Need some opinions!

[dorymarlin955]

I've had my pair of cresteds for nearly a year now, and both are doing well! I got them as hatchlings, so the female is probably about 1 1/2 years and the male is a couple months younger. There are two things I'm not quite sure about though:

1-The female has shown good growth and is "plump" (but not fat). The male though, is pretty skinny and isn't nearly as adult-looking as the female. I figure this is because he's a male and he is also a couple months younger, does this sound ok? I aslo have no way of weighing them accurately. I separated them about 6 months ago but yesterday I put them back together in a enw terrarium I set up. Should I worry about them trying to mate or is the female old enough that is doesnt matter?

2-The terrarium I set up is a 37g fish tank set on end so it's taller, I cut and siliconed a piece of glass at the bottom of the opening so I could plant it, and made a screen to put over the opening. This time I planted the plants in miracle gro potting soil because the last terrarium just kinda died out being in coconut fibers. In order to keep the geckos out of the soil, I made a plastic mesh layer that surrounds the plants. Is this something I should keep in there, or is the miracle gro ok for the geckos? When I feed crickets occasionally I used to let them free in the tank so they could catch them, but I could just feed the crickets outside of the tank so they wouldn't get mouthfulls of miracle gro. The mesh layer looks ok, but I can see it being a problem in the future (mostly cleaning off poop). I was thinking about buying ground cover plants and letting them cover the bottom as an alternative to just open soil.

Any thoughts? I should have pics up soon, dont have the camera charged!

 

[darkridder]

I would take the miracle grow out of there, you dont want ferterlizers in the tank with the geckos, there is so many chemicals in that stuff. If you are going to try and use plant food, find organic potting soil. Otherwise even trying to feed crickets outside of the tank, still isnt safe.

Now I personally keep all my males and females seperated as this way he doesnt constantly pester the female for breeding. Also weights are a key thing with these guys, males need to be 30g and females at leat 35g (these are weights including tails). So until you get a scale I would keep the both of them seperated and make sure their weights are on key.

 

[goReptiles]

Miracle grow is a BIG nono. Like James, I'd suggest separating the two. The male may be smaller due to bullying from the female who is larger.

 

[dorymarlin955]

So I shoud redo the tank then? I can't figure out any other way to do a terrarium though, the plants in my last one didnt do too well with just eco-earth. Should/could I keep a couple inches of miracle gro on the bottom and add a thick layer of eco-earth on top? Or is having any at all a no-no? Could I replace it with organic miracle gro?

I just wanted this to be simple so i could enjoy the tank and the geckos, so far it's not really working that way. How do other people make terrariums that work? I must be missing something.

 

[dorymarlin955]

Well here is the current set up. I will see what I can do about an accurate scale... as for fattening them up what should I feed differently? Right now they get CGD every day, occasionally mango or papaya puree, and crickets every so often. I could feed them crickets more, would that help?

As far as the tank I need to get it set and ready int he next two days, after that I'm having foot surgery and won't be able to do anything for a bit . If organic soil would work, I thin kI might just try that. If I did use it, would I then need to keep the screen on top of the soil or no?

 

[darkridder]

People keep planted tanks fine without things like miracle grow. The geckos will produce plenty enough food for your plants but this is a trial by error thing. Organic potting soil is the way to go as when I talk to several of my other forum friends who keep planted tanks. But you also need a clean up crew to help keep your plants healthy, like earthworms or red wigglers, pill bugs, or even giant africna millipedes to help keep the soil loose. Also all of those guys will produce a natural ferterlizer for the plants keeping them healthy. Try hardy easy to maintain plants. And invest in good lighting, t8's work great for planted tanks. Here is aplant list, just an FYI Bromides are not easiest to care for and get growing well.
Bromeliads:

*Aechmea fasciata (Urn plants/Silver Vase Bromeliad) – Large

*Billbergia nutans – (queens Tears) partial shade to bright indirect light

*Cryptanthus zonatus (Earth stars) – warm, humid, bright light

*Guzmania lingulata – warm, humid, bright light

*Nidularium – 12-15 inches, low to Med. Light

*Tillandsia – Air plant, warm & humid

*Vrisea splendens (sword bromeliads) Light shade


~Other Plants:

*Acalphya (copperleafs, chenille plants)

*Adiantum (maidenhair ferns) – cool and dry in winter

*Aglaonema (Chinese evergreens) – do well in low lights, highly recommended

*Alocasia (elephant ears) – must be kept moist, humid and warm, will either not do well or overgrow everything

*Asplenium (Bird’s nest fern) – moist soil, up to 3 feet high

*Bamboo - (live or dry) please the the Wikipedia article, way to much intresting info to list! Clippings will produice.

