Cresteds!

Well since i have an empty 10 gallon since i got a 29 gallon cage for my leo and i have nothing to put in it. I was thinking of getting a Crested Gecko. Heres a few questions... Please
1: What are there heat reguirments(Temps,heat lamp,heat pad)
2: Will a baby be able to live in there forever?
3: What are the humdity levels?
4:Whats better Fake or alive? If alive whitch plants are safe for the Gecko?
5: Should i use a water bowl or mist?
6: What are the costs for a normal baby crested?

Thanks for your answers :)

You will find most of the answers here

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...ewarticle&id=6

Ambient room temp is sufficient not heat pad or heat lamp (high temps will actually stress them ;))

As far as plant I prefer fake, so every now and then I can remove them and clean and desinfect them.

Additional thing you might want to know is regarding food and where to purchase it http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/i...ategory_id=165, you can also offer dusted crickets if you wish but you do not have too CGD is a complete diet.

I like to have a water dish in their enclosure and I also spray daily (water dish comes handy when you go out of twon)

As far as pricing anywhere from $40 to several hundreds depending on what you are getting.

1: 68-78 degrees
2: Yes, but I recommend turning the tank vertically since they are arboreal. This is the minimum size you can do for a single adult.
3: 50-60%
4: It just depends on your preference and use of lighting. Fake plants are easier and don't require special lighting so that is what I use.
5: Both--keep a shallow water dish and mist once or twice daily or as needed to maintain humidity (letting the cage dry out between each misting to avoid mold growth).
6: Price varies depending on morph, size and sex, but an unsexed normal buckskin should be around $40-50 depending on where you get it

Also, as noted make sure to feed the Repashy Crested Gecko Diet as it is the best complete diet for cresteds. If you feed insects you can feed crickets, phoenix worms, silkworms and/or feeder roaches a maximum of twice per week (make sure to dust with calcium and vitamin powder) alternating with the CGD.

Thanks , i cant wait! Also what is the cheapest morph?

The price of crested geckos is not in which "morph" it is.. the hard work goes into selective breeding. Breeding for a specific color, or pattern etc.

I'm not 100% sure if anyone knows whether or not the harley/flame/pinstripe patterns are all controlled by a single gene, so those might be considered morphs.. Same with dalmation spots?

Anyhoo, you can get very nice looking crested gecko hatchlings at under $100.

You can get incredible hatchlings under $200.

I've seen some ridiculously cool looking geckos at $300+

P.S. you will want a bigger tank than a 10G for an adult.. it's a good size for a juvie gecko, but I keep my bigger adult male in an 18'' cube cage.

Hmm Im thinking of getting a normal and will a 29 gallon aquarium work for an adult?

Price is actually very much about the morph. For instance, creamsicles and red harlequins are morphs which are more expensive than tigers or patternless cresteds. Harlequin morphs are usually more expensive than flames of the same color, because harlequins have more patterning. A bright red patternless gecko is more than a plain brown gecko because of the color. Genetics are somewhat involved in pricing, but a gecko that does not display the coloration and pattern of its high-end parents (for instance a plain brown gecko that had red harlequin parents) will not cost near as much as a gecko that does display the same traits.

Normal, buckskin (tan/brown) cresteds are the cheapest, but you can find tigers and flames for under $75 as unsexed hatchlings.

Yes, a 29 gallon aquarium will work for an adult, but whatever you get should be vertical if possible since cresteds are arboreal (they do make a 29 gallon vertical tank I believe, so you don't have to turn a horizontal one on its end).

Thanks, Im realy exited.Thanks for your help ,Anything else you want to tell me about baby cresties?

You can start them in a kritter keeper instead of an aquarium. Hatchlings tend to do better in smaller enclosures so that they can more easily find their food and so that you can keep the humidity slightly higher so that they have an easier time shedding.

If you can find a gecko that is 3-4 months of age or older already that will probably be your best bet as they tend to be jumpier when they are younger. With regular handling they do calm down, but I don't really recommend handling cresteds under 2 months of age too much because they can just be wild and you don't want to risk a small gecko taking a flying leap and accidentally injuring itself.

Also feed young cresteds out of a very shallow dish so that they can easily get to their food. I use deli cup lids--this allows for easy access and little waste (they don't eat that much at once when they are little because their stomachs aren't very big).

Thanks , Im realy exited. Do they screech like baby leoaprd geckos?

They don't do the leo screech, but they can make a squeeking kind of noise. It isn't as loud as a leo though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mlededee

Price is actually very much about the morph. For instance, creamsicles and red harlequins are morphs which are more expensive than tigers or patternless cresteds.

