive and my cresties love them!! Dracaena and Snake Plants make great plants for them my creative loves them and hiding in their leaves. For the lights make sure that the kelvin reading is at least 5000k normally I go with 6500k but I have had great luck with 5000k. As long as the light says “daylight” it should grow plants just fine. Another thing I’ve noticed for cresties is that they love cork tubes!! Mine is shaped like a huge tree trunk which my crestie loves!! You might want to consider a leaf litter layer if you’re going to add isopod gives them a little something extra to munch on and keeps your crestie from the soil

thank you! bioactive tanks do seem popular with cresties haha plus it makes cleaning easier. alright my plants should be fine then since the bulbs are daylight LED 5000k with 1500 lumens. ive been looking for cork tubes and such but eveytime I go to a store that carries them, they are almost sold out XD. I won't be adding isopods right now maybe in the future, just springtails for now. I will order extra leaf litter next time I need more for me betta tank then

I love bioactive steups!! Check out serpadesign on youtube, he's done two great crested gecko bioactive setups!

same, they can look amazing if enough effort is put into them. oh thanks, I will have to check out some of his videos later

 

springtails finally arrived. there were a few casualties but not a lot 99% lived, despite it being -10 degrees and lower. they came in a pretty big container as well so I got a lot of them for only $9.99 which is way cheaper then the place I was origionally going to order from. good thing too because the substrate was starting to grow some fuzz


also someone has settled into the new tank nicely. I was a little worried about him being stressed because he is still fairly small and its a much bigger tank but doesn't seem to be an issue thankfully.

 

springtails finally arrived. there were a few casualties but not a lot 99% lived, despite it being -10 degrees and lower. they came in a pretty big container as well so I got a lot of them for only $9.99 which is way cheaper then the place I was origionally going to order from. good thing too because the substrate was starting to grow some fuzz
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also someone has settled into the new tank nicely. I was a little worried about him being stressed because he is still fairly small and its a much bigger tank but doesn't seem to be an issue thankfully.
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Yay! The springtails should eat up that fuzzy mold in no time if it grows anywhere that the springtails can’t get to, remove it so it doesn’t spread. And after your gecko is done with its food - flip the dish over in the substrate so the springtails can eat at the rest. Once you have springtails established in one tank, you’ll never have to buy them again. They end up in enclosures we haven’t even put them in, and even our house plants haha. They’re astounding little kritters.

 

Yay! The springtails should eat up that fuzzy mold in no time if it grows anywhere that the springtails can’t get to, remove it so it doesn’t spread. And after your gecko is done with its food - flip the dish over in the substrate so the springtails can eat at the rest. Once you have springtails established in one tank, you’ll never have to buy them again. They end up in enclosures we haven’t even put them in, and even our house plants haha. They’re astounding little kritters.

yeah ive been removing bits of it but not too much. oh that's a good idea, with the food. I was thinking of using some of my fish food since I have a habit of collecting supplies lol. haha then I hope they manage to get established because they are useful little guys and hard to find surprisingly XD.

 

oh I found a way to hang the moss hide. just used some zip ties I have for plants. will likely have to get stronger ones once he is bigger but will work for awhile

 

I heard that plants won't grow long term in eco earth which is what I used. is there a way to fertilize it once it runs out of nutrients?

 

Springtails act as your fertiliser. Their waste feeds plants. As long as eco earth stays moist, your plants should be fine.

 

I heard that plants won't grow long term in eco earth which is what I used. is there a way to fertilize it once it runs out of nutrients?

You can mix it with organic top soil hard to find this time of year but it’s doable. We have eco earth with some sand (to keep it from clumping and getting hard) and spagnum moss - the plants are all doing just fine. I myself was assuming the springtails and geckos kind of fertilize the soil.

And as mentioned above, the eco earth should be moist, but you also want some dry out periods. Too much humidity all of the time caused respitory issues lightly mist in the mornings and do a heavier misting at night.

 

alright that's a bit of a relief to hear lol. I don't want to tear it all down and redo it especially since it took me an hour to do the first time.yeah I usually do a light misting in the mornings and a bit heavier misting at night, then let it dry in between.

