My Little Cresty!

[Kat]

Hey there,

I'm new to this forum and completely new to Gecko's! I picked up my little Crested Gecko yesterday and am absolutely in love with him! He's about 3 months old so still quite small. I've given him what I think is going to be a lovely home, (although I feel bad that he's going to get lonely in there all by himself!) And I'm now just debating over names, I'm thinking of calling him Pippin, but can't quite make my mind up. Any ideas? Any interesting names that anybody has that would fit my spritely little orange fella?

Cheers,
K

 

[hdavidf309]

You shoiuld post pics....just saying. I have an option for both questions/comments:
NAME: Tang...or maybe Tangerine (hard without seeing gecko)
LONELY: I have 3 month olds that may be good mates....inquire if interested.

 

[Kat]

The more I think about it the more I'm liking the name Pippin, do you think it suits him?

I see you live in the US, I live in the UK so that might be a problem! Have you owned Gecko's for a long time?

Thanks,
K

 

[Diddlyuk]

Pippin is a cute name! or maybe Tango or Pippin-Tango the Crested lol And welcome to the forum. Post pictures of the little one in his new home if you can!

 

[Kat]

Thank you!!! I've ended up sticking with Pippin now he's a sweet little thing.

I've been reading up quite a lot about how easily they can lose their tails. If I handle him too much will it cause him to drop his tail? I don't want to stress him out - I'm not sure what is a healthy amount to handle him? I would really appreciate any advice!

Have attached some pics in his new home as requested!


Cheers
K

 

[tlbowling]

He's very cute, but he looks too tiny for that huge elaborate cage. You should really keep him in a kritter keeper until he's a little bigger. Also, if that is a red light on top of his cage, chances are you dont need it. Cresties are comfortable at room temperature between 65-80 degrees.

 

[Kat]

It's so hard to know what to do when you get conflicting advice! When I got him I was told he would be perfectly happy in his big tank. What are the disadvantages of keeping in a large tank? Also my room is quite chilly at the moment and temperature drops to around 17 degrees in the shade without the light, so I've been keeping it on in the day and turning it off at night. With it on the temp. in the shade is around 22-24.

Cheers for the advice it's much appreciated! I only want what's best for him. Any thoughts on the handling issue?

K

 

[Daedric1]

It's so hard to know what to do when you get conflicting advice! When I got him I was told he would be perfectly happy in his big tank. What are the disadvantages of keeping in a large tank? Also my room is quite chilly at the moment and temperature drops to around 17 degrees in the shade without the light, so I've been keeping it on in the day and turning it off at night. With it on the temp. in the shade is around 22-24.

Cheers for the advice it's much appreciated! I only want what's best for him. Any thoughts on the handling issue?

K

Yeah, 17C (62.6F) would be too cool, so it looks like you need the light.

Generally, geckos are best kept in small enclosures until they grow older. They can be kept in kritter keepers (< 5 gal) until they are 10g or even 15g in mass. Large tanks make it more difficult for young geckos to find food/water, and make it even harder to catch live food if you are doing that. They spend a lot more time moving around and burning energy instead of saving calories for growth. Smaller hides/cages also feel safer to them.

You can start out handling a few times per week for about 5 minutes at a time. As the gecko gets used to it, you can increase how often and how long you hold it. I wouldn't worry too much about losing a tail to handling. A lot of new cresty owners fret about this but really, as long as you don't grab or restrain the tail, you should be fine.

 

[ace bomer]

i would keep him in the cage you have now. confining him to a small plastic keeper isnt right. and handle him for about 5min periods and maybe twice a day to get him used to handling

 

[ace bomer]

and i dont think the crestie is really burning that much energy or having trouble finding food or water in a big cage, they manage to do all of that in the wild with a much bigger home.

 

[Daedric1]

and i dont think the crestie is really burning that much energy or having trouble finding food or water in a big cage, they manage to do all of that in the wild with a much bigger home.

Of course the wild is a bigger place. Most cresties (and all animals for that matter) either die of starvation (because they can't find food) or predation before reaching adulthood. If you can give them a better chance of being healthy with a smaller cage, why not do it? Keeping them in a smaller cage is what most responsible breeders recommend, as well.

Even though the wild has nearly unlimited space for geckos, most of them live within a pretty confined area. They like to hang around places they are familiar with. They hide in the same places because it makes them feel safe. This is why they become stressed when they have a change of habitat.

Don't take me wrong here. I'm not saying that young cresties absolutely have to be raised in small tanks in order to survive or be healthy. Not at all. After all, even a large tank will result in them finding food easier and reduce risk of predation when compared to the wild.

In my experience and that of many others, cresties do tend to grow faster in smaller tanks than large ones. My first cresties grew up in 18x18x24 tanks from the size of probably 5-6 grams. They turned out fine in the end, but they took much longer to grow than the ones I raised through a graduated system of tank sizes.

To conclude, the gecko will probably be fine in the tank it's in. It may have a reduced growth rate, but the end weight will probably be the same. If you're not breeding and there's no rush to gain weight, then you probably don't need to change. If you are concerned about size or other health problems in the future though, try switching to a smaller tank temporarily.

 

[ace bomer]

i am interested to know why a crestie would grow fast in a smaller area, im not attacking anyone here. just a question?

 

[Kat]

Thanks everyone for your advice! In the case of Pippin, when I got him he was living in a tank only slightly smaller then the one he is in now, with 3 other cresties. He is healthy and happy, so in order to make it easier for him to find food I have given him a large amount of background crickets for him to find. After observing him for the past week, he is bright, perky and healthy, he loves to hand feed and find his own. I think that if he has enough food, i dont see why I can't keep him where he is? He likes jumping around and I would feel mean restricting him to a smaller tank when he seems to really be comfortable and happy in this one.

Anyway I'm really enjoying watching him, what a gorgeous little boy he is! Loving being a Cresty owner

K

 

[contracteryin]

i am interested to know why a crestie would grow fast in a smaller area, im not attacking anyone here. just a question?

As the other guy said, they grow faster because it is easier to find food. With a bigger area, it isn't quite as easy.
For example, pretend you are in a small store, and you need to find milk or something. It'll likely in in the same corner, or whatever ever time, and requires less energy to look for. Then, pretend you go to superwalmart and they have everything. Because it's a bigger area, it will take longer to find, and will require more energy.
Yes, its not the best example ever but it still works I suppose. But, again, they grow faster because they use less energy, and have easier time finding food. That's why.

 

[Diddlyuk]

Aww pipin is a cute little guy, thanks for the pics. I have quite a wide enclosure as well and what I done was cut some cardboard and halfed the length of it. Then gradually moved the cardboard more and more until my little one was used to it. Hope that helps!!

Also having a partition was good because I put her in there for a while with some food and crickets to make sure she was catching them okay also it was perfect for her to stay in while I cleaned her home!

Have fun!