Leopards vs Cresteds?

[Chevalrose]

I recently looked into crested geckos as well as leopard geckos. I wanted to know from people who've had experience, which one is easier to care for/which has a better personality?

 

[Shadraak]

as far as care hands down cresties, no heat requirement (assuming your room will stay 70-80 and not change much), no lighting, takes a liquid food that you can buy in bulk dry and mix as needed, feeder insects only once a week or every few days for treats, lots of pros, cons are the heating thing, if they get above 80 for long periods of time can cause problems wiht stress and eventually death, have to keep an eye on humidity an dmake sure they get it when needed.. with leos they're good too, but need additional heating support, can be at higher room temps and fluctuations than crested geckos, and require live feeder insects, but dont require a tall cage as cresties do.. there's pro's and con's to each side, just depends on what you're able to maintain. leos are terrestrials, they have claws can only climb on stuff when they can get a grip, cresties are jumpy and can stick so they can climb on just about everything.

ofcourse this isn't all you need to know on both just some pro's and cons..

 

[acpart]

There are two nice responses to someone asking almost the same question in a recent Gecko Time article: http://www.geckotime.com/gecko-time-answers-readers-questions/

I have mostly leos and one crested gecko. In many ways the crestie is easier to care for, though he has to go to his basement condo when summer days get too hot because I don't have AC. Still, one crestie is enough for me while I love the leos. Sometimes it's just the individual preference.

Aliza

 

[T-ReXx]

As much as I love leos I gotta give it to the cresties. I breed both species, and my cresteds are just generally easier to care for than the leos. A big part of this is a) the lack of a need for extra heating(I only use a 25 watt red bulb as a source in the winter) and b) no need for insects. Cresteds can live completely on CGD. I do feed mine roaches once a week, but that's mostly because I have other species(leos, afts, and tokays) that also eat them and the cresteds enjoy them. As far as personality goes, each animal is an individual. I will say the jump factor makes cresties a bit trickier to wrangle than leos, but neither species is prone to biting or real aggressive behavior and each can be handled fairly easily as adults. I do enjoy watching group interaction in my cresties, they tend to be more active than leos. Both species make excellent starter geckos, in the end, it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

[turbogex]

Leos are deffinately easier to clean up after.

 

[Shadraak]

Leos are deffinately easier to clean up after.

really? my leos cages i have to remove papertowell to clean, my cresties i have to remove papertowell to clean, you can go natural and have isopods or springtails cleaning it and you'll never have to clean it HAHA

 

[T-ReXx]

I agree. And I'll tell you this: I have some seriously messy leos that don't even compare to a crested. My leos will dig up the paper, kick cocofiber everywhere, push dishes around the cage, and scatter calcium powder ALL over. The cresties never do any of that. They don't use a potty corner like leos, but that's the case with most reptiles.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

if it was me i would want a crestie

 

[turbogex]

Leos poop on the ground cresteds poop all over the glass and cage furniture.

 

[ariana]

ive never had a crestie..but ive considered it. i love my leos and wouldnt trade them for anything in the world. but thats just my opinion and im sort of opinionated since ive only ever had leos

 

[darkridder]

most of the basic points were hit but I want to say the amount of food you spend in feeding a leopard gecko for a week is roughly the amount you would spend feeding a crested gecko for over the course of about 3 months. THe only major downfall is that it is more costly (at pet store face value) to really set up a crested gecko. When setting up a crested gecko the tank needs to be 50% plant coverage and one hide on the floor, and 3 of the 4 sides of the tanks covered with plants. If you know how to do it right like go to the dollar store, but many people dont realize that stuff at first. Their personalities vary, but as do leos, I have had easy to handle leos, I have had hard to handle leos. The same as cresties, 98% of mine are easy to handle, and I have like 2 that are pretty spazzy.