finally starting to get ready for my new cresty

[sweetcheeks]

ok, im purchasing my tank this week from a guy on craiglist. he's got a whole set up but alot of it is stuff i dont need, however i can always use for other things later if need be, or give to a neighbor with her leopard gecko and dragon.

Heres what im getting for 75 bucks.... the terriarium is usually over 75 bucks so the other stuff is just for kicks lol

I need your opinions on what i can use or shouldnt use? in this set up. right now im assuming ill use the water dish the big rock thing and the backdrop thing... however the backdrop thing is about 1 inch thick and can be taken out. I like it and think it looks cool, this is the same tank i have my ball python in right now, only we bought just the tank no extra's other than backdrop.

http://lexington.craigslist.org/pet/883593376.html


also this week i plan on visiting walmart craft section and getting some fake vines/plants and some suction cups to hang them with. I also need substrate and have been researching it and figuring ill be using coconut stuff covered with moss, but i am open to suggestions....

how deep does it need to be to hold moisture, and how often do you have to change it??? I havnt found that on the net yet.


If i provide enought plants do I still need a hide, if so what kind?


Again I want to get setup before buying my gecko

[casperca]

The stuff you plan on using sounds reasonable but I would sterilize everything as soon as you get it. For substrate in my tanks I use newspaper or paper towel. Those tanks are pretty heavy to lift up to dump the coco fiber out of. I use the cocofiber in my egg boxes and find that it works pretty well for that. As far as cleaning, I recomend once a week unless they track CGD all over which happens on occasion. I usually provide one or two ground hides in addition to fake plants. Some use them, some prefer plants.

[sweetcheeks]

I had planned on santizing the complete setup, and just discard the sand alltogether, regardless.

My tanks are gonna be displayed in my living room, so i dont plan on using papertowels or newspaper, my snake is on reptile carpet and gets changed whenever he poos not spot cleaing at all, just remove the carpet and replace with a fresh set, I take the others immediately and soak them in hot water with a little dawn dishwashing detergent with bleach alternative and then rinse well.

But if you use the 3 inch worth of bedding which ever kind is best, does it have to be complete removed and redone weekly? or can i just do spot removal and redo completely once a month etc....

I cannot find that answer anywhere.

[casperca]

You cannot always see where they pee and for sanitation's sake I would recomend cleaning weekly in addition to spot cleaning.

[sweetcheeks]

Well from all the care sheets ive read, they suggest the 3 to 5 inches worth of substrate for humidity. If you use paper towels or such stuff, how do you keep the humidity up? Other than misting of course.

[casperca]

The relative humidity in my reptile room is right around 50-55%. I mist the cresties twice a day. Once in the morning and again when I feed them in the p.m. In the winter when the heat dries the air out I run a humidifier.

If your living room is especially dry, you could try using press-and-seal to block off part of the screen on top of that tank. 5 inches of substrate seems like overkill to me though. I've never used more than 2 when I used coco fiber. You can always use some moss in addition to the substrate or provide a humid box if it is terribly low. Your location says you're in KY so I don't think it will be too extreme.