 

any suggestions on how to make it look better/less empty? I'm thinking of replacing the vines with a magnetic one or a plant that is like a vine. not pothos though because I don't want it to block lighting and its not that common here. the current vines are a little hard to work with and don't look good in a sort of natural setup. also want to replace the hanging plants with something better. my prayer plant is a little big so I don't want a plant that is too bulky. not too sure what else to add because I like it but not fully yet

 

I'd add a peace lily, be sure to remove flowers. Parlour palms also do well, place one up the back to fill in space. English ivy would grow up those vines really well, along with ficus pumila, to add climbing plants. You could also attach a few air-plants or bromeliads to the background/vines. An anthurium would definitely fill in space.

 

English ivy is safe for geckos? I can get the ivy because that kind is really easy to find here.

 

Yep! It's used in this satanic leaf-tailed gecko build!

 

oh that's cool! I will get some this weekend then!






got some plant growth so I must be doing something right lol, one flower bud, a few leaves and a branch..stem thing on the prayer plant.

just one new leaf for the Rattlesnake plant

 

got some organic soil and mixed it with the eco earth. although the dirt was literally frozen at the store because where they kept it wasn't heated or anything, the bag is also bigger then I would like so I guess I have a reason to get more planters....just need to find a spot to put it as it isn't resealable and I have cats (which isn't a mix) lol. while mixing the substrate I did move things around and made space for more plants.

the soil is peat based so it will also help to hold moisture which I think is great for the tank. will be going shopping for new plants this friday. hopefully I can find what I need/want. the springtails also seem to be doing well, they were all over the substrate as I was digging!

 

got new plants!
yesterday I picked up two new plants. one is a creeping fig and the other is a Nerve plants


I really love how the nerve plant looks. deep green with a vivid red/pink


I had this plant before, its easy to grow and is a great vine plant. I got a lot more then I already planted but trying to figure out where to putt the rest of them lol.


I put both plants all around the front, back and side but I did put a lot of the Figs around the log I have in there, so that they will hopefully use that to climb with

 

That all looks amazing!

 

Love the nerve plant!!

 

Love the nerve plant!!

right? its a really gorgeous plant, way better in person. I was surprised to see it at the garden centre. its a carpeting plant which is exactly what I needed, so hopefully it adjusts well to the environment. although taking them out of the pots werent fun because there was a worm (which I don't do well with) and a spider lol....

ive been thinking of adding magnetic planters so I can hang real plants instead of using fake. something like this but hopefully cheaper lol:

 

I think magnetic ledges will be a great idea, not only look fantastic but also provide more vertical space for your gecko! Just be sure that they are sturdy and can support a gecko leaping onto them.

 

I agree! I love the ledge I have right now that also holds the food and water because has really strong magnets and looks great just wish they were a bit cheaper haha. they are usually around $30-$60 here but is for sure worth it. just gotta wait for payday since I recently bought my brother a larger cage for his rat which wasn't cheap lol

 

the creeping figs didnt last very long and I do have some nerve plants but they aren't thriving


there is some new growth though so they aren't completely unhappy lol. apparently there is one fig left

I was going to add other plants in there such as pothos but my prayer plant took over and I would feel bad if I transplanted some of them because they really love it in there. I went from 2 prayers to 5 prayers but haven't gotten it to flower in there yet. the Rattlesnake plant is also doing well, is starting to get taller but hasnt multiplied yet.

I'm going to be removing the background and replacing it with magnetic ledges, maybe magnetic planters and fake plants like on the sides soon, hopefully next weekend when I go to store that carries those things. unless I make my own but I don't have any cork bark to use which I want to add to it because I can't find pieces I like lol but I will keep looking

 

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the creeping figs didnt last very long and I do have some nerve plants but they aren't thriving
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there is some new growth though so they aren't completely unhappy lol. apparently there is one fig left

I was going to add other plants in there such as pothos but my prayer plant took over and I would feel bad if I transplanted some of them because they really love it in there. I went from 2 prayers to 5 prayers but haven't gotten it to flower in there yet. the Rattlesnake plant is also doing well, is starting to get taller but hasnt multiplied yet.

I'm going to be removing the background and replacing it with magnetic ledges, maybe magnetic planters and fake plants like on the sides soon, hopefully next weekend when I go to store that carries those things. unless I make my own but I don't have any cork bark to use which I want to add to it because I can't find pieces I like lol but I will keep looking

If you have a reptile show in your area you can go to, look for piece of cork bark there. SO much cheaper than at local pet stores and you can ask the vendors if they have anything specific to what you’re looking for. And where in the tank do you have your nerve plant? I have one I’m growing out to eventually propagate and put in enclosures but I’ve noticed it absolutely hates light. It got about 5 minutes of strong indirect sunlight one time and it wilted to the ground. Took it away from the light and it shot back up in minutes. So you may just have to move it somewhere where it’s getting a lot less light. And I think you could add some pothos! I would take a vine of pothos that has some roots attached, plant it, and wrap it around the fake vines you have it there. They will eventually fill out the tank really nicely and you can cut them down if they overgrow.

