Okay, so while nothing is set in stone because I need to speak to my new landlord (and my parents), I'm looking into getting a crested gecko in the near future! I'm researching them a bunch now, but I always find the best advice comes from responsible owners!
Do any of you own them, and can you give a noob some tips? I already have terrarium size and food and all of that sorted and bookmarked, but anything that's not common knowledge?
Okay, so while nothing is set in stone because I need to speak to my new landlord (and my parents), I'm looking into getting a crested gecko in the near future! I'm researching them a bunch now, but I always find the best advice comes from responsible owners!
Do any of you own them, and can you give a noob some tips? I already have terrarium size and food and all of that sorted and bookmarked, but anything that's not common knowledge?
YOOOO as a crested gecko owner I send you luck and a bit of advice
- If your crestie has a tail, make sure there's nothing it can get stuck between. The tail can lose circulation and it is not pretty.
- If you're getting a baby or crestie younger than 1 year, wait a bit to interact with it. They are rather jumpy
- Make sure there's a vet office nearby that takes exotic animals and pets. A regular small animal practice vet will not see lizards. If there's not, you can likely ask a nearby vet office where one would be.
- Set aside funds for vet trips! You likely won't have to go to the vet often, but when you do it'll be expensive since geckos fall under more specialized care
Crested Geckos are very social creatures if you interact with them a lot, and are usually pretty low maintenance pets.
YOOOO as a crested gecko owner I send you luck and a bit of advice
- If your crestie has a tail, make sure there's nothing it can get stuck between. The tail can lose circulation and it is not pretty.
- If you're getting a baby or crestie younger than 1 year, wait a bit to interact with it. They are rather jumpy
- Make sure there's a vet office nearby that takes exotic animals and pets. A regular small animal practice vet will not see lizards. If there's not, you can likely ask a nearby vet office where one would be.
- Set aside funds for vet trips! You likely won't have to go to the vet often, but when you do it'll be expensive since geckos fall under more specialized care
Crested Geckos are very social creatures if you interact with them a lot, and are usually pretty low maintenance pets.
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Crested geckos are super duper easy pets, one thing I would recommend though: If you're getting a baby or juvenile, keep it in a smaller enclosure! Something like a ten gallon tank or large critter keeper or similar sized tub would be fine. They can have a difficult time finding food in adult sized cages when they're that little. If you have any specific questions let me know! I don't have any right now (snakes are much more my thing) but I've had three in the past.
Crested geckos are super duper easy pets, one thing I would recommend though: If you're getting a baby or juvenile, keep it in a smaller enclosure! Something like a ten gallon tank or large critter keeper or similar sized tub would be fine. They can have a difficult time finding food in adult sized cages when they're that little. If you have any specific questions let me know! I don't have any right now (snakes are much more my thing) but I've had three in the past.
OH MAN I LOVE THOSE BOYS
-Try to get an adult and one without a tail. Cresties don't grow back their tails so once they lose them they are gone for good. It's fine if they do! Most adults in the wild are tailless and they can still climb fine. I just recommend getting one without a tail so you don't have to worry about it. And even if you don't get one don't feel like you did something wrong if they drop it! I've heard of some cresties drop their tail in the middle of the night after scaring themselves. Just make sure the wound is clean!
-They are good with handling but it depends on each gecko. My gal let me pick her up a lot at first but now she's not a big fan. It's ok if you interact with them but try to limit it so they don't get stressed. I personally let mine out and walk around until she stops waking. Try asking about the temperament of each gecko so you can get one that works with you.
-Get a hanging bird hide. Trust me, they love sleeping in high places. And If you want "cute" decorations I recommend looking at fish tank decorations. They also have a lot of fun looking hides!
-DONT USE SAND. Sand substrate can kill a lizard if they eat it. EcoEarth or just a plain reptile carpet works fine. Healthy cresties will spend most of their time in high places so substrate can be what ever you want (as long as it's not sand)
-Females will lay eggs during breeding season. Most of the time they won't be viable but you still need to incubate them until they mold, because on rare occasions they can have a baby without a male. But as long as they lay 3 eggs each time she shouldn't have any problems. She will probably be tired and slow for a few days so just keep an eye on her and make sure she starts to eat and poop again. But it's still really cool to see gecko eggs!
I love those geckos and you should definitely get one if you can!
OH MAN I LOVE THOSE BOYS
-Try to get an adult and one without a tail. Cresties don't grow back their tails so once they lose them they are gone for good. It's fine if they do! Most adults in the wild are tailless and they can still climb fine. I just recommend getting one without a tail so you don't have to worry about it. And even if you don't get one don't feel like you did something wrong if they drop it! I've heard of some cresties drop their tail in the middle of the night after scaring themselves. Just make sure the wound is clean!
-They are good with handling but it depends on each gecko. My gal let me pick her up a lot at first but now she's not a big fan. It's ok if you interact with them but try to limit it so they don't get stressed. I personally let mine out and walk around until she stops waking. Try asking about the temperament of each gecko so you can get one that works with you.
-Get a hanging bird hide. Trust me, they love sleeping in high places. And If you want "cute" decorations I recommend looking at fish tank decorations. They also have a lot of fun looking hides!