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From my understanding about CG genetics (which could be COMPLETELY wrong), and the terminology associated with the word "morph" in reptile breeding.. I.E. single gene mutations. Aren't colors mostly determined from line breeding to enhance specific traits?? I believe this is the case for the bright reds, and the colors people attempt to get in creamsicles.

I haven't seen any breeding trails of breeding harlequin/pinstripe/flame patterns with "normal" plain patternless CGs to know enough about these genes, if they are related or the same gene, or if the patterns are caused by the presence of a single gene.

P.S. I'm 100% confident in what emily says, she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to cresteds and has some amazing animals, I just wanted to clarify what I was attempting to say, mostly concerning the word "morph", and maybe try to get some clarification on what is known about crested genetics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mlededee

They don't do the leo screech, but they can make a squeeking kind of noise. It isn't as loud as a leo though.

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Just an extra note: I like the squeaking, it's ridiculously cute.

Thanks everyone! Im realy exited.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

From my understanding about CG genetics (which could be COMPLETELY wrong), and the terminology associated with the word "morph" in reptile breeding.. I.E. single gene mutations. Aren't colors mostly determined from line breeding to enhance specific traits?? I believe this is the case for the bright reds, and the colors people attempt to get in creamsicles.

I haven't seen any breeding trails of breeding harlequin/pinstripe/flame patterns with "normal" plain patternless CGs to know enough about these genes, if they are related or the same gene, or if the patterns are caused by the presence of a single gene.

P.S. I'm 100% confident in what emily says, she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to cresteds and has some amazing animals, I just wanted to clarify what I was attempting to say, mostly concerning the word "morph", and maybe try to get some clarification on what is known about crested genetics.

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The term morph is used a little differently with cresteds than it is for most other reptiles. For instance, with ball pythons it is an actual genetic mutation that causes a snake to look differently, and thus be a morph. With cresteds, I don't think it is really known whether there is any actual mutation of the genes going on--crested genetics are still somewhat of a mystery. That said, most people still refer to the different colors/patterns/etc of cresteds as morphs (i.e., the creamsicle is a morph).

Crested color and pattern is mostly developed by breeding geckos together that have characteristics that you want to enhance, make more of, or blend together (if the offspring gets some qualities from dad like harlequin patterning and some qualities from mom like a red background color). They have also been line bred in order to develop certain colors and patterns. There is no guarantee of what you will get when you breed two cresteds, but it is mainly a combination of the following--some offspring look like mom, some like dad, some like a combination of mom and dad, and sometimes they may not really look like mom or dad. It's not like ball pythons where you mostly know what specific genes each snake has the ability to pass on to its offspring. Sometimes a gecko will pass on something to its offspring that it doesn't visibly have, like dalmation spots or a certain color, so you can tell that there is something else going on genetically that is not visible--possibly that gecko's parents had dalmation spots or that color that is showing up in its offspring (but it doesn't work the same way that a recessive gene works). You can learn what traits your geckos tend to pass on over time and experiment with different pairings based on that and what your intended goals are, but in the end you still aren't guaranteed a specific result. A plain brown gecko might throw smoking red offspring when paired with the right male, or it might throw nothing but plain geckos no matter what you pair it with--you just have to pair them up and see what you get. :)

Genetics wise this was very well said!

Quote:

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Crested color and pattern is mostly developed by breeding geckos together that have characteristics that you want to enhance, make more of, or blend together (if the offspring gets some qualities from dad like harlequin patterning and some qualities from mom like a red background color). They have also been line bred in order to develop certain colors and patterns. There is no guarantee of what you will get when you breed two cresteds, but it is mainly a combination of the following--some offspring look like mom, some like dad, some like a combination of mom and dad, and sometimes they may not really look like mom or dad. It's not like ball pythons where you mostly know what specific genes each snake has the ability to pass on to its offspring. Sometimes a gecko will pass on something to its offspring that it doesn't visibly have, like dalmation spots or a certain color, so you can tell that there is something else going on genetically that is not visible--possibly that gecko's parents had dalmation spots or that color that is showing up in its offspring (but it doesn't work the same way that a recessive gene works). You can learn what traits your geckos tend to pass on over time and experiment with different pairings based on that and what your intended goals are, but in the end you still aren't guaranteed a specific result. A plain brown gecko might throw smoking red offspring when paired with the right male, or it might throw nothing but plain geckos no matter what you pair it with--you just have to pair them up and see what you get.

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From what I've heard some traits are more dominant such as dalmation spots.

As for noise making, most only do it for breeding purposes and its adorable!