Crested Gecko Questions

[hinoco1225]

I work at a pet store. I have another thread going right now to request info about the different animals I work with that I was previously unfamiliar with. I wanted to start a separate thread for cresties though, because I know of several forum members that have them and I figured that a thread specifically about them would get better responses. I have gotten answers to some of these questions, but I want to get as many opinions as possible so that I know I'm getting the best info I can. So here goes:

Does anyone have a good care sheet for cresties? What are the proper temps and humidity levels? What is the best feeding schedule?

How do you sex them, and at what age or size are they able to be accurately sexed?

The crestie we have at my store right now pretty much just stays on the wall at the top corner of the cage all the time, but if I try to pick him up, he is very skittish and runs all over the place. Is this common? (There is foliage and a little tree in his enclosure, but he ignores them and just sticks to the wall.)

 

[ponders]

Try Pangea Crested gecko website. They have lots of info.
Cresties are nocturnal, so they don't really start to be active until sundown. Mine sleep on the glass too or in a large bamboo tube all day long and wake up at 7 or 8pm.
Glad you are seeking info on your pets you care for. Most pet stores have employees who think they know everything, but really don't.

 

[clarkrw3]

Does anyone have a good care sheet for cresties? What are the proper temps and humidity levels? What is the best feeding schedule?

How do you sex them, and at what age or size are they able to be accurately sexed?

The crestie we have at my store right now pretty much just stays on the wall at the top corner of the cage all the time, but if I try to pick him up, he is very skittish and runs all over the place. Is this common? (There is foliage and a little tree in his enclosure, but he ignores them and just sticks to the wall.)

Yes, Pangea is similar to Chameleonforums with knowledge. also Repashy forum is good, as well as geckounlimited.com our sister forum. But as far as Cresties go the first two have a lot more use and info. I have learned a lot from Jen at http://www.jbscresties.com/ She also has nice geckos.
It is not unusual for them to hang on the glass and sleep. I have found that if they have nice high foliage and hides like tp tubes or cork tubes they will favor sleeping in those rather than exposed. They get stressed at anything above 84 deg so keeping them at btw 65-80 is recommended. They should be missed heavily once a day usually in the evening so that there inclosure is 90% at night and dries to 50%ish during the day. Young can be kept higher humidity wise to help keep from having shedding problems. Unlike chams they can stuck shed on toes or tail can cause major problems. Many people loupe sex them looking for pores in scales in front of the cloaca, but until 10-15g I am not sure how reliable it is. When they start to drop a hemi bulge you know

 

[kinyonga]

When you pick it up does it poop on you?? If so its more likely to be a male than a female according to what I was told by a lady who has bred/raised them for years.

 

[hinoco1225]

Try Pangea Crested gecko website. They have lots of info.
Cresties are nocturnal, so they don't really start to be active until sundown. Mine sleep on the glass too or in a large bamboo tube all day long and wake up at 7 or 8pm.
Glad you are seeking info on your pets you care for. Most pet stores have employees who think they know everything, but really don't.

Yes, Pangea is similar to Chameleonforums with knowledge. also Repashy forum is good, as well as geckounlimited.com our sister forum. But as far as Cresties go the first two have a lot more use and info. I have learned a lot from Jen at http://www.jbscresties.com/ She also has nice geckos.
It is not unusual for them to hang on the glass and sleep. I have found that if they have nice high foliage and hides like tp tubes or cork tubes they will favor sleeping in those rather than exposed. They get stressed at anything above 84 deg so keeping them at btw 65-80 is recommended. They should be missed heavily once a day usually in the evening so that there inclosure is 90% at night and dries to 50%ish during the day. Young can be kept higher humidity wise to help keep from having shedding problems. Unlike chams they can stuck shed on toes or tail can cause major problems. Many people loupe sex them looking for pores in scales in front of the cloaca, but until 10-15g I am not sure how reliable it is. When they start to drop a hemi bulge you know

Thanks - I will check out those sites.

When you pick it up does it poop on you?? If so its more likely to be a male than a female according to what I was told by a lady who has bred/raised them for years.

