crested gecko care sheet

[zarozinia]

Two of us have been working on a crested gecko care sheet,put together following our experiences, our reptile groups experiences, reading books, articles and website info about them.
Heres what we have got so far, let me know what you think.

Information and background on crested geckos

Natural habitat/Part 1
Rhacodactylus ciliatus, better known as crested geckos, are found on the island of New Caledonia, which is north of Australia. Previously thought to be extinct with the last description being in 1866, a single specimen was discovered by R Seipp in 1994. They have been discovered living mainly on the southern half of the island and on the nearby isle of pines and isle of Komoto.


Their habitat is warm, moist, lowland forest. Average temperatures on these islands usually ranges from 64C to 83C, but can vary. The humidity levels tend to range from 70 to 86%. Being arboreal ( tree dwelling) Crested geckos can be found living in trees and often hide in leaves, either on the trees or on the forest floor.

Appearance
Crested geckos are so named because they have a distinctive crests running from the top rim of the eye down their backs. They have almost triangular shaped heads and prehensile tails. They have sticky pads on the pads of their feet and the end of the tail which enable them to climb almost any surface and manoeuvre their way around the forest.

Crested Geckos can grow to almost 10 inches, but in captivity most grow to be around 6 or 7 inches. Body colour and pattern are quite variable and they have the ability to change colour slightly , which aids adaption to suit their environment. Descriptions of their colours includes yellow, orange, salmon, red, buckskin, chocolate, green and olive. There patterns are described as Harlequin, dalmation, fire and pinstripe. Due to the short time since rediscovery, their lifespan is at present unknown but it believed to be in excess of 10 years.

Temperment
These geckos are usually good natured and easy to handle. They may be shy at first but with regular gentle and careful handling they appear to enjoy being handled for short periods.

They do well living alone but can be housed in groups. Males should not be housed together as there is a high risk of injury or even death due to fighting. Males housed together from an early age have been known to co-exist with social hierarchy, but once sexual maturity develops or females are introduced, then fighting becomes almost inevitable.

They are social creatures and one male can be housed with several females.

They can be heard communicating at night , making clicking, growling and barks.


Feeding/Part 2 Fruit
In the wild crested geckos mainly eat fruit. In captivity it is good to aim for a similar diet, despite complete diets being available. Such complete diets could always be added to the fruit to boost nutritional value. A diet including insects provides some stimulation and boosts activity levels. It also provides variety taste wise and more scope for nutrition. The best time to feed is probably late evening as they are nocturnal.

Suitable fruits such as peaches, bananas pears, aprocots and apples can be purreed, or fruit baby food can be used and appear to be enjoyed, some geckos even enjoy figs, so offer variety to increase nutrition. Citrus fruits should be avoided. Youre gecko may also eat other types of baby food including vegtables or meat. Fruit should be offered to hatchlings, juveniles and adults 3-4 times weekly. It can be served on shallow bottle tops, 1/2 to 1 tea-spoon of food per gecko. Any uneaten food should be removed before going moldy or attracting ants which can kill crested geckos, although some people find their cresties eat the fruit after its been in the enclosure for a day rather than immediately.

Calcium(not containing phosphorus) and vitamin D3 powder should be added to fruit once weekly for hatchlings and juveniles, and every other feed for adults. Multivitamins for reptiles will need adding once weekly (or follow the manufacturers guidelines). Bee pollen amd spirulina can be added once weekly to increase nutritional value.

Insects
Crested geckos have weak mandibles and do not masticate the insects, so types of insects should be chosen with this in mind.

Crested geckos should be fed insects that are no larger than the space between its eyes. they eat a variety of insects including crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and small beetles. Each gecko should be offered 3 - 5 appropriate sized insects at each serving. Hatchlings should be fed 10 - 14 day old crickets every other day. Juveniles and adults can be fed the appropriate sized insects two or three times weekly. Breeding geckos should be fed daily.

Insects should be dusted lightly with calcium and vitamin D3 powder twice weekly for hatchlings and juveniles, adults every other cricket feeding.

Insects should be gut loaded to ensure high nutritional value. Crickets can be fed on commercially available foods and a variety of vegtables, especially leafy green vegtables to increase calcium levels. The vegetables provide a source of water for the crickets. It is important to keep youre crickets in clean, sanitory conditions, youre gecko will reap the benefits from good quality insects. Dead crickets should be removed from the cricket tub each day.


Housing/Part 3

The minimum size vivarium that an adult crested gecko should be kept in is one that is 12x12x24 (in inches). The most important requirement is height, crested geckos are primarily arboreal and spend most of their time hiding in trees or tall plants. They will venture down to the bottom of the vivarium to feed but other than that they prefer to stay in the top portion of their home.

