Planning on owning a Crestie

[The Bearded Derek]

Hopefully before the end of the year, I plan on having a crested gecko that my sister would receive from her coworker when her sister's breeding pair lays eggs, was wondering on a couple basic things. So far, I've read a couple care sheets, I read that they should eat Repashy CGD, should have lots of hides, no heat required, and a minimum of a 20 gallon tank.

When I have the gecko, how many times should I feed him and how much? Since they're omnivorous, it shouldn't be bad if I give him some crickets from time to time for him to hunt, right?

I've read they could use many different types of plants and if I were to have plants, I could only have their lights on for about 4-6 hours, but when I do add plants (I definitely plan on adding live plants, I'd like to make a vivarium) what plant species would be the easiest to care for? (Hardy, not needing light, less watering, etc)

And also, exactly how long would it take for a hatchling to grow to full size? (I don't plan on breeding it, just curious)

 

[JessJohnson87]

You can feed Repashy, Pangea, GeckoPro, Black Panther Zoological etc, so long as they are complete diets and not filled with a bunch of junk. Some feed insects once a week to help aide in growth, but all geckos grow at different rates so it's hard to say how fast/slow it will grow. I give fresh CGD every other day (same schedule that my other gecko has for bugs) so that he has it in there all the time if he chooses to eat every day.

If you plan on doing vivarium, I suggest taking a look at the Vivariums sub-forum and reading some threads on how others have done it. I have a bio-active crested gecko enclosure that I fixed up with an 18x18x24" tank, keep in mind they need vertical space not floor space. When you do live plants, they need supplemental light or else they will fail to thrive and the tank will stay moist enough with having to spray it twice a day, I only water the plants that I have in pots on the background.

This is my tank.

 

[The Bearded Derek]

Your tank looks really nice, I always wanted to do a vivarium before but I never had an animal perfect for one, they're so pretty.

Just wanted to ask if it is difficult to maintain a vivarium (With the watering, trimming, and the lighting). Sometimes I'm out on a trip (Most I'll be out is 4 days) and I was wondering if anything would happen if I were to just leave it alone. I have a timer I can put on for the plant's light, and I could leave food for the gecko and get some moss and have it drenched in water for humidity. I usually take it to my friend's house when he's not busy (Most of the time he's there) and let him take care of it for the time being.

By the way, is that light you have on it just a normal light for the plants or is that a heat bulb?

Also, what plants would be best the easiest to care for in a viv?

 

[JessJohnson87]

Mine is still growing so I have yet to trim anything, it's only been set up for a couple of months. I have my bulb on a timer and I basically set it for the sunrise and sunset, it's just a regular compact fluorescent bulb. NEherp has a great article on plant lighting and what to look for when it comes to the lights that plants need to grow, they will ultimately do better with something like Arcadia's Jungle Dawn or Zoo Med Naturesun bulbs.

Once you get it initially set-up and give the plants time to establish their roots (about a month), it's fairly easy to take care of. I have cleaner bugs that take care of the gecko poop and it smells like a forest right after a rain storm when I mist. I have not gone away without someone to spray the tank since I've had it setup so I can't help you with that other than keep a bowl of water in there and spray it heavily before you leave. The soil should stay moist enough that if they need to hydrate, they can dig and bury themselves.

The plants I have in mine are pothos, wandering jew, parlor palm, bromeliad, snake plant, umbrella plant (schefflera arboricola), dracanea warneckii and false aralia. Most of them seem to be pretty hardy but I always do my research on a specific plant before I buy it so I know what it's care requirements are. I also have moss that I pulled up from my yard in there but those can be temperamental to grow because they need to be watered constantly for the first couple of months.

 

[Hilde]

Once you get it initially set-up and give the plants time to establish their roots (about a month), it's fairly easy to take care of. I have cleaner bugs that take care of the gecko poop and it smells like a forest right after a rain storm when I mist.

The plants I have in mine are pothos, wandering jew, parlor palm, bromeliad, snake plant, umbrella plant (schefflera arboricola), dracanea warneckii and false aralia.

Thanks for the info. I am in planning stage of getting a crested gecko. Now I see once I am definite about getting 1 I should set up the vivarium.

What cleaner bugs do you have?

 

[Hilde]

Once you get it initially set-up and give the plants time to establish their roots (about a month), it's fairly easy to take care of. I have cleaner bugs that take care of the gecko poop and it smells like a forest right after a rain storm when I mist.

The plants I have in mine are pothos, wandering jew, parlor palm, bromeliad, snake plant, umbrella plant (schefflera arboricola), dracanea warneckii and false aralia.

Thanks for the info. I am in then planning stage of getting a crested gecko. Now I see once I am definite about getting 1 I should set up the vivarium a month before getting it.

What cleaner bugs do you have?

 

[Hilde]

If you plan on doing vivarium, I suggest taking a look at the Vivariums sub-forum and reading some threads on how others have done it. I have a bio-active crested gecko enclosure that I fixed up with an 18x18x24" tank,
View attachment 73330
This is my tank.

Got a link to it? I would like to know more about the substrate for the plants in this setup.

 

[JessJohnson87]

Got a link to it? I would like to know more about the substrate for the plants in this setup.

http://geckoforums.net/f175-vivariums/105885.htm