Enclosure Design Questions Crested Gecko Corner

[Lizard42069]

I haven't had a herp in 20 years, but started a little fountain garden in the corner of my room and thought a terrarium would be cool, rather than just some Tupperware and plastic plants. When I discovered the Crested Gecko I decided that, yup, this space would be the perfect nook for a bachelorette. So, here we are. I don't plan to actually get a gecko for a few years, and grooming the enclosure for that time could only help the new resident.

First this is a corner and will end up somewhat diamond shaped constructed with plywood, roughly 2'x2'x3' (corners are cut flat for placement space). The enclosure would be accessed from the front, I am thinking a half screen, half glass pair of doors. I figure this would give a humid corner (glass) and an arid corner (screen). The top won't have much space, and I'm uncertain if it would benefit to screen the top, or plywood. The heat light could be placed under either, I bet there's some mini bulbs that would fit. The base I envision is not something I expect to find, a vacuum molded plastic dish with 2/3 elevated and 1/3 pooling water. I don't know any vacuum molders, though a pretty idea, I'm more inclined to put something like a birdbath, a stone reservoir, desktop fountain design thing. Circulate the water with a pump, hence the fountain, I got a little fogger too, but that's got a pin in it down below. I'm not to keen on the idea of trying to establish a soil, I'd rather try to keep my plants potted so the base is easy to clean, park the lizard in the case, pull out the plants, scrub everything down and whatnot.

Now my vision up there doesn't strike me as too unreasonable of a project, pretty straightforward, but I'm eccentric so let's just make sure I'm not about to try something cool, only to have inadvertently created a murder box.

1. In reference to the fogger. It has color changing LEDs, they flicker, but do not strobe. The lighting/shadowing I observe at night is somewhat like a full moon casting through heavy canopy onto water. The color does change frequently, and I'm concerned about seizures. I have no idea how this sort of lighting effect would effect a reptile. Before anything else, if this is not a hazardous element, the actual bulbs would need to be obscured, and it would be housed under a mushroom type shape, which would significantly reduce the intensity and eliminate the possibility of animal contact with the bulbs and element, but if this type of lighting in general is a bad idea, then its a bad idea, and replacing the fogger with one that does not do that is no issue.

2. Are blacklights harmful?

3. Heat/Humidity/Light/Etc. I think I have the idea right, glass corner: humid, cool, and shaded; screen and lamp corner: bright, warm, and dry. That being said, I'm not an expert so, is that accurate, or is my hot-cold backwards?

4. De-chlorinated water. Bottled water obviously, with a fogger and fountain filter the water shouldn't go stagnant, and with regular wipe downs that should keep everything healthy, but.....

"Vitamin C is often used to remove chlorine and chloramine from large amounts of water, like pools, hot tubs and baths, but it can be used in drinking water too. The downside is you need to buy vitamin C tablets or powder and it can decrease the pH levels of the water, but if used in small quantities it's suitable for fermentation. Best of all, it will remove chloramine, which some municipalities use instead of chlorine because it's more resilient. However, you will need a higher amount of vitamin C to remove chloramine. Approximately 40 mg will dechlorinate 1 gallon of water."

.....can I conservatively drop vitamin C tabs in there (still using bottled water), to put some extra vitamins in the drinking water while giving it a double detox?

5. What is the most frequent feed given by most pet sellers? I can't do insects, live feed is not an option which is why the Crested seems perfect. Do sellers typically do live feed, a mix, or the nectar? How dangerous is eliminating live feed?

6. Would a Crested Gecko hunt a minnow, or other fish fodder? (Yes, my live feed problem is insects, never again.)

-Glad to be here.

 

[acpart]

Welcome! Here are a few comments:
humidity: I'm not sure that you have to worry about a wet/dry area. Crested geckos, as I understand it, come from temperate rainforest and are used to fairly high humidity. My crested geckos are in front-opening glass cages with mesh tops, though I think if you have a solid top, having 1 mesh door would provide for airflow. I mist every evening and don't worry about the humidity that much.

lighting: the crested geckos are nocturnal so will be asleep most of the day, but in many cases they are sticking to the walls so they are out in the daylight. If you're going to have plants you'll need a light anyway. I do use a light for my crestie enclosures that have plants but I don't worry about UVB since the crestie will get the appropriate supplement with its food. I don't know whether the black light or the flashing lights will be a problem or not. Some people do use black lights to light their geckos at night.

water: I use reverse osmosis water (from a britta) because otherwise there's a white deposit that clouds the glass. For my geckos that have water bowls (the cresties' water bowls get filled when I'm misting) I use tap water. I don't think you really have to worry about dechlorination or vitamin C unless your local water is really funky

food: I use Pangea, but there are all sorts of brands. Pangea makes 2 flavors that include powdered insects which covers the insect issue. I feed the nectar twice a week and crickets (to those who will eat them, and most of them love hunting them) twice a week as well.

Aliza

 

[Lizard42069]

Welcome! Here are a few comments:
humidity: I'm not sure that you have to worry about a wet/dry area. Crested geckos, as I understand it, come from temperate rainforest and are used to fairly high humidity. My crested geckos are in front-opening glass cages with mesh tops, though I think if you have a solid top, having 1 mesh door would provide for airflow. I mist every evening and don't worry about the humidity that much.

lighting: the crested geckos are nocturnal so will be asleep most of the day, but in many cases they are sticking to the walls so they are out in the daylight. If you're going to have plants you'll need a light anyway. I do use a light for my crestie enclosures that have plants but I don't worry about UVB since the crestie will get the appropriate supplement with its food. I don't know whether the black light or the flashing lights will be a problem or not. Some people do use black lights to light their geckos at night.

water: I use reverse osmosis water (from a britta) because otherwise there's a white deposit that clouds the glass. For my geckos that have water bowls (the cresties' water bowls get filled when I'm misting) I use tap water. I don't think you really have to worry about dechlorination or vitamin C unless your local water is really funky

food: I use Pangea, but there are all sorts of brands. Pangea makes 2 flavors that include powdered insects which covers the insect issue. I feed the nectar twice a week and crickets (to those who will eat them, and most of them love hunting them) twice a week as well.

Aliza

Thanks.

Am I right about where the temp and humidity would likely manifest, do you know? This has impact on the plant choices, and I'd like to provide a bit of diversity for her too.

 

[acpart]

I'm not sure even in an enclosure that size if it's really big enough for there to be a humidity difference based on glass or mesh doors. Also be aware that cresties are great at stomping on plants. I recommend you set up the viv to provide adequate humidity and good conditions for your gecko and then, even before you get the gecko, try out a bunch of different plants and see what "takes".

Aliza