Crested geckos are by nature nocturnal and so will spend most of the day hidden from view. They require lots of hiding places at varying heights throughout their vivarium. Dense plants, logs or commercially available reptile hides all are excellent choices. You may chose to use live, plastic or silk plants depending on your personal preference. I personally use live and silk plants as I prefer the look of these over plastic ones. One benefit of using silk or plastic plants over live is that they will tolerate a good clean. Crested geckos are very messy, unlike other gecko’s they do not have a specific point that they defecate in. They will go anywhere and everywhere and as they eat fruit it is rather more sloppy than that of leopard geckos. The entire enclosure will need to be routinely cleaned once a month or so depending on how many geckos occupy the vivarium.

Substrate is something that has been subject to many debates among owners and always will be. In a simplistic vivarium newspaper or kitchen paper can be used. There is minimal chance of ingestion and it is cheap to replace. Other popular substrates include potting soil, mosses (sphagnum is most popular) or leaf litter. It is thought by some owners that if they can survive with it in the wild they can survive on it in captivity. However in the wild they rarely need to come down to the ground and so reducing the chance of them ingesting the ground material. In captivity they are usually fed on the ground and the crickets let lose in the vivarium so the chance of ingestion is greatly increased. Ingestion of substrate in small amounts will do little if any damage however in young specimens it may cause impaction. The gut becomes blocked and it may result in the death of the animal.

For hatchling crested geckos it is best to keep them in a small vertical vivarium, with paper towel as substrate and a basic enclosure. This way it is easy for them to find their food and there is no chance of ingestion of substrate and impaction. Once an overall length of 5 or 6 inches is reached the gecko can be transferred into its larger vivarium. It is best to house hatchlings and juveniles singly to avoid bullying and competition for food. Once they are grown on they may be introduced to others, however only one male per cage as they are extremely aggressive to each other.

A vivarium measuring 18x18x24 may house a pair or trio of adult crested geckos (1 male and 1 or 2 females or just 2 or 3 females with no males). However this is a minimum requirement and bigger is always better. If you plan on keeping females in with a male, then have separate accommodation for the male to be separated for a few months each year. A female can be over bred and will quickly become calcium deficient. The male should be separated from the females for 2-3 months a year at least to allow the females to be fed up and their calcium reserves to be replenished.

Temperature and Humidity.
Crested geckos do best at temperatures in the low-mid 70’s (Fahrenheit). Over heating is much more of a problem than them being too cold. It is for this reason that care should be taken in the summer months to prevent overheating. An air cooler or an air conditioning unit may be required to keep the temperature within the desired range. Most crested geckos can be kept at normal room temperature in the winter months which is another benefit to these extraordinary creatures. If your ambient room temperature gets below 60F in the winter months during the day then you may need to install some supplementary heating. The best way to add a gentle heat to your crested gecko vivarium is with a low wattage bulb protected with a mesh heat guard. This is to prevent the lamellae from being damaged on their delicate toes and possible thermal burns. ALWAYS USE A THERMOSTAT TO PREVENT THE TEMPERATURE FROM GETTING TOO HIGH. Crested geckos have been known to die when exposed to temperatures over 85F for just over an hour.

Although some people would recommend using a heat mat, these are not really the best option. They do not raise the ambient air temperature so only provide a hot spot on the side of the vivarium. Crested geckos have not evolved to absorb heat through their abdomens, they live in rainforest in the wild where the temperature is constant all year round. If your crested gecko gets direct access to the heat mat there is a chance of the lamellae getting damaged. Heat mats are also prone to over heating which is another danger to your crested geckos. Again if you chose to use a heat mat ensure it is controlled by a thermostat at all times to prevent over heating.

Humidity should be maintained between 60% and 70% although it is best to keep it slightly higher while they are young. This is to prevent shedding problems which can endanger the delicate hatchlings. The best way to do this is to buy a spray bottle which can deliver a fine mist and give a heavy spray in the evenings. This should be enough for adults but while young or getting ready to shed an extra light spray in the mornings may be required.

Misting also serves the purpose as drinking water, for this reason the water should be allowed to stand for at least 24 hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate. Alternatively a water conditioner may be used to instantly prepare the water. Many crested geckos will not recognise standing water in a bowl although it should always be provided, this makes the sprays even more important. The vivarium should be kept humid but not constantly wet as this may cause fungal infections or respiratory problems.

Another way of keeping the humidity up is by using one of the commercially available water falls. These not only increase humidity but provide a moving water source which is more readily accepted by crested geckos than a bowl of water. Although even if you chose to use one of these the vivarium needs to be sprayed lightly in the evening once daily.


Written by Angi Nelson and James Dellow