Beginner, Please help me!

[AMK]

How old does a crested need to be before you can put him in a big viv? Also how old does a crested need to be before you can determine the gender? Last, there are some little white bugs in my viv(no idea if they are springtails or mites), can these hurt a gecko?:main_huh::main_huh:

 

[houseb]

Unfortunately, it's difficult to answer your questions with the information you've given. When you say 'big viv' what size (i.e. 20 gal, or 18x18x24) is it? I think that size, more than age, will determine whether or not your gecko can be housed in a larger tank or sexed. I think most people say that you can visually sex them around 6 months (10+ grams), but there are some people that can tell even younger. If you get a really clear, close-up pic of your gecko's underside someone more knowledgeable might be able to tell you.

As for the white bugs, it really depends on what species they are. Springtails are great for a tank, and I think certain predatory mites are as well; but most mites probably aren't good. I think a few pictures would really help clarify things. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful :main_huh:

 

[AMK]

thanks for the answer. my viv is 18 by 18 by 24. i tried taking pictures of the bugs but they wouldn't show on the photo (they're soooooo tiny). i don't have a gecko yet so i cant post a picture. these questions where things i wanted to clarify before getting 1. one more question , about how old should a 2 1/2 inch crested be?

 

[darkridder]

Age and size do not go hand in hand with these guys, they all grow a bit differently and they all grow fairly slowly. This is why with these guys when you see things answered you will see things like a 10g gecko, or a 35g grcko, not ages because one gecko may be 35g and 18 months old where as another may be 35g and 2 years old, another may be 35g and 14 months old. Hell I had a gecko hit 35g at 9 months old, but she was a fast grower. But because of this you dont see things like at 6 months in age they should be this long and weigh this much. This is one of the reasons why it is a good idea to get a scale when you buy one of these guys.

Usually geckos under 10g are kept in medium k's, or 2-5 gallon tanks. At around 10g they can be upgraded to a 10 gallon aquarium. When they hit around 20-25g they can be upgraded into their final home. Placing a small gecko in such a large enclosure can stress them out.

As for the bugs, normally springtails do not just randomly show up in your tank without you placing them in there. As stated if youre going to do a natural viv you will want to set it up with a drainage layer but also have a cleanup crew of isopods and spring tails, even earthworms are a good idea. Otherwise youre looking at cleaning the tank out about once a month. With smaller geckos you will want to keep them on paper towels, when the gecko reaches about 20g you can switch them over to a planted viv, but in all honesty these guys are easier to keep on paper towels. But the white bugs could be mites, more than likely wood mites. When you set up your viv did you use any wood from outside, did you properly clean your plants?

 

[AMK]

i never had any wood in there, but i only rinsed my plants with water so they may be from my plants. thanks for the detailed reply