Scientific Name:
Rhacodactylus ciliatus
Location: Native
to the islands of New Caledonia, Grand Terre, and at least one
small surrounding island (Isle of Pines).
Life span: Estimated
to be about 15 - 20 years
Food: Crested
Geckos are Omnivores, They should be fed Crested Gecko Diet
(CGD)
along with crickets dusted with calcium every once in a while.
Temperature:
65F - 82F
Humidity: 50%
- 90%
Housing: 20
gal high tank for 1-2 adults, 40 gal high for 2-3 adults
Lighting: No
UV required as crested geckos are nocturnal, but it doesn't
hurt
Temperment:
Docile, easy to care for and hold
Crested
geckos originally came from the island New Caledonia, located
off the coast of New Zealand, east of Australia. They were once
thought to be extinct until found at the southern tip of the
country in 1994 and brought back to the United States. Because
of their ease of care and prolific breeding they are now a common
and popular reptile in the business today. Crested geckos are
arboreal and climb in the trees of their environment jumping
from place to place when needed. They have adhesive pads on
their feet and can climb just about anything, even glass. Crested
geckos, like all other geckos, do not have eye-lids and will
lick their eyes to clean them and keep them moist. They are
omnivores and eat fruits as well as insects. They are nocturnal
and the temperatures that they can tolerate are much lower than
one usually associated with reptiles.
Crested geckos like the same
temperatures that we are comfortable in, between
65F-80F. They
can handle temperatures in the low sixties and even high fifties
for limited periods of time if allowed to warm up to the mid-seventies
during the day. They cannot tolerate heat over 85F for very
long and take this into consideration when placing your terrarium
in your house. High temperatures stress them greatly, and they
can die if exposed to temperatures over 90F for even a short
period of time.
Always provide clean, fresh water
dish in their enclosure. Many people find this unnecessary but
I find it essential. Your gecko should always have somewhere
to take a drink if needed and as water evaporates out of the
dish it helps the humidity of the tank. Do not use soft water.
Use distilled or reverse-osmosis water for misting to avoid
etching of the glass/plastic and to avoid unsightly watermarks
all over your cage. If you have good clean well water, use that
for their drinking water. If your water is particularly bad,
use a few drops of zoo-meds repti-safe water conditioner for
their drinking water and for the water you mix food with. Mist
the enclosure well at least once per day, but preferably twice,
morning and night. Mist heavily but you don't want the cages
sodden; mold is deadly and can arise fast, it must not be tolerated
and removed immediately.
Please keep your geckos feeding
on Repashy Crested Gecko Diet
(CGD) it is the best food for them and is available at a number
of sources listed on the Repashy
website. ABSOLUTELY NO BABY
FOOD! I can't stress this enough,
baby food is full of sugars and crap that is no good for your
gecko. It will lead to your gecko having metabolic bone disease
and end up killing your gecko in a slow deforming horrible fashion.
All of my geckos have been raised from day one on CGD, and after
a short period of adjustment in their new home should resume
feeding normally. If they seem to be taking a long time or you
don't see them passing feces (if they are going to the bathroom,
they are feeding...) then tap a few drops onto the sides of
their mouth and watch them lick it up. Don't let yourself be
lured into hand feeding all the time though, they need to learn
to search and eat for themselves.
Insects - If you feed insects, please only offer a maximum
of once per week and only as a supplement to the CGD.
Dust the crickets with CGD, miner-all or calcium (lightly, and
NO D3). Crickets and roaches no larger than the width between
the gecko's eyes are recommended for feeding. Do not feed mealworms
since their exoskeleton is tough and it may cause impaction
and other digestive problems which can be fatal. Waxworms may
be fed only rarely since they are high in fat.
When feeding insects, Don't use substrate with natural
bark, peat, or other large particle type substrates since they
may ingest some along with the insect they are trying to eat
and become impacted. It's advised to use a separate cage with
a safe substrate to feed your cresteds insects in the event
that you don't have a suitable substrate. Paper towel, coconut
fiber panels, fern tree panels and bed-a-beast/eco-earth etc.
are all good, safe substrates which I use in my enclosures.
Never
house different sized geckos together.
Babies should be separated into their own cages after 2-3 months
of age to avoid tail-loss and other injuries. Once they become
adults at about 35 grams, females may be housed together in
a large- enclosure, although occasionally you may witness personality
conflicts. A 20 gallon tall tank is perfect for housing an adult
gecko or two. A 40-gallon breeder tank on its end (standing
tall) is perfect for a breeding trio. Males
must never be housed together. They are territorial and may
fight to the death. Animals in
captivity should never be placed in such an unfair situation.
I consider that to be cruel, inhumane and simply unnecessary.
Stress can be an issue with crested geckos but they are generally
very hardy. Excessive handling is stressful to them, although
a few minutes a day is just fine for them. I recommend an enclosed,
carpeted area, the gecko can be readily recaptured in the event
that it jumps away and keeps going. I use the hand over hand
"hand treadmill" method to give them the sense that
they're going somewhere. Just remember that these pets are not
cuddle-bunnies and don't over-do it.
Never
grab them by their tail, they
may drop it and it will NEVER grow back. A tailless gecko will
live a perfectly normal life, and it is very common. In the
wild, most crested geckos are found tailless.
Cats are natural predators of
geckos and must be kept away from any temptation. I cat springing
onto a gecko's cage may pierce the gecko with its claws should
the gecko be clinging to the top screen of its cage. Cats can
pull the screen top off of a cage, or rip the screen if motivated
and will torture the defenseless gecko to death if allowed to.
If you have cats (as I do) I suggest a cat-free room where all
your crested geckos and other reptiles can be completely isolated
and the door must be left shut at all times.
If you have any concern about
your animal's behavior being abnormal, feel free to contact
me immediately. I would rather spend an hour reassuring you
that the behavior is either normal or trouble-shooting and what
the problem might be, than to find out later that it died because
you didn't realize anything was wrong. Crested geckos are very
secretive about showing that they aren't quite right, (it's
a survival tactic that can work against them in captivity),
and may times when you finally realize something is really wrong,
it is too late.
I recommend spending time reading
the posts on the Pangea
Reptile forum which has an excellent search feature that
allows you to choose a topic and read what others have contributed
over time. You can learn everything you want to in this way;
join the forum yourself and post questions and participate in
discussions. I also highly recommend buying the book considered
the "gecko bible": Rhacodactylus: A Complete Guide
to Their Selection and Care, by Philippe be Vosjoli, Frank
Fast, and Allen Repashy. 290 pages, 250 color photos. $39.95
Published by Advanced Visions Inc. before it goes out of print.
Feel free to call or email me about any concern or question
that comes to mind. I love hearing that my youngsters are doing
well and I especially like seeing pictures of them as they grow.
If you ever decide that you no longer want the gecko
you got from me, I will be more than happy to take it back.
Don't hesitate to email me if your child bores of it
or it no longer fits into your family.
Questions, Concerns,
Comments
email me at
or PM me on Pangea Reptile Forums @ RIKennedy
A big thank you to my friend
Terri the Lizard Lady for
allowing me liberal use of her care sheet in making this
