New Crested gecko owner

[Krieger119]

Hey guys ... new crested gecko owner here ... well, new pet owner entirely. I have a question though. My gecko seems to just hangout on the vine thats in the terrarium ... he went into the cave the first day home but ever since then he doesn't come down from the vine. He doesn't even come down for water. I put crickets in there and he doesn't eat them so every other day I take him out and have him eat some Crested gecko diet off my finger so he could get something in his system. Hes about 6 or 7 months old from what I understand. Anything I should know as to why he is staying up in the vine as opposed to going into his cave or going for water or eating?
Also, whats the avg. humidity % I should keep the terrarium at. I mist it in the morning when lights come on and at night when the lights go off. Seems to fluctuate btwn. 30 and 60%.

 

[Dan K.]

the humidity should stay around 70%-80%, you really only need to feed the creasted gecko diet they dabble at it at night so feed him at night they ussaly don't move much durring the day at night though he should be all over the place.

 

[Valley Reptiles]

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about.
He's staying in the vines because they are arboreal, they will rarely use a hide on the floor unless they are laying eggs.
For the feeding and drinking problem, they eat and drink at night when the lights are out. he may go after a few crickets during the day but most of his feedings you will never see. They also do not use their water bowls often but drink water off of the items in the cage after misting. With him being a new gecko, it will take him a few weeks to get use to his new home and may not eat much at all during that time.

You dont want it at a constant high humidity or will cause mold. A good misting at night to raise it to 75-80% and let it dry out during the day is best. Be sure to mist the leafs and sides of the tank and he will drink that.

 

[Krieger119]

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about.
He's staying in the vines because they are arboreal, they will rarely use a hide on the floor unless they are laying eggs.
For the feeding and drinking problem, they eat and drink at night when the lights are out. he may go after a few crickets during the day but most of his feedings you will never see. They also do not use their water bowls often but drink water off of the items in the cage after misting. With him being a new gecko, it will take him a few weeks to get use to his new home and may not eat much at all during that time.

You dont want it at a constant high humidity or will cause mold. A good misting at night to raise it to 75-80% and let it dry out during the day is best. Be sure to mist the leafs and sides of the tank and he will drink that.

I read that they tend to drink the water off of the environment so I have been misting every bit of surface including his (or her ... I hope) precious vine. Thx a lot for your posts, guys. I feel much better now as I'm looking to purchase one or two more at the upcoming lizard expo in NY next month and wanted to make sure everything has been going good. One last question ... as I'm most likely looking for more crested geckos at the show, what are your feelings with mixing different geckos in the same terrarium such as my crested and a leopard gecko?

 

[leoman777]

not a good idea the enviroments are totally different. and they are both solitary animals the humidity all the time for a leo can cause respiritory problems and they can figh and the loose substrate can cause a leo to get impacted . all together its not a good idea.



hope i didnt sound to mean i wasnt trying to lol

 

[Krieger119]

ok thx ... I'll stick with the cresteds