Crestie enclosure

[Byrns149]

Hey,
Im defenetly thinking about getting a crestie in january with my birthday/Christmas money. I wanted to know what type of enclosure i should use. i know they need a somewhat vertical enclosure but what kind. should i use the exo-terra 18X18X24 or is there some other way of housing cresties. This will just be a pet and eventually a breeder. I just want a crestie because they have always amazed me.

 

[Byrns149]

also can i use a screen cage ?

 

[MrLeoGecko]

yes but u'll be misting all the while u can also use high steralite tubs. but he'll love the 18x18x24

 

[MrTantalizin]

Clarification
Yes you can use a screen cage and yes you will have to mist more. Yes you can easily solve that by having a humidifier near the cage.
Crested Geckos are arboreal so a "tree-like jungle" type of cage is awesome and very much like their natural habitat.

My main setup consists of an 18x18x36 screen cage with a medium sized Ficus, 2 really nice pieces of wood and alot of vine (not mentioning the bvious stuff like hides).

Back to what I was saying before. Yeah a screen cage allows for a tremendous amount of airflow. So during the colder months when the humidity is lower a good humidifier could be all you need (and you wont need anything during the summer). BUT ON THE OTHER HAND with a glass tank during the summer you will be fighting high humidity which is trapped in your tank and can be just as lethal. How do you fix that? Sure you can run your ac but that reduces the humidty in the room but hardly in a glass enclosure (cant freeze your cresties also).

ULTIMATELY the decision is up to you and they can do well in either a glass or screen enclosure.

P.S. if you are really gettin into the hobby investing $100 on a MISTKING system is really smart and an awesome piece of equipment.

 

[MrTantalizin]

Oh I forgot to mention in my opinion it is easier to clean a screen enclosure considering and have large opening door and usually and bottom opening door. That makes dealing with things on the "ground" easier like changing water and spot cleaning.

 

[darkridder]

I use aquariums, tubs, exos and a custom built tank and I have personally and many of my other breeder friends are in the same boat as me just no having a custom have never had an issue with lethal humidity. Yes in the winter it dips a bit and I have to mist a bit more, 1 light mist in the morning, 1 light mist in the afternoon, and a heavy misting at night. In the summer I do a light misting in the morning and more heavy at night. You do want a period of time in the afternoon for it to dry up a little bit so that mold and bacterial do not start to build.
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/premium-plant-hand-pump-mister.html
I dont have that exact brand, found mine at a garden store for $7 and works great. You just fill it with water, give it some pumps, and it mists. Its like a misting supersoakers. Makes life alot easier when you have anywhere from 12-40 enclosures to mist depending on the season (wll be even more then that next season!). We have thought about setting up an automatic mister system that runs through every tank, but that will have to wait until we move then we will have to convert each tank to either screen or some custom plastic type caging (which is more then likely what we will do, again prefer these to screen).

But if you are getting a younger gecko, start out with either a medium-large kritter keeper, or a like size storage container. Smaller geckos dont do as well in larger enclosures, so although you mean well, the little one would do better in something smaller. Once it hits 8g, a 10 gallon tank (or like size tub/screen tank) will be needed. You can simply start with a 10 gallon tank if you want, but somehow divide the tank making it smaller so it isnt to big for the little one. Some people find 10 gallons are large enough for an adult, personally I feel it is a little small, a min really should be a 15 gallon high, same length and width as a 10 gallon, but gives them the added height. The 12 x 12 x 18 is about equiv to an 11 gallon aquarium, and the 18 x 18 x 24 is I believe like 33 or 34g, which is a big large for one adult, but would work perfectly fine, better to have a little extra space for an adult then not enough. And the 18 x 18 x 24 exo you could easily house 2-3 females in there, so long as they all get along. I have 3 in mine. You could also consider the 18 x 18 x18 cube for just a single adult, thats roughly 25 gallons. You dont find the 18 x 18 x 18 often but most pet stores can order it. And alot of times if you go to a reptile show you can find new and used exoterras.
Cleaning a screen is by far NOT easier to clean. Feces sticks to the screen and can not be easily whipped off unlike a glass aquarium. So when you have to clean up the sides, you need to either soak it, or take something abrassive like a toothbrush and brush the feces off. The nice thing about exos/zoo meds, and tubs, they are easy to get into also. The doors open up in the front for easy cleaning . Tubs I keep vertical on their sides so when the lid comes off, it is easy to get in there to change their food and clean up.

If you are just getting into the trade, personally I think investing in that mister is a waste of money. Like I said a personal opinion. If you are just getting one or two geckos, it really takes almost no time to mist these guys. Personally I use this to mist all of my tanks

 

[Wind Dancer]

a hatchling would be lost in a 18x18x24-i have mine in a 12 gallon tank that i'm reusing from a fish tank and i definitely wouldn't go any bigger. you could start with a smaller sterilite tub and then when it gets a bit bigger move it up to the larger cage.
you could check out the tanks at the vivarium forums for more naturalistic ideas, the repashy forums are very professional and the geckos unlimited forums are a lot of fun. those are some places to pick up more ideas for tanks.
i think you other questions are pretty much answered, so i won't repeat the info again!
good luck!