Zeppelin the Crestie.

He's up in the top-left, rear corner:
http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag.../zeppelin1.jpg

http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...ppelin-002.jpg

I just picked Zeppelin up today from the pet shop - boy, breeders would be so much nicer to deal with! Anyway, he's setup with a synthetic vine, a live pothos, a hide, a water dish and his little ceramic food-dish. The substrate is coconut husk. Humidity is around 65%, and the heat is just over 70-degrees farenheit. From what I understand, these numbers are quite alright, but does anybody here disagree?

As for the physical arrangement of the terrarium, there are some definite upgrades to be done in the near future, including more foliage and a better (more 'interactive') back-drop. If you guys don't mind, could you tell me what might be wrong with the way it is for now? Anything that strikes you as the wrong way to do things?

I've got two lamps setup on a dimmer for day and night-time lighting. I hope to give him a companion tomorrow from the same place I purchased him. They're too young to get an idea of sex for now, but I'd really like to start breeding in the future with more experience.

Thanks for the comments :)

congrats on your new crestie! i personally am absolutely addicted to them. :P

your humidity and temps sound fine. as long as the temps don't get below the mid 60s you should be fine.

the terrarium is very nice looking but pretty big for such a little guy. do you plan on feeding crickets or just the cgd (that's what is in his dish right?)? in such a big space he may have trouble finding the crickets. also you might reconsider your substrate for now. babies very easily get a mouthfull of substrate when they are trying to grab crickets and you don't want him to swallow that. again, if you aren't going to feed crickets then your substrate is fine. i use paper towels in all of my crested enclosures because i do feed both insects and cgd.

special lighting isn't really necessary for cresteds but you can give them a day/night cycle if you wish. just make sure that you aren't heating up the enclosure with your lamp--anything above 80-82 degrees is dangerous for cresteds.



p.s. how 'bout some close ups of zeppelin himself? i need to check that little cutie out. :P

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Originally Posted by mlededee

congrats on your new crestie! i personally am absolutely addicted to them. :P

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I think I'm following suit!

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Originally Posted by mlededee

your humidity and temps sound fine. as long as the temps don't get below the mid 60s you should be fine.

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The temperature is hovering right around 70 degrees, which has me a little on the worried side. I don't want to be gone for a day, only to come home and find the temps much lower :(

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Originally Posted by mlededee

the terrarium is very nice looking but pretty big for such a little guy. do you plan on feeding crickets or just the cgd (that's what is in his dish right?)? in such a big space he may have trouble finding the crickets. also you might reconsider your substrate for now. babies very easily get a mouthfull of substrate when they are trying to grab crickets and you don't want him to swallow that. again, if you aren't going to feed crickets then your substrate is fine. i use paper towels in all of my crested enclosures because i do feed both insects and cgd.

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Yes, I do plan on feeding gut-loaded crickets. I'll have them in a kritter-keeper eating Nature Zone's Cricket Total Bites (little green gel-cubes). I've also got 2 different types of vitamins and calcium:

• Fluker's Calcium : Phosphorus w/ D-3
• Bone Aid MicroStick Calcium Powder (doesn't specify a source of D-3, should I assume it doesn't have any?)
• Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene Multivitamins
• Zoo Med's Reptivite Vitamins

Are any of these better than the others per your experience, or do you have any others that you would recommend? Would you advise against anything in particular with respects to supplements?

Yes, the little ceramic dish you see in there is in fact CGD, and I'm happy to say that there were some spots where he had licked it out this morning :) I'm happy that he's comfortable enough to eat already!

Also, I plan on picking up one of his (or her?) little brothers (or sisters?) today, so do you think the increase of population will help the fact that the terrarium is so large?

Thanks so much for all of your input thus far! I look forward to giving these little buggers a long and happy life, and hopefully some babies in the future! I'll be sure to let you know if I'm in the market for a female ;)

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Originally Posted by mlededee

special lighting isn't really necessary for cresteds but you can give them a day/night cycle if you wish. just make sure that you aren't heating up the enclosure with your lamp--anything above 80-82 degrees is dangerous for cresteds.

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Would you mind telling me exactly what you use for lighting / heat sources? Ambient room-temperature is probably sufficient, but I don't want to risk anything, seeing as how my room temp often changes.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

p.s. how 'bout some close ups of zeppelin himself? i need to check that little cutie out. :P

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You got it! Sorry for the minor blurriness, I'm still getting used to my new camera. Also, I didn't want to disturb him on his throne for other angles, so I'll get some better pics later today.

How cute is this little guy!!
http://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...ppelin-002.jpg
http://www.subliminalluison.com/imag...ppelin-001.jpghttp://www.subliminallusion.com/imag...ppelin-001.jpg
http://www.subliminalluison.com/imag...ppelin-002.jpg
http://www.subliminalluison.com/imag...ppelin-002.jpg

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

The temperature is hovering right around 70 degrees, which has me a little on the worried side. I don't want to be gone for a day, only to come home and find the temps much lower

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as long as it doesn't get below 62ish for more than a day i wouldn't worry too much. if you come home one night and it's in the lower 60s just turn on a heat lamp or something similar until it warms up a bit in the enclosure. a few hours in the lower temps won't hurt them--they are tough little guys. too hot is much riskier than too cold with these geckos.

