More info on Crested Geckos Please... :)

[PacHerp]

Hey!

I'm interested in finding out more from you guys about crested geckos. I just love those little guys! I haven't been able to find much more than a few classifieds... so I would love to hear where you guys get your crested geckos, what are some good resources, and of course... anything else you can think of!

I look forward to your responses!!!

 

[malt_geckos]

I love cresties too! I just don't have any because I can't bare the thought of a tail loss. I may have to pick a few up eventually for a nice crestie vivaruim.

Good luck! I think crestedgecko.com has some info on them.

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

My favorite Rhac forum is pangeareptile.com all the people are really great.

Crested geckos are some of my favorites [which is why i breed them haha]

They are super easy to take care of, feed every other day a powdered diet [called crested gecko diet] which has all the vitamins and nutrients the gecko needs, spray daily to maintain high humidity.

They do great at fluctuating room temperature [as long as it doesnt get over 85, mid 70s is best]

They are one of the best species to keep in "naturalistic" planted vivs [with live plants, dirt, etc] since they stay small and wont break any plants, and most indoor plants [like pothos, ficus, orchids, dracenas, etc] thrive in the mild temperatures.

A standard 20 will house a single crested gecko for its entire adult life. Being arboreal they of course make use of vertical space more then horizontal, but 20s have the best of both. After about 1 year, they are ready to breed, and they breed easily [incubation is just put it in a box on your shelf, since they require the same mild temps]

As with most species males cant be housed together, but females do great in community situations [as long as there is lots of food and lots of hides] juveniles can also be housed together [providing they are all the EXACT same size] The one downfall, like malt mentioned, is that if they drop their tails they dont grow back. BUT it doesnt harm them in any way [they obviously evolved not to need them] we just call them "frog butts" its purely asthetic,

I really recommend the Rhacodactylus book. Its the most comprehensive info on the species and the genus to date. has lots of great information, and is a good reference if you ever decide to get into other species in the genus, I have re-read mine many many times.

here is a link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Rhacodactylus...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201160623&sr=8-1

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

woopse, double post

 

[PacHerp]

Tamara... Thanks so much for your informative post! I'll look into checking out that forum and that book!

also... I know this sounds weird but... why do they lose their tails?? I don't mind it at all... I actually happen to like the 'frog butts'... hehe.

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

No problem

Same reason any animal drops its tail? To help it get away from a predator, They will drop their tail and the tail will continue to wiggle and move around, distracting the animal that was trying to eat them, so they can get away. So if you pinch or grab at the tail, or startle them in some way, They will panic, thinking that you are trying to eat them, and so they will drop it.

 

[PacHerp]

I see, Tamara... Thanks!

I just thought maybe they dropped their tails more easily than other geckos because I seem to see so many crested geckos without a tail.

I love that forum, thanks again for the link!

 

[Ccrashca069]

How about this for ironic....... Craigslist in the Downtown San Jose area male created with cage for adoption fee of $70.

I have a Crested Gecko Book. Crested Geckos By Adam Black. I got it at East Bay a year ago for $11.00.

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

Does it come with pics? I cant provide a cage, but I could probably manage better then that

 

[Ccrashca069]

I didn't look Tamara but if I finally decide to get a crested I will give you a call

That reminds me, going to give you and David a call in a month or so. Building a rack or 2 then

 

[Gecko]

Something to think about is they breed a bit too easily. I got really swamped with the babies. First time I felt a little over my head.

 

[PacHerp]

oh, I'm not worried about that at all....

I've been doing research for a while, and yes, they are very prolific!!

I decided to only work with a few specific 'types'. I plan to start with about 4 or 5 crested geckos if I do decide to get into them. thanks for the advise.

 

[Gecko]

Something else to think about is that if you have just a slightly warm winter in the bay area (or keep a few other lizards with heat sources in the same room) your Cresties may not shut down for the winter. Last winter mine actually kept laying eggs in Dec. and Jan.

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

hahah, what did i tell you about keeping the rhacs in the "hot" room? most normal people dont mantain 80+ in january

 

[Gecko]

Well I meant last year when I had the Uromastyx in the "cold" room. It kept the temps high enough they didn't really shut down.

 

[redmonkeystarr]

I think my next lizard would be crestie... now this will be later on this year or early next year...

i would love to have a crestie, i like the way they look and feel.. very velvety..

my main concern is the fact they can't tolerate temperature of above 85 degree.. I live in Kansas.. sometimes during the summer it gets kinda hot and sometimes the house is a bit warm cause the house is old and we try to cut back on electric bill... what if electricity goes out.. this happens at times during the spring and at times during the summer...

Redmonkeystarr

 

[moosassah]

.. I live in Kansas.. sometimes during the summer it gets kinda hot and sometimes the house is a bit warm cause the house is old and we try to cut back on electric bill... what if electricity goes out..

I would think you'd do the same kinds of things you'd do to try to cool yourself down:

*keep the shades down so that the sun doesn't heat up the room
*lower the cage since heat rises
*move the cage to the basement where it's much cooler
*start searching now for a small fan that could at least move the warmer air, one that runs on batteries for those black out times
*take your crestie to Walmart til the heat passes