But overall, wow!! Your tank looks awesome. I bet your gecko is living the life looks like it’s really thriving and I’m glad you’re having so much fun with it!

 

If you have a reptile show in your area you can go to, look for piece of cork bark there. SO much cheaper than at local pet stores and you can ask the vendors if they have anything specific to what you’re looking for. And where in the tank do you have your nerve plant? I have one I’m growing out to eventually propagate and put in enclosures but I’ve noticed it absolutely hates light. It got about 5 minutes of strong indirect sunlight one time and it wilted to the ground. Took it away from the light and it shot back up in minutes. So you may just have to move it somewhere where it’s getting a lot less light. And I think you could add some pothos! I would take a vine of pothos that has some roots attached, plant it, and wrap it around the fake vines you have it there. They will eventually fill out the tank really nicely and you can cut them down if they overgrow.

But overall, wow!! Your tank looks awesome. I bet your gecko is living the life looks like it’s really thriving and I’m glad you’re having so much fun with it!

I don't have any shows in my area at the moment but I will look around and see what if there will be any soon. I have the Nerve plant in the back where it gets a good amount of light so I might try moving it somewhere with a little more shade. oh! that's a good idea for the pothos, I will have to stop by the garden shop sometime soon then and hopefully they have some in stock if not I will have to wait until they do.

haha he seems to be enjoying it although he still prefers the fake plants to hide in but he isn't the best at hiding. its hard not to have fun with these sort of things because there is a lot you can do with them

 

I don't have any shows in my area at the moment but I will look around and see what if there will be any soon. I have the Nerve plant in the back where it gets a good amount of light so I might try moving it somewhere with a little more shade. oh! that's a good idea for the pothos, I will have to stop by the garden shop sometime soon then and hopefully they have some in stock if not I will have to wait until they do.

haha he seems to be enjoying it although he still prefers the fake plants to hide in but he isn't the best at hiding. its hard not to have fun with these sort of things because there is a lot you can do with them
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Before adding plants to your enclosure try acclimating them to the area the tank is in first we’ve were having loads of trouble getting things to survive long term in our tanks for quite a while, which is really frustrating because I like to consider myself pretty good with plants, but once I started letting them sit in their nursery pots for a while in areas by the tanks they did much better once I added them in. House plants seem to work best for me personally, outdoor plants seem to die off pretty quickly.

But definitely looks like he loves the heck of it! And hahah I know, you provide the geckos with all of these awesome live plants and hides..,and they choose to hang out anywhere but there. One of my tanks is full of foliage and hides but the gecko chooses to sit on the door of the glass; absolutely no where else. I take that as they feel extremely secure in their environment and feel no instinctual need to hide but others may say different.

 

Before adding plants to your enclosure try acclimating them to the area the tank is in first we’ve were having loads of trouble getting things to survive long term in our tanks for quite a while, which is really frustrating because I like to consider myself pretty good with plants, but once I started letting them sit in their nursery pots for a while in areas by the tanks they did much better once I added them in. House plants seem to work best for me personally, outdoor plants seem to die off pretty quickly.

But definitely looks like he loves the heck of it! And hahah I know, you provide the geckos with all of these awesome live plants and hides..,and they choose to hang out anywhere but there. One of my tanks is full of foliage and hides but the gecko chooses to sit on the door of the glass; absolutely no where else. I take that as they feel extremely secure in their environment and feel no instinctual need to hide but others may say different.

oh I never thought about acclimating the plants before, didnt know it was a thing lol. I will have to give it a try. I'm fairly good with plants, I can get most plants to grow but can't do succulents for some reason. yeah I noticed that as well, outdoor plants don't seem to do as well generally compared to indoor plants.

although I hate removing the plants from the planters they come in because there have been times where I found earth worms in them despite the plants being indoor. I can handle most bugs but not worms @.@, they are my worst enemy. right? you get geckos all these nice things but don't want to use them. it doesn't worry me, I also see it as them being comfortable enough because there is nothing indicating otherwise.