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Yes, I do plan on feeding gut-loaded crickets. I'll have them in a kritter-keeper eating Nature Zone's Cricket Total Bites (little green gel-cubes). I've also got 2 different types of vitamins and calcium:
Fluker's Calcium : Phosphorus w/ D-3
Bone Aid MicroStick Calcium Powder (doesn't specify a source of D-3, should I assume it doesn't have any?)
Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene Multivitamins
Zoo Med's Reptivite Vitamins
Are any of these better than the others per your experience, or do you have any others that you would recommend? Would you advise against anything in particular with respects to supplements?

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the herptivite and reptivite are both good. i personally use the rep-cal herptivite in conjunction with rep-cal calcium with vitamin d3--they are made to go together. since i feed cgd regularly i dust with the herptivite every cricket feeding and the calcium and herptivite about every other feeding.

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Yes, the little ceramic dish you see in there is in fact CGD, and I'm happy to say that there were some spots where he had licked it out this morning I'm happy that he's comfortable enough to eat already!

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that's awesome!

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Also, I plan on picking up one of his (or her?) little brothers (or sisters?) today, so do you think the increase of population will help the fact that the terrarium is so large?

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increasing the population won't really help the individual find food. obviously finding the cgd hasn't been a problem so they may not have too much trouble with the crickets. i kept my very first cresteds in a rather huge (for them at the time) aquarium at first and they didn't have any trouble but they were both fiesty eaters. just keep an eye on them and watch to see that they are getting the crickets when you feed them.

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Originally Posted by IamKaervek

Would you mind telling me exactly what you use for lighting / heat sources? Ambient room-temperature is probably sufficient, but I don't want to risk anything, seeing as how my room temp often changes.

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i don't use anything at all for light or heat. my herp room stays at about 78 degrees year round so heat is not an issue for me, but like i said before, anything in the normal room temperature range is fine for cresteds. 78 is actually on the warm end for them unless you are breeding (they will breed at lower temps, but seem to produce better if it is a little warmer). the room that they are in get dim sunlight that is filtered through blinds and a dark sheet covering the window. it is enough light that they can tell night and day but it is still pretty dim in the room. since cresteds are nocturnal they really don't require any special or extra lighting unless it is to provide needed heat.


zeppelin is a cutie pie! i love the pic of him peeking over the leaf. :) they are SO easily addicting! :D

I picked up a medium Exo-Terra waterfall today, and I was wondering if there's a limit to humidity for the Cresties. I read the care-sheet provided here, but all that's mentioned is how they like high-humidity, and no specifics were given.

mlededee (can I call you Bob? :p ), do you have any suggestions as to whom I should buy a female from? I've seen your website, but you don't seem to have any available.

kevin dunne of dragon's den herp is in ca. he should have a selection of females to choose from. he's slow on email so call him if you want fast service.


vaughn

you can call me bob if you want to, but i'd prefer emily or just mle. :)

those exo terra waterfalls are nice. i had one in my red eyed tree frog enclosure for a while but it proved to be too much of a pain because they defecate in their water and that whole thing is a lot to clean every day. anyhoo, i'd say you probably don't want the humidity to stay over 80% for extended periods of time. the biggest problem with high humidity is mold--in the substrate and in the food mostly. is the top of your enclosure screen or are there any adjustable vents in it? i've seen those before but can't recall the top... you may be able to mess with it and get your humidity right.

females, hmmm. :) i have several that look to be female but i can't absolutely guarantee it until they are older. shoot me a private message or e-mail (emily@cookreptiles.com) if you are interested. if you want a guaranteed adult female you could try garrick demeyer: http://www.crestedgecko.com/crestedg...d%20Geckos.htm or search here: http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=31.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

you can call me bob if you want to, but i'd prefer emily or just mle. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/imag...lies/smile.gif

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Fair enough, Emily. Nice to meet you :)

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Originally Posted by mlededee

is the top of your enclosure screen or are there any adjustable vents in it?

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The top is a full screen. Shortly after adding the waterfall, the humidity was at around 70%, but I'll be sure to check it again tomorrow afternoon when I get back home; the waterfall likely raised it by at least 5% (NW Washington state is generally quite humid as it is). I'll look into getting some airflow into the tank via a small fan or something if the humidity reaches the mid-70's for too long.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

females, hmmm. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/imag...lies/smile.gif i have several that look to be female but i can't absolutely guarantee it until they are older. shoot me a private message or e-mail (emily@cookreptiles.com) if you are interested. if you want a guaranteed adult female you could try garrick demeyer: http://www.crestedgecko.com/crested...ed%20Geckos.htm or search here: http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=31.

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Thank you very much for the references, and I will certainly be keeping in touch!

70% is a good humidity level--just keep an eye on it. you may not have to mist too much if the geckos will drink the water from the waterfall which will keep the humidity down some.

oh, and one more place you can look for females: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pp_c...cat.php?cat=27

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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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.