*Beaucarnea recurvata - (Ponytail Palms)

*Calathea zebrine - (Zebra plant) – moist moderate temps, moderate light

*Ceropegia woodii - (Rosary Vine,Hearts entangled, or String of hearts) Water thoroughly, and then allow the soil to completely dry out before watering again.

*Chlorophytum (spider plants) – average humidity, moderate light, should be allowed to get almost dry before watering

*Cissus (kangaroo vines, grape ivys) – no moist soil

*Codiaeum variegatum (often confused for Croton, because of this it is often labeled "croton" as a common name)

*Crassula ovata - (Jade Plant, Friendship tree or Money plant)Clippings will produice.

*Cyrtomium - (Holly ferns)

*Dracaena - (Dragon plants)

*Ficus (rubber trees, ornamental figs) should be washed of when dirty, do wellin spotlight, Use caution with any plant of the ficus family that has a "milky sap" when leafs/stems are broken, it is a skin and eye irratant.

*Maranta - (prayer plant) warm temps, high humidity

*Peperomia - (radiator plant) some in this family are an epiphyte or air plant. Clippings will generaly produice.

*Radermachera sinica - (China Doll)very difficult to root, Growth slowers used by nurserys will grow fast and less bushy.

*Sanseveria - (Snake Plants)aethiopica,caniculata,kirkii pulchra, parva, pinguicula, sinularis, thyrsiflora & trifasciata

*Scindapsus (Pothos) - looks like philodendron, very hardy. Clippings will produice.

*Schefflera arboricola - (Umbrella Plant)

*Spathiphyllum - (peace lilies)

*Tradescantia zebrina - (wandering Jew/ spiderwart) Can cause skin iritation in humans when handeld frequently. Clippings will produice. Called inch plant because it can grow up to an inch a day!

****WARNING*****
Do not sugest the use of the plants listed below.

*Dieffenbachia - (Dumbcane) All parts of the plant are poisonous, due to the presence of calcium oxalate crystals. . It has been known to cause the death of cats, dogs, and small childern. This plant is considered a neurotoxin.

*Hedera helix - (Ivy, English Ivy) This plant is nontoxic to birds but is toxic to humans. It is unknown what would happen when and if a feeder insect were to eat it then a reptile were to eat it in exhange. I think it is best to avoid.

*Philodendron- All parts of the plant are poisonous, due to the presence of calcium oxalate crystals. Make sure to double check this vs. Pothos, they look alike and are generly mix together at most plant stores. Some say that this plant is safe but from my reading I do not agree.

*Croton (genus) Not to be confused for Codiaeum variegatum. Croton Oil is used as an active ingredient in facial chemical peels. Also in the past Croton oil was used in herbal medicine as a violent purgative.

 

[dorymarlin955]

thank you very much! I will pick up some organic potting soil then and redo the tank tonight or tomorrow. I assume the plants I have are ok? All I have are 3 types of bromeliads (doing surprisingly well, have had them over a year now) and an anthurium. I used the anthurium besause I ended up with a dwarf banana that was too large to use (you can see it next to the tank ), hopefully it is an ok plant.
I guess I'm never going to end with the questions! After I redo the soil, can I leave off the plastic mesh? When I feed crickets then, is the organic soil ok to ingest or should I still feed crickets in a separate container?

Thanks so much for helping me out!:main_thumbsup:

I actually think an aquarium store I'll be stopping at tomorrow has african millepedes, they seem pretty easy to take care of and would be an interesting addition. I thought they secreted some kind of something that is harmful though? Should I worry about that? And would they interfere with eggs buried in the soil?