My first Crestie!

[M8D]

This is my first ever Crested Gecko, or reptile in general, but don't worry, I've done my research . I don't know if its a boy or a girl yet, still too young, and yes the image is a bit blurry. It was pretty active as I took it out of the little transport tub to put it in the enclosure so I had to be quick, my phone didn't quite focus on the right object.

It's home is a 12" 12" 18" terrarium that I set up in an hour with real wood+fake plants and hydro balls/coco husk substrate. Since I walk home, there is only so much I can carry so I couldn't get real plants ;-; not yet, but I will in the future, my grandma has an orchard plant she's willing to give me, I'l have to look up if thats a safe plant (and I know they like humid places hence why most people put them in the bathroom so it should LOVE it in there). However i've hit a snag...

I can't get the humidity up to the 80% it needs to be in the morning so it can slink down as the day goes on. I soaked the balls and the husk, so those were damp when I put them in the tank, and I mist in the morning before leaving for school and when i come home before bed... but I can't seem to get the humidity past 60% and I don't know why o___0' I don't want to be constantly drenching the tank since that will cause mold/bacteria, but i set it up last night AND misted it and this morning is was 30% or below (can't remember exact number) and it shouldn't be dropping below 50% ;-; I've stuck plastic wrap over the mesh top (except for about an inche in the back to allow SOME humidity out) and weighed it down with a rag this morning, so hopefully when I come home toay it'll be over 60% or at least not below 50% I don't know... is there anything else I can do to fix this issue if the plastic doesn't work?

anywho, i know the image is crappy but anyone got an idea of what morph? someone said it COULD be a brindle, and now that i look at it again, I do see it. (I know you can't see it in the picture, but he has cute white lips :3)

[Neal]

Still a very nice animal and sorry I couldn't contribute to anything about a crestie as I like them but don't own any. Thanks for sharing though.

[OctagonGecko729]

You don't need to keep the cage above 60% at all. Misting at night it should read 70+% after you've sprayed and it can dry out to 30-40% during the day. You shouldn't need to spray again in the morning. Keeping it above 60% is going to lead to mold and shedding problems. Also plastic wrapping the top can lead to bacterial infections because of the damp trapped air. Adding live plants will help with humidity but maintaining proper ventilation is very important.

Also, what are you using to measure humidity? Often times those cheap hygrometers are off, its rare to find one that is correct from my experience.

[M8D]

Oh really? I thought you had to get it up to 80% then let it air out over the day and bring it back. I read on another forum about someone who has having humidity issues and a person recommended the plastic wrap, but I guess if the 60% is fine then I'll remove it as I achieved 60% without the wrap anyways and it didn't seem to be doing anything this morning. I'm using a 11$ thermo/hydro meter combo (the 2-in-1 thing) from Petsmart, it looks cheap but it was the 'best' one they had aside from the electronic ones I think. I wasn't really looking. What brand of meter it is though... I'm not sure.

[OctagonGecko729]

Unless you have a heater of some kind drying out the room you should only need to mist once each night. Just make sure you reach 70-100% right after you've sprayed and your good, even if it dries out to 30% during the day.

[M8D]

I never get the humidity above 60% after misting... The first misting I did was yesterday at 6AM and the meter wiggled up to 60% and an hour later before I left for classes... it's was still just barely past 60% and this morning the meter read at about 50% if just a bit under, so I did about 3-4 mist squirts before I left.

Yeah... I can't get the humidity above 60%.... i can get it AT 60% but above? Nope... when i set the tank up Tuesday I got it at 65% but... I've never seen it go higher... think my meter's a dud? it's sitting in the coco husk by the water facing the glass so I can read it.... could it be the placement? I had it stuck on the glass the first night at the top of the tank and that was when it was at 65%.... I just don't know... I'm kind of worried....





A better picture of Gecko... I was rearranging a few things a bit yesterday and he sat pretty long enough for me to snap some good pics He looks okay...

oh and this is the meter I use:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo

[OctagonGecko729]

Hmm, are you misting at night or in the morning? You should mist just before the lights go out at night (7-8pm). Just mist so that water droplets are on all surfaces. Sometimes new cages need to be "broken in" with the humidity cycle. The meter may be bad, they aren't supposed to get real wet so that can mess them up. Honestly though, we dont even keep hygrometers in our collection at all anymore. We just mist once nightly and they all have good sheds.

[M8D]

I mist at night test before I go to bed. But I have need misting just slightly in the mmorpg's before leaving Cus of the humidity issue. Not a lot though. 3 squirts usually. An ill look to see what meters they have. Cus I know the meter did get a bit damp but I mean it's a hydrometer... They're going to be in damp places. Dumb ppl making meters are dumb. Lol.

[M8D]

So I'm trying something suggested by a friend of mine who's kept other types of geckos. She said to drape a damp rag over the top so it keep in the humidity but still let's air flow. I came home today an humidity was at 30%. And at 8 it was dipping below 20%. So even though I'm not going to bed yet I'd figure I'd dose it back up for the next day. I want to monitor it a bit though. It got back up to 60% after I misted but now it's not moving. Well see if the rag helps. I've also moved the meter up into the glass with the suction cups and the temp is about 65. I went ou and bought a 20$ 4x6 heating pad today.

but I don't know where to put it. I don't want it user the tank Cus it says not to put it where it gets wet... And the side glass walls are always wet too when I mist... I thought about puttin it on the back wall... But I have that foam 3d background in there that came with the tank.... Will it be okay to put the pad back there without causing foam issues?

[M8D]

Sorry for the double post but I can't edit now.

But
Oh! So I wend an bought a peach for him today and smooshed it up. I took him out and surprisingly he sat calmly on my hand( once my cat stopped snooping around my legs) and licked peach off my finger! I melted in joy. I'm surprised he's warming up so fast just yesterday he would barely let me touch him. Let alone pick him up.