New crestie owner, questions.

[mhinkle]

Girlfriend surprised me with a baby crestie for valentines day. I'm assuming by its size it is around a month of so old. I am not a new herp owner but I have never had a gecko that needs the humidity to be kept between 55 - 80.

I give him 90 humidity in the morning that last about 3 hours to ensure he sheds well an drinks the moisture from the leaves, but throughout the day it drops down to below 50 an if I have to spray around every 2 hours to keep it around 65. I'm using Eco earth as his substrate an I have covered the tank in some moss from the pet store. I use it for my Leo when he is shedding. It helps hold the humidity up a little better but still not enough.

I have read live plants, and to put Plastic over the top of the tank, but how would i do it since he is currently housed in a 10 gallon with a screen top until he gets a little bigger? When he grows some I will buy a taller tank, like the ones that have the opening door on the front.

Any ideas or critique in his tank setup are welcome. Im feeding him rapashy cgd. He isn't eating it willingly that I've seen so I rub it on his nose an he licks it off. Thanks!

[mhinkle]

So my baby crestie is having trouble climbing the glass? It is because the substrate gets stuck to his feet?

[OctagonGecko729]

Take the light off of the top and maybe run that plastic down the middle where the light is now but leave the two sides open for ventilation. There are several reasons for them not to stick but I'm sure it is just low humidity at this point.

What temps is he being kept at?

Everything else looks good. Just keep offering him CGD (and CGD alone <--- Important) mixed in a 1:2 ratio CGD:Water by weight.

At his size you will not be able to tell on a regular basis if he is eating because his stomach is super small. You can switch to paper towels once your humidity situation is worked out and then you can monitor for defecation.

[mhinkle]

Its not the humidity. I ran plastic across one half of the top side and it stays around 70 I give him 90+ with his first spray of the morning. His temp never goes below 70 and never above 80.

I am going to switch to paper towels. Do I need to worry about mold? How often should I change them?

I do feed him rapashy cgd it is offered at all times in his tank and changed every 30 hours. I also offer him small dusted crickets daily.

Should my humidity gauge be near the top? Middle? Floor? I have it around the middle and it always reads around 70ish.

[mhinkle]

Bump. Anyone?

[I-KandyReptiles]

Those analog thermometers are notoriously inaccurate. I'd get one with a probe, like the Accurite

[AKA Reptiles]

I'm new to to cresteds also. From what I have found while researching on the internet is that they need a dry period mid day as much as they need the humidity during the morning and evening hours. As long as you mist twice a day you should be fine. I wouldn't use any heat bulbs unless where you keep him/her is extremely cold (below 65-70 degrees). Other then that looks like you've got it pretty much. The live plants do help regulate the levels of humidity in the tank and for that reason I have one in mine. I use eco earth and as my girl does make a mess of things by digging a lot it looks nice and she seems to really enjoy it. The others that I have are all on paper towel as a substrate and have a few live plants in each of their tubs. I just make sure to spray the walls of their tubs so as to not saturate the paper towel cause this can cause illness if the cresteds decide to stay on the ground level for long periods of time.

[Evenstar]

Take the light off of the top and maybe run that plastic down the middle where the light is now but leave the two sides open for ventilation. There are several reasons for them not to stick but I'm sure it is just low humidity at this point.

What temps is he being kept at?

Everything else looks good. Just keep offering him CGD (and CGD alone <--- Important) mixed in a 1:2 ratio CGD:Water by weight.

At his size you will not be able to tell on a regular basis if he is eating because his stomach is super small. You can switch to paper towels once your humidity situation is worked out and then you can monitor for defecation.

^^ This is correct. Crested geckos do not need a light for UVB and they live quite happily at normal room temperatures (so around 70-75 is perfect for them). In fact, they will stress and suffer serious health problems or even death if exposed to temps at or over 80. Take the lamp off and cover the rest of the screen top with wax paper or whatever else you're using. Just mist once daily - usually in the evening is best. They need the drying out period just as much as the humidity or you will end up with mold issues. I only mist mine once a day for 2-3 days in a row, then skip a day - although I do keep mine in tubs which helps with the humidity. But still, if you take that lamp outta there, once a day should be enough for your little fella.

The Eco-earth is fine, but you can use paper towels too. Baby cresties do have some trouble on the glass - even adults will at times. These guys are not the most brilliant glass climbers. Stick some moistened sphagum moss plus a pothos plant, small ficus, or some other live plant in there and that'll do a lot of good too. You can just have the plant in a small pot for now and just set it inside the tank. I would crowd up the tank with more plants and branches. Cresties are shy and this baby is in a large tank for his size. He will eat better if he feels secure. Many breeders will keep baby cresties in a Kritter Keeper until they are at or over 10 grams or so. But if you add more stuff in there, the 10gal should be ok.

And, yes, offer ONLY CGD until he is eating well on that and that alone for a couple of months before offering the occasional appropriately sized cricket or roach. They need to eat CGD well so they get the proper nutrition.

[Evenstar]

To more specifically answer your questions......

Its not the humidity. I ran plastic across one half of the top side and it stays around 70 I give him 90+ with his first spray of the morning. His temp never goes below 70 and never above 80.

I am going to switch to paper towels. Do I need to worry about mold? How often should I change them? Whenever they begin to look messy. It's important to maintain a clean environment. If you put the towels down in layers, you can just pick up the top layer to "spot clean" as needed and change them all out once every 2-3 weeks. Keep an eye out for mold. In a higher humidity environment, mold is always a possibility.

I do feed him rapashy cgd it is offered at all times in his tank and changed every 30 hours. I also offer him small dusted crickets daily. I would ONLY offer the CGD right now until you know he's eating that well. Cresties love their bugs and if offered too many too frequently, he'll start eating them only and even if they are dusted, that's not good enough. Don't give the crickets until he's eating the CGD consistantly for a couple of months. This will provide him with all the nutrition he needs so the crickets are just supplimental.


Should my humidity gauge be near the top? Middle? Floor? I have it around the middle and it always reads around 70ish. Get rid of the gauge. They are notoriously unreliable. Pick up an Accurite and put the unit on the floor of the cage and the probe up near the top.

Hope this is helpful for you!

[Sita]

I don't own a crested (yet), but our herp society just had a speaker last week that is one of the top gecko breeders in the area. He breeds hundreds every year, and has a great success rate. I don't remember much of what he said about humidity and such, but the temp range they keep them at is 72-76 degrees.

For the Repashy, try hiding it in the leaves if you're not already. A little baby might be shy and not want to really come out to eat. Also, changing it every 30 hours might be too often. They feed every 48 hours because in the wild, their food is mostly rotting fruit. They don't have the jaw strength to eat fresh fruit, so they wait till it starts rotting. He had said that many of their geckos won't touch the Repashy until it's been sitting for two days and getting stinky.