Couldn't help myself

So i finally gave in and picked up a crested gecko today from our petco (had mixed feelings about getting one there but he seems to be in good health). However they gave me the usual "they eat baby food" crap, and "heat pads don't need dimmers because they stay at the temperature they are supposed to be". So I don't exactly trust their judgement on substrate, they pointed me to cypress mulch, is this ok for a baby crestie? (he will be on paper towels for now) Also i definitely need a dimmer for my UTH correct?

Here are some quick cell phone pics, if anybody could tell me if its a morph or a "normal" or whatever that would be great too. :)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/...estedGecko.jpg

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/...-14-00_157.jpg

Thanks for looking!

I keep my cresties at room temp and on paper towels. Cresties don't like it when it gets above 80-85 degrees, so if you do use some type of heating it needs to be monitored.

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Originally Posted by Kinra

I keep my cresties at room temp and on paper towels. Cresties don't like it when it gets above 80-85 degrees, so if you do use some type of heating it needs to be monitored.

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makes perfect sense. I'm at home now and i'm not even using the UTH anyway because the temps are good but when i go back to school the dorms stay a lot colder so i wanted to have the UTH just in case, can't you get cheap dimmers from lowes or am I making that up?

You can make one and theyare pretty easy and really cheap. I made one a while back when I didnt have enough money for a t-stat for about 10 bucks.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...r-temp-control

First off congrats on your new addition. I know you have been considering one for a very long time. Welcome to the club!

I have never used a heater for any of my crested geckos. Unless your temps are getting below 65-60 at night I wouldn't use any type of heat. Also those meal worms have a hard to digest exoskeleton, some people are very against these types of feeders. I occasionally feed them to my adult bearded dragon but for a small crestie I wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis, it could lead to impaction. It's best to stick to crickets or roaches of appropriate size. Paper towels work great but most substrates are suitable for crested geckos. Honestly, cresties are one of the hardiest pets around, you really have to try to kill them, or have bad luck. Either way enjoy your new guy, they are very enjoyable!

Thats a great looking crestie! Congrats!

A few crested gecko thoughts:

- I've never used heat sources for my geckos. I prefer to keep them at room temperature, and as low as 60 in winter. Some people keep them as low as 55 in winter. I keep my geckos in the basement because indoor summer temps can break 80 degrees.. not good for cresties.

- I exclusively feed Repashy Crested Gecko Diet ("CGD"). It's a powder you mix with water to the consistency of a thick milkshake, resembles rotting fruit. I buy mine in large bags from Pangeareptile.com

- I keep my crested geckos in planted vivariums using "ABG mix" for substrate, available online from Josh's Frogs or you can look up how to make it yourself, typically on various dart frog and vivarium forums.

- I see mealworms in a picture there. While supplementing a crested gecko's diet with insects can be a wonderful idea, I prefer to stick to crickets or dubia roach nymphs. On the occasion I do offer insects, I gutload overnight with CGD and then dust lightly with calicum WITHOUT vit. D3 prior to feeding. Personally, I stay away from mealworms for cresties, and I would definitely not stick to an all-insect diet.

- For a long time before CGD was developed, crested geckos were kept in captivity with success on various baby foods. It's an old way of keeping them, but it has worked in the past. We have better options now, but I wouldn't scoff at it. The big issue is that the majority of baby foods are not suitable for cresties, it takes a bit of research and looking around to find the stuff that works with crestie biology.

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Originally Posted by eel588

First off congrats on your new addition. I know you have been considering one for a very long time. Welcome to the club!

I have never used a heater for any of my crested geckos. Unless your temps are getting below 65-60 at night I wouldn't use any type of heat. Also those meal worms have a hard to digest exoskeleton, some people are very against these types of feeders. I occasionally feed them to my adult bearded dragon but for a small crestie I wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis, it could lead to impaction. It's best to stick to crickets or roaches of appropriate size. Paper towels work great but most substrates are suitable for crested geckos. Honestly, cresties are one of the hardiest pets around, you really have to try to kill them, or have bad luck. Either way enjoy your new guy, they are very enjoyable!

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Thanks! I'm very excited about him/her :)

The only reason im using a UTH is because im going to have my crestie in the dorms and we keep our room pretty cold, i really doubt it gets below 65 but i'd rather just have the peace of mind knowing there is heat if he needs it.
Thanks for informing me about the mealworms. petco gives such great advice... :rage:
And i just figured i would put him on paper towels so i could monitor his health better before i switched him over. I also wanted to make sure cypress mulch was ok (petco said it was good so that threw up red flags, lol). After a week or two i will probably switch him over to the good stuff. I'm super excited to watch him grow and see his personality, i can already tell these little guys have a lo of it. :D

They aren't too needy about how their cage is set up are they? Food, water, plenty of leaves to hide in/climb on (security), right temps. That's all right? Change the water and food every other day? this seems too easy :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

A few crested gecko thoughts:

- I've never used heat sources for my geckos. I prefer to keep them at room temperature, and as low as 60 in winter. Some people keep them as low as 55 in winter. I keep my geckos in the basement because indoor summer temps can break 80 degrees.. not good for cresties.

- I exclusively feed Repashy Crested Gecko Diet ("CGD"). It's a powder you mix with water to the consistency of a thick milkshake, resembles rotting fruit. I buy mine in large bags from Pangeareptile.com

- I keep my crested geckos in planted vivariums using "ABG mix" for substrate, available online from Josh's Frogs or you can look up how to make it yourself, typically on various dart frog and vivarium forums.

- I see mealworms in a picture there. While supplementing a crested gecko's diet with insects can be a wonderful idea, I prefer to stick to crickets or dubia roach nymphs. On the occasion I do offer insects, I gutload overnight with CGD and then dust lightly with calicum WITHOUT vit. D3 prior to feeding. Personally, I stay away from mealworms for cresties, and I would definitely not stick to an all-insect diet.

- For a long time before CGD was developed, crested geckos were kept in captivity with success on various baby foods. It's an old way of keeping them, but it has worked in the past. We have better options now, but I wouldn't scoff at it. The big issue is that the majority of baby foods are not suitable for cresties, it takes a bit of research and looking around to find the stuff that works with crestie biology.

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Good to know about the temps, I may ditch the UTH after all. There are also crickets and CGD in the cage with him. I feel like petco severely misinformed me. As for the baby food i researched it one time and most things i read just said it was too sugary for them, but again it has worked in the past. I'll have to look into that substrate, and also the bigger bags of CGD. Thanks :)

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Originally Posted by Ezekiel285

They aren't too needy about how their cage is set up are they? Food, water, plenty of leaves to hide in/climb on (security), right temps. That's all right? Change the water and food every other day? this seems too easy :rolleyes:

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They are super easy to care for. :)

The downside is they will drop their tails sometimes and they don't grow back. They also like to lick water off of the leaves and cage walls so I mist mine nightly. I don't think they will always drink out of a water bowl.