Zeppelin the Crestie.

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Originally Posted by ballpythonandragon

If you don't mind me asking where did you get that setup i love it. Would be really easy to view and what are the sizes of it? thanks Aaron

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It's an Exo-Terra terrarium, and I paid $99 for it at PetCo. The dimensions are 18x18x18, and it's very easy to observe from all angles (except the rear, unless you removed the foam back-drop, which wouldn't be a problem). It's actually a brilliant design with spacing in the back (from the top-rear of the enclosure, all the way down behind the backdrop) for cords and tubing. Also, the bottom section beneath the two hinged glass doors is completely water-tight, so setting up a small pond or creek down there would be no problem for pets that would appreciate that sort of environment. The screen-top is divided in half with a plastic divider; metal framing for this would have been nicer. The top also has four tabs at each corner to secure it with, and is easily removed. They come in various sizes, mine being the 2nd largest, I believe.

I hope I was descriptive enough, and if you like, I can snap some more detailed photos of the terrarium's features when I get home this afternoon and post them in the caging forum. :)

Zep's terrarium, rearranged:

http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag.../Habitat-1.jpg

Here are some close-up shots of the waterfall I added:


http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...aterfall-1.jpg

http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...aterfall-2.jpg

And the star of the show, Zeppelin:
http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...ppelin-003.jpg

Things are starting to come along nicely. I'll be adding another plant or two within the next few days; at least one epiphytic. Temps are steadying around the low to mid-70's, with humidity around 50% at the lowest. I mist a few times a day when I can, which usually seems to bring the humidity up quite a bit, around 70 to 75%.

As for feeding: I haven't really had much time with Zep to setup a strict feeding-schedule yet, but I think CGD one day, 3 gut-loaded & dusted crickets the next, followed by more GCD the day after is a good regimen. Anybody disagree? Should there always be a source of food in his terrarium? I fed three small dusted & gut-loaded crickets yesterday evening, and I can't find them anywhere so I think he ate them. Should there be a constant source of CGD just in case? Should there be days where no food is offered? I've been reading alot, but I'd like some reassurance in this aspect :)

Thanks.

looks nice and your temp and humidity levels sound great. :) now he just needs a friend! :P (yes, i am always promoting the crestie addiction :D .)

cresteds don't require too strict of a feeding regimine. i follow something like this:
monday: cgd
tuesday: leftover cgd still in cage from monday
wednesday: crickets
thursday: no food
friday: cgd
saturday: leftover cgd from friday
sunday: crickets or no food

as long as the cgd doesn't start to mold you can leave it in the cage for up to 48 hours. eventually i am going to switch from crickets to blaptica dubia roaches, but i am still getting my roach breeding colony going so it will be a while. not that crickets are bad, but i have a lot of geckos and the thought of saving money have 1000s of crickets shipped to me every week is a nice one and there are some other benefits to roaches as well. :P

I just found a local pet-store that happens to have 2 Cresties (male and a female) and one very large and healthy-looking female Leopard.

Anyway, I finally was able to get a good view of not only how large Cresties (and Leo's) can get as adults, but also how obvious a male differs from a female Crested Gecko. After examining this lovely pair through the glass, I'm quite confident that Zeppelin is in fact a female, though I understand it's still too early to tell for sure. However, I don't see any signs of the cloacal pores, the vent itself is rather "deep," as opposed to flat like I've heard males described as, and the "cresticles" are also not apparent at Zep's age.

Anyway, here's a (blurry) picture of Zep's underside. I know it's hard to really see much with the quality of this photo; I still can't figure out how to zoom manually with this darn camera >:( Maybe somebody could take a guess as to a sex?
http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...rested/Zep.jpg

And here's a new night picture that I thought was real pretty. I like how the pothos' leaves turn purple under this lamp, and how well Zep is highlighted.
http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...ested/Zep2.jpg

it really is too early to tell if zep is female or not. i have had some success determining males from females by looking for pre-anal pores with a 30x jeweler's loupe. without a clearer photo i can't tell anything for sure, but i have pointed to what might be the start of enlarged pre-anal pores in the photo. females do also have pre-anal pores they just aren't enlarged like they are on the males. i will try to get a photo of a male for you for reference. again, i'm not saying that zep looks male, but i am pointing out the pre-anal pores, so that is where you should look to see if they are enlarged.

very cool night pics too. neat how zep stands out. :)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../8/2/pores.jpg

what are you using for the light at night? Also i'll thinking about getting one of these cages they are pertty sweet looking.

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Originally Posted by ballpythonandragon

what are you using for the light at night?

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Actually, this lamp is used throughout the day too. It puts off enough heat to keep the temps up, but not too much. Garrick at CrestedGecko.com actually told me temps in the mid-80's are ideal for summer, and mid- to low-70's for winter, which is contrary to what everybody here has suggested, which is the high-70's maximum for any extended period of time. I'm going to do some more research on this for sure...

Anyway, the bulb is an Exo-Terra "Night Glo Moonlight Lamp," 75W, Part #: PT-2130.

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Originally Posted by ballpythonandragon

Also i'll thinking about getting one of these cages they are pertty sweet looking.

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Oh, you should! I highly recommend this terrarium, and it's the best design I could imagine using for this type of setup. I plan on giving it more life with plants and rearrangement in the future, which is very easy with the two front doors and removeable screen top. If you can, try to go to a pet store that has one and check them out!

hmm, well garrick is the first that i've heard to say that the mid 80s were ok temps. i know that many breeders provide a warm basking area of 80-82 degrees to their breeders, but i've never heard of anyone keeping them at highter temps than that due to the fact that too much heat causes stress and is not good for them.

and while i would recommend keeping temps around at least 72 or so it has been said in books written by the crested experts that mid to high 60s are fine for winter temps.

to some extent what is "ideal" is opinion, but there is still a general range of what is safe for your animal. as long as you stick within those limits i think you should do what works best for you and proves to make your animal happy and healthy.

Yeah, I've been sticking with the majority-vote so far, and Zeppelin's terrarium hasn't gone over 78-degrees at all, and whenever I look at it, it's usually around 73.

Without breeding being an option at this point, should I be concerned about night/day cycles with respect to heat and lighting? So far, his environment has been at a constant heat (low- to mid-70's) 24 hours a day; his lighting during the day has been ambient light, which is pretty low (plus the night glo lamp), and his night glo lamp in the evening hours. Should I consider putting his lights on a timer, and get a "day" lamp along with my current "night" lamp at 12-hour (winter now, so 10- & 14-hour) intervals? If I were to get a "day" lamp, it would only be a fluorescent, so as to not emit too much heat.

you don't need to worry about any heat or light cycles. my cresteds get dim light from a covered window, so there is some amount of light during the day but it is very little. the temps drop 1-2 degrees at night just due to cooler outside temps, but a constant temp on them is fine. whatever naturally happens where you have him is fine unless you have him in a basement with no windows or light at all and you just want to give him a little ambient light during the day.