Info On The Crested Gecko

Hey guys,

I've been researching a lot on crested geckos lately in hopes of getting one. I have a 10 gallon tank sitting in my closet right now and I want to do something with it. I already know all about fish, so I've researched into reptiles. The crested gecko seems to me a good place to begin if I actually end up getting started in the reptile hobby.

Articles online say a 10 gallon is too small for an adult gecko, 20 gallon long is best. Yet they also say 2-3 geckos can go in a 20 gallon long. Tanks are placed vertically for height of course. This doesn't seem to match up. What's going on here? Thanks

P.S. I'm also not sure how much of you guys do reptile stuff because this is a fish forum, but I thought I'd ask.

 

Hi, I raised some Baslisks, a crested gecko, and a leopard gecko at various times. The good thing about the crested is they are very gentle and you can start a baby in a 10 gallon and handle daily once he is there for a bit. Don't do vertical but keep it horizontal. Get some decorations and make sure you purchase crested gecko food. They are great pets!

 

Hi, I have a crested gecko and I recommend a 20 gallon long (flipped vertically of course!) for 1 adult crested gecko. I don't recommend putting more than one in the same tank as that can be very tricky and stressful even for more advanced keepers. You could get a juvenile/baby for the ten gallon but you would need to upgrade once it gets bigger. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

Thank you both for replying!

Hi, I raised some Baslisks, a crested gecko, and a leopard gecko at various times. The good thing about the crested is they are very gentle and you can start a baby in a 10 gallon and handle daily once he is there for a bit. Don't do vertical but keep it horizontal. Get some decorations and make sure you purchase crested gecko food. They are great pets!

I have read that a baby can be in a 10 gallon. Why have it be horizontal? I thought crested geckos needed height so you'd have to flip the tank vertically. I've watched some amazing diy videos on how to turn a horizontal aquarium tank into a vertical... terrarium (is that the right word?).

Hi, I have a crested gecko and I recommend a 20 gallon long (flipped vertically of course!) for 1 adult crested gecko. I don't recommend putting more than one in the same tank as that can be very tricky and stressful even for more advanced keepers. You could get a juvenile/baby for the ten gallon but you would need to upgrade once it gets bigger. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the 10 vs. 20 long.

What do they need as far as heating and humidity. What I've read hints at they would be fine at room temperature between high 60's to the 70s with a good spray of water twice a day for humidity. What do you guys do? Can you post pictures of your geckos and their enclosures?

 

You want it to be more horizontal for a baby since they are more prone to jumping out of nowhere and you don't want it to get injured falling from a high place. You still want to make sure you have plants and hides for them though. The minimum temp for crested geckos is 60 and the maximum is 80 so I keep mine at room temp (which is about 70). Since my gecko is still a baby/juvenile I keep it in a tub that has plenty of ventilation. (I choose a tub instead of a tank because I didn't want to have to buy a small tank and then upgrade it.) Once my crested gecko is big enough I'm moving is to a 20 gallon tall. Since I have my crested gecko in a tub vs. a tank I find I only have to spray it once at night. If you use a tank you will probably have to spray it twice a day. Also, if your house doesn't quite stay 70-80 degrees you could use a heating pad with a thermostat set to like 75 (do not use heating pads on plastic tubs of course!) make sure if you use the heating pad you use a thermostat otherwise it will hurt your gecko




.

He is getting upgraded soon.

 

hurt

Sorry about the pictures messing up the text hopefully it's still readable.

 

AW! He is so cute, I love him! That's smart to keep him in a tub while he's still little.

What do you use to keep track of the humidity?

My house temperature varies from high 60s - low 70s degrees Fahrenheit depending on the season. Would those temps be ok for a gecko? I'm all about saving money so if I could get away without buying a heating pad that would be great!

Also, where can you buy a crested gecko? I live about an hour away from any pet stores which are a PetCo and PetSmart and I don't really want to buy reptiles or any animals from them. I have looked around online to see if I could order a gecko and have it shipped to me, but I haven't been very diligent about that and don't like the pricing of shipping.

 

Buy the humidity and temp stick ons-not super expensive but accurate. Watch the tail because if you accidentally remove it (they will drop it to get away) they do not grow new ones.

 

Those temps would be fine but you definitely want to make sure it doesn't get too cold at night. For temp and humidity, you can get one of these-
Keep in mind that if you keep it in cooler temps it might grow a teeny bit slower(make sure you keep the temp under 80 F at all times though)
I agree with you not buying animals from Petco/Petsmart. Maybe you could try looking on craigslist. That is where I got mine.

 

Also if it gets any lower than 65 F I would move it into a warmer room or get a heating pad.

