Quote Originally Posted by JamminJonah
Just some questions about cresties -
How expensive are they?
What habitat do they need?
How expensive are they to maintain?
How often can they be handled?
What are some reasons not to get them?
How difficult are they to care for?

I know that is a lot of questions - I am just throwing around the idea of getting one or two because they are so cute and if they can be handled that would be awesome!
I can help out a bit here because I think i read every crestie care sheet before getting mine. I am definitely still learning about them, though.

How expensive to buy: Unsexed normal babies run around $35-$50 plus shipping, but big name breeders or fancy colors will bump up the price a bit

What habitat: There is definite disagreement on this issue, but most of the more credible sources say high ventilation is important. Humidity is important as well, but can be cyclical instead of constant (2-3x a day misting). My little guys have shed perfectly in a Rubbermaid bin with a ~6"x~14" piece of hardware cloth replacing a portion of the lid (attached with small cable ties). Carmen had an incomplete first shed in her custom cage that you can see in the caging forum, so I may need to make adjustments to it. Vertical space is more important than floor space and real or articifical plants are needed for hides, humidity, and something to drink off of after you mist. UV lighting is only necessary if you have real plants that need it, but mine get a little real sunshine just in case. A single crestie will do fine in a 10-gallon through adulthood, but they are somewhat social so you may want to go with a Rubbermaid and two. Males will fight if introduced too late but not if they grow up from hatchlings together; females can be housed with a male or other females without problems.

How often they can be handled: Daily, after you give them a few days to settle in. After a few short handling sessions they will come to your hand when you put it in the cage. They will JUMP so you have to watch them, especially when little, to make sure they don't hurt themselves, but they always give warning before jumping unless they are panicking, and you will learn quickly to anticipate them.

Reasons not to get them: You don't have central heat or air conditioning -- they like to be in temps of 70F-80F most of the time, but will tolerate nighttime drops to 60f or so or short periods in the low 80s.

How difficult to care for: Personally, I find the crickets much more difficult than the cresties. I mist them generally 3x a day (morning, when I come home, and before bed). I feed them daily, though some people feed 4-6x a week instead (I think 4x is too little, but 5 or 6 is probably okay). I handle them a few times a week. They don't need special heat sources (though a warmer area in the cage isn't a bad idea for temp regulation) and don't require UV lighting and can be kept in very simple cage setups. They don't mind being on display as long as they have good hiding spots and if you manage to get one to bite you, you might have to see it happen to be sure it did. They can be maintained on just the crested gecko diet (many people recommend gargoyle gecko diet until they're 6 months or so because of the higher protein value), but I add baby food (peach, apricot, turkey, banana), crickets, herp vitamins and calcium with vitamind but no potassium as well. Actually, I mix the babyfood and cgd together and feed it about 4x a week and put the vitamins and calcium on the crickets and feed them about 3x a week. They love their crickets! The babyfood/cgd mixture can be prepared ahead of time and frozen in small ice cube trays (check the dollar store) for prepared servings (thaw or warm slightly before serving) and left in for about 48 hours or until gone.

I've probably rambled quite a bit here, but hopefully I gave you some useful info. :lol: