Long time no see folks. I've been itching to bring a new critter into my life recently. It's been two years since I fell in love with cresties, and with ReptiCon coming up this weekend I feel its time I finally caved.
I was going to get an 18x18x24 ExoTerra for the new addition for just $25, but it was sold before I could drive to pick it up--curse you, Craigslist!--so now I've hit a bit of a rut. I don't particularly feel like shelling out $100-$200 for a new tank. A friend of mine has a 20 gallon vertical aquarium he's willing to give me for about $15. I haven't seen photos yet, but I have a couple of questions:
1--I know cresties are tree-dwelling, hence why they need tall tanks with branches, but would it be a problem if the tank didn't have much floorspace? Like I said I haven't seen any photos of the potential tank yet, but since this is a vertical fish tank I have a feeling it might not be very wide.
2--A lot of photos I see of crestie setups have paper towels laid out on the bottom. I've read that this is only for geckos with a bad habit of munching on their substrate. Is that the only reason?
I honestly can't stand the look of paper towels or repti-carpet--one of the major reasons I don't want a leopard gecko--so I'm hoping that's the only reason! If I can get away with a coco/moss mix of some kind I'd be really happy.
3--What are the usual tank sizes per age? I know adults need 20 gallons minium, so a 18x18x24, but what about younguns?
I'm thinking I want to get a young gecko so they can grow up getting used to me, but I know that placing them in a tank that's too big will overwhelm them or stress them out.
Any answers would be greatly appreciated!
I was going to get an 18x18x24 ExoTerra for the new addition for just $25, but it was sold before I could drive to pick it up--curse you, Craigslist!--so now I've hit a bit of a rut. I don't particularly feel like shelling out $100-$200 for a new tank. A friend of mine has a 20 gallon vertical aquarium he's willing to give me for about $15. I haven't seen photos yet, but I have a couple of questions:
1--I know cresties are tree-dwelling, hence why they need tall tanks with branches, but would it be a problem if the tank didn't have much floorspace? Like I said I haven't seen any photos of the potential tank yet, but since this is a vertical fish tank I have a feeling it might not be very wide.
2--A lot of photos I see of crestie setups have paper towels laid out on the bottom. I've read that this is only for geckos with a bad habit of munching on their substrate. Is that the only reason?
I honestly can't stand the look of paper towels or repti-carpet--one of the major reasons I don't want a leopard gecko--so I'm hoping that's the only reason! If I can get away with a coco/moss mix of some kind I'd be really happy.
3--What are the usual tank sizes per age? I know adults need 20 gallons minium, so a 18x18x24, but what about younguns?
I'm thinking I want to get a young gecko so they can grow up getting used to me, but I know that placing them in a tank that's too big will overwhelm them or stress them out.
Any answers would be greatly appreciated!