-DONT USE SAND. Sand substrate can kill a lizard if they eat it. EcoEarth or just a plain reptile carpet works fine. Healthy cresties will spend most of their time in high places so substrate can be what ever you want (as long as it's not sand)
-Females will lay eggs during breeding season. Most of the time they won't be viable but you still need to incubate them until they mold, because on rare occasions they can have a baby without a male. But as long as they lay 3 eggs each time she shouldn't have any problems. She will probably be tired and slow for a few days so just keep an eye on her and make sure she starts to eat and poop again. But it's still really cool to see gecko eggs!
I love those geckos and you should definitely get one if you can!
{Puppy} {FR +2} {Goat Lover} {22} {They/Them}
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TwilitBard
That's a very good point about the tail I hadn't even considered! Thank you! And I'll be living near Boston, hopefully there will be an exotics vet nearby! I already found a specialized reptile store right near where I'm living so I can get food and extra hides/leaves there as I please! :D
I'm actually going to school to be a vet (not in vet school yet but halfway done my undergraduate stuff!) and while I'm probably not going to be an exotic vet, I will hopefully one day learn some basic medicine for reptiles and such!
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slothbug
Thank you! I'm not sure if I'll get a baby or a juvenile, but if I do get a baby I have a small fishtank I'm going to change up a little bit to house it :) (I'm getting my fish a bigger tank too, so their old one will be free!) But yeah it depends on what age I go with
Snakes are also wonderful; a dream pet of mine is a ball python! Alas though my parents are terrified of snakes so I wouldn't be able to bring one home over vacations :( One day though!
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Munancho
Thank you for all the advice! :D I plan on using a reptile carpet for the substrate; easy to clean and remove, and less worry of mold (even if it did mold, just tossing it and getting a new one would be easy)
I do hope to get a male, honestly simply because I have a lot of name ideas based off characters haha XD I'm a bit of a nerd! But I will absolutely keep that in mind if I do go with a female! I've seen some DIY incubators, if that happens I'll pull up a youtube video and ask a few reptile breeders I chat with on tumblr how they do it!
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LittlePuppy
Thank you for the link!
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TwilitBard
That's a very good point about the tail I hadn't even considered! Thank you! And I'll be living near Boston, hopefully there will be an exotics vet nearby! I already found a specialized reptile store right near where I'm living so I can get food and extra hides/leaves there as I please! :D
I'm actually going to school to be a vet (not in vet school yet but halfway done my undergraduate stuff!) and while I'm probably not going to be an exotic vet, I will hopefully one day learn some basic medicine for reptiles and such!
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slothbug
Thank you! I'm not sure if I'll get a baby or a juvenile, but if I do get a baby I have a small fishtank I'm going to change up a little bit to house it :) (I'm getting my fish a bigger tank too, so their old one will be free!) But yeah it depends on what age I go with
Snakes are also wonderful; a dream pet of mine is a ball python! Alas though my parents are terrified of snakes so I wouldn't be able to bring one home over vacations :( One day though!
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Munancho
Thank you for all the advice! :D I plan on using a reptile carpet for the substrate; easy to clean and remove, and less worry of mold (even if it did mold, just tossing it and getting a new one would be easy)
I do hope to get a male, honestly simply because I have a lot of name ideas based off characters haha XD I'm a bit of a nerd! But I will absolutely keep that in mind if I do go with a female! I've seen some DIY incubators, if that happens I'll pull up a youtube video and ask a few reptile breeders I chat with on tumblr how they do it!
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LittlePuppy
Thank you for the link!
Sometimes they can be fussy with food. Others eat anything happily. The key is trying new things to see what they'll go after. I've got a super fussy little guy. He wont eat any insect what so ever, even wax worms which are basically candy to them. He didn't even eat a whole lot of Repashy's gecko diet, even if we added puree'd fruit to it to encourage him. What he DOES eat readily however is Pangea gecko diet. Specifically the fruit mix with insects. I'd really recommend it even though it's one of the more expensive ones.
Sometimes they can be fussy with food. Others eat anything happily. The key is trying new things to see what they'll go after. I've got a super fussy little guy. He wont eat any insect what so ever, even wax worms which are basically candy to them. He didn't even eat a whole lot of Repashy's gecko diet, even if we added puree'd fruit to it to encourage him. What he DOES eat readily however is Pangea gecko diet. Specifically the fruit mix with insects. I'd really recommend it even though it's one of the more expensive ones.
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Rockpools
I've heard the Pangea diet is by far the best since they tend to like it better (though Repashy is perfectly fine as well). I was thinking about getting both and trying them out.
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Rockpools
I've heard the Pangea diet is by far the best since they tend to like it better (though Repashy is perfectly fine as well). I was thinking about getting both and trying them out.
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ImpossibleJedi4 my friend who breeds them uses both, repashy is fine yeah, my boyo just wont eat nearly as much.
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ImpossibleJedi4 my friend who breeds them uses both, repashy is fine yeah, my boyo just wont eat nearly as much.
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Rockpools
I might even be able to mix them a bit if that's safe, that way I won't have to worry if he likes one and not the other! XD
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Rockpools
I might even be able to mix them a bit if that's safe, that way I won't have to worry if he likes one and not the other! XD