Are you ready to learn about crested gecko care?
Crested gecko’s are a nocturnal and arboreal species native to New Caledonia. Now you may be wondering what those words even mean.
Nocturnal means that they are most active at night. When it’s dark, and everything else is asleep, crested geckos will be hunting, climbing, jumping, and in breeding season, finding a mate.
You probably gathered that they climb, and that is what arboreal means. Arboreal is used to refer to any animal that lives in the trees. It means “tree dwelling”.
size: Crested geckos hatch out at 2-3 inches and adults will be 6-8 inches long.
lifespan: A healthy crested gecko will live 15-20 years
temper: Whan handled regularly Crested geckos are very docile and have a great temper.
Cohabitating: Crested geckos are solitary animals and should be housed separately to avoid stress and fighting.
Housing
enclosure size: Adult Crested Geckos will require a minimum enclosure size of 18 inches long, 18 inches deep, and 24 inches tall. A more ideal enclosure size would be 2 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and 2 feet tall.
Set up: As mentioned previously, crested geckos are tree-dwelling reptiles. With that in mind, they will need lots to climb on, branches, cork bark, grape vine spider wood, and regular vines, are all good options. Your gecko will need lots of plants as well. Using a tropical soil like Eco Earth reptile substrate or and organic gardening soil will help with humidity and give your enclosure a more natural look. And of course a naturalistic background is always a good idea! The goal is to replicate their natural habitat in the jungles of New Caledonia.
crested gecko enclosure set up link
Humidity
The humidity in your gecko’s enclosure should be 65 to 80 percent. Personally, I’ve found that they do best with 70 to 75 percent humidity. This can be accomplished by spraying the enclosure one to two times per day with dechlorinated water. { even if you are using tap water it should be dechlorinated with Reptisafe }. You can monitor the humidity in your crestie’s enclosure by using a temperature gun that also reads humidity. unfortunately most reptile humidity and temperature gages are not accurate.
If you are only misting once a day, make sure you do it at night when your gecko will be most active. Crested geckos, along with many other species, will not drink from water bowls. They prefer to drink water droplets off of leaves. Which is why it’s important to always spray their enclosure in the evening right before you turn the lights in the room off.
Lighting
Since Crested Geckos are nocturnal, they do not require basking or UVB lighting. However, if you would like to add a LED or tropical UVB light to make your enclosure look nicer or help live plants grow, it will not harm your gecko. Just make sure that the enclosure in light in the day time and dark at night to stimulate their circadian rythm.
Temperature
Crested geckos prefer temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 19 to 24 degrees celsius. Their enclosure should never reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. { 26 degrees celsius }. That being said, heat mats, heat panels, or basking lights should never be used unless the room your gecko is staying in is cold.
Diet
In captivity crested geckos will mainly be eating a powdered formula specifically made for fruit eating geckos. The best brands are Pangea, Zoo Med, and Repashy. Once you’ve mixed the powdered formula with dechlorinated in a small dish, place it in a feeding ledge up high in the enclosure.
Crested geckos eat three to four times a week as adults and nightly as babies. You also need to provide them with insects once a week. Crickets and dubia roaches are good options. Always dust your insects in calcium powder. The only exception to this would be once a month. That’s when you will be dusting the insects in a multi vitamin that contains vitamin D3.
Handling
The first step to handling your gecko will be getting them out of the enclosure. At first this can be a bit of challenge, but over time you and your gecko will get used to it and it will become simple.
Once you have found your crestie within their enclosure, you can place your hand in front of them and tap their back foot with your finger to encourage them to step up.
You’ll want to avoid just grabbing them and picking them up. Doing so can damage the small hairs on their feet that allow them to grip and climb things. Also avoid grabbing their tail. Crested geckos, like many other other lizards, have the ability to drop their tail. However, once they have dropped their tail it will never grow back.
How long should you hold your gecko? Handling should not last more than 10 to 15 minutes a few times week. However, you will want to start with shorter sessions, 3 to 5 minutes, and work your way up.
As mentioned previously, crested geckos can’t tolerate temperatures warmer than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That being said, the average human body temperature is 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Because humans have such a high body temperature crested geckos can over heat if handled to long which is why handling sessions should be kept short.
Sexing Crested Geckos
Is my gecko a boy or girl? Luckily, once crested geckos are 6 to 8 months old it’s pretty easy to know the gender. Male geckos will have to enlarged hemipenial bulges at the base of the tail. Females will not have these bulges and the base of their tail will be flat.
Where to Buy and Price
Once you have everything set up and have done your research, it’s time to buy your Crested gecko. When it comes to purchasing any reptile, it always best to buy from a reputable breeder and avoid pet stores or large chain companies. Most reptiles at stores come from large wholesalers and are wild-caught or have health problems.
You can find lots of good breeders through the website Morph Market. Just type “Crested Gecko” into the search bar and it will bring up any that are available. You can then see who the breeder is and check their reviews.
Even if the gecko you want is not from a local breeder, you can still purchase it and the breeder will ship it to you. However, there will be a $50 to $75 shipping fee to have the gecko be shipped overnight.
Now you may be wandering how much Crested geckos cost. They have a huge price range depending on morph and genetics. A morph is a combination of colors and pattern that have been bread into to reptiles in captivity. Any morph is a color or pattern that would never exist in the wild.
That being said, crested geckos can cost anywhere from $100 to $30,000.
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