How to Care for a Crested Gecko

Crested Geckos are one of the easiest reptiles to keep. They eat both insect and fruit based diets, and can be tamed enough to be held. Crested geckos grow to up to 10 inches including their tail. If a crested gecko loses his tail, it will never regenerate, but a crested gecko does not need his tail to be happy and healthy.

Crested Geckos are fairly new to the pet trade, but estimated to live up to 20 yrs in captivity. Crested geckos prefer room temperatures of low to mid 70’s, and cannot handle heat above 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so please do not overheat your gecko.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Glass tank 20 or more gallons
• Papertowels or rubber shelf liner
• Low water bowl or glass ashtray
• Plastic cave or hide
• Fluorescent light with UVA
• Fixture and Red light bulb low wattage( not infrared)
• Optional small pothos plant
• Spray bottle of water

1. Start with a glass tank that is on the tall side, and give each gecko about 20 gallons at least. Crested geckos need a lot of space. If you get more than one, have only one male in the mix. Sometimes females will also fight, and the loser would need to be separated. Crested geckos are very happy living alone, and I recommend a beginner only get one to start.

2. 
   All ready for Gecko

   Place your substrate down to cover the entire floor of the tank. Rubber shelf liners work great and are easy to clean. Crested geckos ingest other substrates and can get impacted and die. Place the water bowl, and also the hide, into the tank. A hide can be anything that helps the gecko to feel safe and to hide if he prefers. It can be a cave or a grouping of fake plants. You may want to add a small live pothos plant to help with humidity.

3. Set up your lighting. I use a fluorescent light with UVA and UVB rays, although some say a crested does not need UVB rays. I also use a red light bulb at nighttime to view the geckos. Do NOT get an infrared bulb, b/c crested geckos cannot handle excessive heat.

4. Now you can fill your water bowl with water and give the pothos plant a little bit of water as well. If you already have your gecko, he may now enter his new home.

5. For food, you can buy a diet for crested geckos that is sold online, called Repashy Superfoods Crested Gecko Meal Replacement Powder, or MRP. The directions are on the package how to mix the powder to water ratio in the evenings. You can feed your young gecko every night, and as he grows to adult size, you may cut back feeding to every other night. The lid from a vitamin bottle is a good size for a food dish.

6. You should mist your gecko every day, preferably in the warmest part of the day. Misting helps with the shedding process. Crested geckos Usually eat their shed as they remove it, so you may never see a shed in the bottom of the cage.

7. Handle your gecko gently every day, and it will become tame before long. Try not to allow the gecko to jump from your hands and land onto a hard surface. The gecko may be injured if this occurs. Use both hands to handle the gecko at all times, and pay attention to him to ensure he won’t jump out of your hands. Do not grab his tail, as it may fall off.

8. If your Gecko drops his tail, the tail may wiggle for up to a half hour. Remove the tail as soon as you can, so the gecko does not try to eat it. Do not treat the tail stump for injury, but keep the tank as clean as possible while the gecko heals. Try not to handle the gecko while he is healing.
   
   Good Luck with your new pet!

Tips & Warnings

• Gut load your crickets with healthy food, such as fresh vegetables before feeding to your gecko. You can also feed the crickets some of the powdered MRP.
• Dust your crickets with calcium powder before feeding them. You need a calcium powder WITHOUT vitamin D3.
• Make sure your crickets are small enough for your gecko. the length of the cricket should not be longer than the space between your geckos eyes.
• Never use a heat rock or a heat pad for crested geckos. They need temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably low to mid 70's.