 

The coldest temperature it gets in my house is around 63 during winter nights (only a couple nights) when the fires go out. So I think it may be best to get a heating pad, it wouldn't hurt to have one.

I looked on craigslist and there are some baby geckos for $30, but their location is about 5 hours away from my house. Is $30 a reasonable price for baby cresties?

 

Yes, I paid $4o for mine. Also for the heating pad, you wouldn't have to get one until next winter unless you live somewhere where its cold still.

 

Yes, I paid $4o for mine. Also for the heating pad, you wouldn't have to get one until next winter unless you live somewhere where its cold still.

Where did you get your crested gecko again? (Sorry, I think you said before) Also, where would I put a heating pad? I haven't done any research myself, and I definitely will before buying. What is a good heating pad to buy? Tank you for your help!

 

I got mine off of craigslist. You honestly probably wouldn't need a heating pad as long as you kept an eye on the temp. If I were you I would wait to get a heating pad. If you did get a heating pad it would go on the side of the tank. Heres the heating pad.
here's the thermostat that you HAVE to get if you use a heating pad
Also here is a good care guide, but definitely do more research - Crested Gecko Care Sheet & Guide | moonvalleyreptiles.com

 

Thank you so much for all your help! I really appreciate your time and info you put into helping me.

What does daily/weekly/monthly maintenance look like for a crested gecko? What substrate to use? I've read that when you first get a gecko you should use paper towel to easily see if they are eating/pooping.

 

No Problem! I'm happy to help if it means an animal will get a good home! Daily care would be feeding, watering, and spot cleaning. For a baby weekly care would be cleaning the paper towels (you might have to do this more than once a week) and weighing (you don't have too, but its recommended) There really isn't any monthly care. For an adult you can use paper towels but it is easier to use a bioactive setup for an adult but I would definitely use paper towels for a baby.

 

Spot cleaning? Meaning poop-scooping I assume? Now, for a baby, you recommend paper towel over bioactive set up why? Bioactive set up would help hold in the humidity better wouldn't it? Could you use that set up, then put paper towel over it? Then the humidity would remain.

Also, since my tank was previously an aquarium I'll need a lid so it can go vertically. Do you have any recommendations for a good lid? I've done some research and have found one lid on amazon that has great reviews and some other people I've talked to has it and say it's an amazing, good quality lid. However, it is entirely (mostly) screen. I assume this doesn't affect the humidity needs for the gecko since people use it and say it's great. But it seems that screen would let all the humidity out. How does that work?

 

Paper towel is better for babies because with a bioactive setup it hard to tell if you gecko has pooped. You want to make sure you are monitoring of your baby is pooping because if it's not pooping there could be something wrong. I'm not sure about putting paper towels on the substrate but you could try it. Are you using a 10 or 20-gallon tank? As long as you spray your gecko once or twice a day that should keep up the humidity.

 

Paper towel makes sense then. Thanks for the explanation!

Whether I use a 10 or 20 gallon tank would depend on what geckos are available in my area. If it's a baby I'd put it in my 10, if an adult, I'd buy a 20.

When spraying the tank could I use tap water? I've read some very contradictory info that tap water could be dangerous for geckos due to the possible metals, chlorine, and other bad stuff that could be in the water so you have to use a conditioner, or just use purified water. I live in the middle of nowhere and have no metals, chlorine, or anything bad in my tap water. I use tap water for all my fish tanks and they are fine without any conditioning. What is needed for safe gecko water?

 

You can use the tap water for your gecko.

 

You can use the tap water for your gecko.

No, you cannot.
You must use a treated water for any pet, just to be safe.

 

The tap water that she has doesn't have chlorine, metals, or any other bad stuff because she lives in the country. It's safe.

 

The tap water that she has doesn't have chlorine, metals, or any other bad stuff because she lives in the country. It's safe.

Well, that's certainly okay.
I treat my water for everything living that I own.

 

That's Great!!

 

Ok thank you so much!

 

No, you cannot.
You must use a treated water for any pet, just to be safe.

I appreciate your concern. However I think that my tap water will be ok. If I ever move to a city or somewhere with "bad" water I'll make sure to condition the water for my pets !

 

I don't keep lizards of any kind, just land dwelling hermit crabs.

 

Hermit crabs are cool! I was thinking of getting one when I was little, but I decided to go with fish instead.

 

Hermit crabs are cool! I was thinking of getting one when I was little, but I decided to go with fish instead.

They take a big chunk of my time, and I need to be extremely accurate with their care.
I have to feed them diverse varied diets, because they eat foods that a human would eat naturally.