It has never pooped on me before, but I haven't ever properly held it. It always freaks out when I touch it, so I've only held onto it enough to move into a critter keeper when I clean the enclosure, and then back into the enclosure.

 

[fluxlizard]

I used to have a colony of cresteds. Care is pretty simple. They like it somewhat humid. No special lighting or heating is required in most homes temps anywhere in the 70s is fine. Nights can go cooler. Can be fed commercial crested gecko diet and will grow and breed just fine. They enjoy occasional insects as well though.

I gave mine cork bark tubes with hollows a couple inches wide. and fastened them to the wall of the enclosure. 1 tube per lizard. They always slept in these in the day and sometimes sat on them at night. I also gave mine twiggy branches to climb on - they liked that more than thicker branches/vines. A 6" potted pothos gave them lots of vines in each enclosure to climb on and they seemed to enjoy that, though it isn't necessary. They laid eggs directly in the pots, scattering peat/sand mixture I had the plants growing in, so I always knew when eggs were laid and needed to be dug up. I controlled humidity in the enclousures by limiting ventilation and spraying the vines/walls down in the evenings. Just enough so they would be dry again by the next evening, but some water would remain most of the next day. I provided water in a small bowl as well and they did drink from these.

 

[hinoco1225]

I used to have a colony of cresteds. Care is pretty simple. They like it somewhat humid. No special lighting or heating is required in most homes temps anywhere in the 70s is fine. Nights can go cooler. Can be fed commercial crested gecko diet and will grow and breed just fine. They enjoy occasional insects as well though.

I gave mine cork bark tubes with hollows a couple inches wide. and fastened them to the wall of the enclosure. 1 tube per lizard. They always slept in these in the day and sometimes sat on them at night. I also gave mine twiggy branches to climb on - they liked that more than thicker branches/vines. A 6" potted pothos gave them lots of vines in each enclosure to climb on and they seemed to enjoy that, though it isn't necessary. They laid eggs directly in the pots, scattering peat/sand mixture I had the plants growing in, so I always knew when eggs were laid and needed to be dug up.

So is the crested gecko diet the best staple feeder, or are insects ok as a staple? Currently, we are only feeding our crestie crickets (dusted with calcium with D3).

 

[clarkrw3]

The CGD is by far the best staple. They eat more fruit in the wild than they do bugs. The Repashy works great and is easy to use.

 

[lindseymeder16]

Everything that Clarkrw3 said is right on the money! If your crestie is full grown you should easily be able to tell if it has pores or not. Pores=male. No pores= female. Usually if you don't see pores by the time the gecko is 15 grams then you can bet it's female, although some cresties have been known to not show any till they are about 20 grams.

That pooping thing is not true. Both my male and female have pooped on me. I wouldn't trust that at all.

Also CGD IS THE BEST THING TO OFFER YOUR CRESTIE! You can also feed them small crix or dubias but make sure it's like every other week. Make sure your bugs are dusted. And the CGD comes in many flavors that the cresties love!

You got all the other info that I posted on your other thread.

 

[fluxlizard]

I agree with the others- the diet is the best staple. In addition to being complete, it is cheaper and easier than insects...

 

[lindseymeder16]

You can buy it cheap on pangea in different flavors. And they last you way longer than any bugs.

 

[hinoco1225]

Ok, great. Thanks guys. I will definitely suggest to my store that we start feeding the diet as a staple, and I will relay all this great information to any future customers I have who purchase a crestie.

 

[JackP308]

I use CGD most days and few crickets a week. The CGD is best since it has all the nutrition specifically geared for crested geckos in needed for raising and breeding healthy geckos. I guarantee all my geckos would go for a moving insect rather than eat that paste if I placed them both in a cage. Yet they will eat what is given to them and CGD is what is best.

You can keep them comfortably at Room Temps 70-80f give or take I prefer the cooler end of that spectrum though. Mist once a night. I give substrate like coco fiber so females can lay and help maintain a moderate humidity in terrarium.

You can't miss a mature males bulge at the tail base. should notice 4-6 months for sure.