Crested gecko substrate & humidity

[CoolioTiffany]

I read on a care sheet everything needed to know about Crested geckos and how to care for them, and it was pretty darn helpful. However, they didn't list what substrates are suitable for this species or the humidity level they need. The only thing it said about the humidity level is to mist twice a day, which isn't that helpful to me because I may need to mist more than twice a day since I live in a hot & dry climate/environment.

[RhacHead]

I use papertowls for mine.Don't worry about the humidity so much you can mist them once a day if that.Basically make sure you don't overspray the enclosure.As long as there is time to dry out between mistings.

[Laooda]

I also use paper t's... makes cleaning very EZ! I mist 1x a day in the PM

PS.. Cresties ROCK.

[olstyn]

Paper towels here too. You can keep them on other things, but especially given that they poop everywhere, paper towels just make cleanup easy. Remove, replace, done. I wouldn't worry too much about the substrate holding the humidity; between having a water bowl for them and misting once daily, you usually ought to be ok. You can also limit cage ventilation to some degree in order to retain humidity if that becomes necessary.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Substrate often depends on your setup too, I use paper towel for my hatchlings that are in tubs, for my adults I use Zoo eco earth or Exo-Terra Plantation soil (which I change once every year when I re-do their setup)

This is the setup they have and soil/bark substrate work greak in that kind of enclosure. (Holds humidity very well)

[negri]

A good layer of eco earth maintains good humidity .

try to keep it above 50% . spraying it once a day to get 80%+ then let it naturally decrease . constant 80% isnt good

[lance]

I use paper towels for substrate easier to clean then exo-earth Also humidity can be anywhere from 50% to 80% temperature never 80 degrees F or higher this stress's them greatly.

lance

[mainbutter]

I use paper towels. The girls also get a nest box, which they dig in sometimes, usually to lay eggs, sometimes just to practice digging I suppose. They spend most of the time climbing, but the girls do like to hide under the paper towels sometimes during the day.

On humidity: Lots of ways to deal with this.

1) mist. great way to do it, just mist once. If your geckos prefer to drink during misting, you're doing this daily once or twice anyways. Mine all use water dishes (and actually have been caught using them) so I don't mist as much when natural humidity is up.

2) humid hides. They will use them. another great option, I like sphagnum moss.

3) humid substrate like bed-a-beast. Not ideal for breeding purposes (makes finding eggs a ton harder than with paper towels and a nest box), and I often worry about bacteria and fungus growth.

4) don't worry too much, and take it easy. Crestie humidity requirements are overstated, and easy to handle. Feel free to dispute this with me, but I think 2x daily misting/drying out 30 minutes later being "standard practice" for dry areas is a testament to humidity tolerance. It's good for them to get some high humidity in to facilitate shedding, which is the most important aspect with regards to humidity and cresties, but you certainly don't need 60-80% 24/7. HOWEVER, with young geckos, especially fast growing hatchlings, yeah it's a good idea to keep humidity up as best you can.

These aren't brazilian rainbow boas, they can tolerate humidity variations from 'ideal', especially the adults.

In addition, I vary my cresties humidity with seasons, along with my temperatures. New Caledonia's 'wet season' is the summer and 'dry season' is the winter. It works out nice because minnesota varies in humidity similarly, so I can keep my misting on the same schedule yearround and provide them with a 'natural yearly humidity cycle'.

[mlededee]

Okay, I'm going to embellish upon the humidity issue somewhat. It IS important, and especially so for hatchlings and younger cresteds. Hatchlings and young cresteds need to be kept more humid than adults or they will have trouble shedding which can lead to lost tails and toe tips if not remedied and stuck shed removed very quickly. Adults also need enough humidity to shed well and for overall well-being, but they do not tend to have the tail and toe tip issues that younger cresteds do so it isn't quite as much of an issue and they can withstand slighter drier enclosures as long as they have a source of drinking water.

60% humidity is a good average to shoot for, however your humidity can vary throughout the day depending on your misting schedule. You want to mist well at least once per day, but not so much that the enclosure cannot dry out in a 24 hour time frame or you will have mold problems. If you live in a dry climate or it is winter time you may need to mist more often. I live in coastal Georgia, which is a very humid location, but I still have to mist more often and keep an eye on my humidity in the winter when we use the heat because it dries out the air. I like to use humid hides for my adults (which double as lay boxes) made out of tupperware containers filled 3/4 with bed-a-beast and sphagnum moss. Younger cresteds just get misted more often, since I do not use humid hides for them (only in my adult cages, but if you have space you can use a humid hide with any age crested).

It's not terribly complicated, but it is an important factor. You just need to keep an eye on the general humidity and make sure that your crested is shedding well and provide a water dish if you don't mist at least twice per day for them to drink (and I'd recommend using a water dish anyhow--all of my geckos use their water dishes).

[panthercz]

I use Eco-Earth, you can easily see it in my setup, I'm not stingy with it.