Zensational
New Member
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- Seattle
Hey everyone, I found this forum in order to ask a few questions to some more experienced gecko owners.
I work at a local PetSmart, and one of the stores in our district closed after only being open for 9 months. A lot of their animals got transferred to different stores, and their Crested Gecko so happened to be transferred to my store. I had been looking into getting a Crested Gecko from one of my local breeders I met via FaceBook for the last 3 or 4 years, gathering information and advice. However the reptile habitats at my store are 20 years old, and only equipped to handle hatchlings, this gecko had been with PetSmart since the grand opening of the store it had transferred from. He had a tail, and I personally think that Cresties are cuter without a tail, so this was like a match made in heaven. He's got a pretty big pair of testicles, so I can only assume from those, that he's a male. I've had him for 4 months now, and the store was open for 9 months. Knowing our vendor, he was probably packed up and shipped within the first month of hatching. So I assume I've got a 13 or 14 month old male with no tail.
For about the first week I had him, I borrowed a 12x12x18 ExoTerra from one of the Vet Techs who see our animals at my store. I purchased an 18x18x24 ExoTerra from another coworker. In both cases, I made sure to clean the habitat in a bleach solution, due to both tanks coming to me covered in reptile poop, the first from hatchling day geckos, and the second from another Crestie. I came up with the supplies for a BioActive set up, using plastic craft mesh as a divider between the 2" layer of HydroBalls, and the 3 or 4" layer blend of Coconut Fiber, Activated Carbon Media, and Sphagnum Moss. Plenty of plants, including several Pilea species, "Moongazer" & "Chinese Money Plant", a Bromeliad, Orchid, Antherium, Umbrella Plant, Frittania, and a really pretty plant that I can't remember the name of, but is an alternative to Crotus, since Crotus is not healthy for geckos. I have springtails, white isopods, and Nightcrawlers in the substrate as a clean up crew. It gets misted twice a day, humidity usually sits between 50-60% and I've got a very low output heat lamp on there, a 50watt ExoTerra blue nocturnal bulb. Creating a gradient of 80-72. I've got a low output tropical UVB bulb on during the day, because I've seen lots of conflicting information, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.
My gecko is usually hiding, digging himself a hole inside the substrate in the corner of my tank. Not lethargic in any way, I can hear him jumping around, playing in the plants all night. He's eating about 1/8oz of Pangea every night. He refused the insect blend, so I mixed it in my Watermelon, Apricot, and Papaya. He's refused any crickets I've offered, they usually find their way into the ReptiBark I keep the orchid in. He also refused WaxWorms, some of them turning into moths in the terrarium. So I'm thinking of offering mashed up Banana, or Watermelon as a treat once a week.
Now that I've given information on the husbandry, on to the actual topic of this blog post; I started Gecko-sitting a pair of Cresties for my old manager. A male and female pair, probably about the same age, in the same exact tank. Normally, my gecko is in his little hole during the day, and partying at night. I've never seen so much activity out of my gecko during the day! He's out, playing in the plants, today I came home from work to find him on the front glass panels of the cage. I can't tell if this is a positive or negative change, if he's outside of his hole because he's excited by the scent(?) or pheremones(?) of any gecko, or if he's on alert, ready to defend his territory from the other male gecko. He doesn't have any difference in color, or temperament with my handling. Do you think this might be a sign that my little guy would appreciate a buddy?
I work at a local PetSmart, and one of the stores in our district closed after only being open for 9 months. A lot of their animals got transferred to different stores, and their Crested Gecko so happened to be transferred to my store. I had been looking into getting a Crested Gecko from one of my local breeders I met via FaceBook for the last 3 or 4 years, gathering information and advice. However the reptile habitats at my store are 20 years old, and only equipped to handle hatchlings, this gecko had been with PetSmart since the grand opening of the store it had transferred from. He had a tail, and I personally think that Cresties are cuter without a tail, so this was like a match made in heaven. He's got a pretty big pair of testicles, so I can only assume from those, that he's a male. I've had him for 4 months now, and the store was open for 9 months. Knowing our vendor, he was probably packed up and shipped within the first month of hatching. So I assume I've got a 13 or 14 month old male with no tail.
For about the first week I had him, I borrowed a 12x12x18 ExoTerra from one of the Vet Techs who see our animals at my store. I purchased an 18x18x24 ExoTerra from another coworker. In both cases, I made sure to clean the habitat in a bleach solution, due to both tanks coming to me covered in reptile poop, the first from hatchling day geckos, and the second from another Crestie. I came up with the supplies for a BioActive set up, using plastic craft mesh as a divider between the 2" layer of HydroBalls, and the 3 or 4" layer blend of Coconut Fiber, Activated Carbon Media, and Sphagnum Moss. Plenty of plants, including several Pilea species, "Moongazer" & "Chinese Money Plant", a Bromeliad, Orchid, Antherium, Umbrella Plant, Frittania, and a really pretty plant that I can't remember the name of, but is an alternative to Crotus, since Crotus is not healthy for geckos. I have springtails, white isopods, and Nightcrawlers in the substrate as a clean up crew. It gets misted twice a day, humidity usually sits between 50-60% and I've got a very low output heat lamp on there, a 50watt ExoTerra blue nocturnal bulb. Creating a gradient of 80-72. I've got a low output tropical UVB bulb on during the day, because I've seen lots of conflicting information, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.
My gecko is usually hiding, digging himself a hole inside the substrate in the corner of my tank. Not lethargic in any way, I can hear him jumping around, playing in the plants all night. He's eating about 1/8oz of Pangea every night. He refused the insect blend, so I mixed it in my Watermelon, Apricot, and Papaya. He's refused any crickets I've offered, they usually find their way into the ReptiBark I keep the orchid in. He also refused WaxWorms, some of them turning into moths in the terrarium. So I'm thinking of offering mashed up Banana, or Watermelon as a treat once a week.
Now that I've given information on the husbandry, on to the actual topic of this blog post; I started Gecko-sitting a pair of Cresties for my old manager. A male and female pair, probably about the same age, in the same exact tank. Normally, my gecko is in his little hole during the day, and partying at night. I've never seen so much activity out of my gecko during the day! He's out, playing in the plants, today I came home from work to find him on the front glass panels of the cage. I can't tell if this is a positive or negative change, if he's outside of his hole because he's excited by the scent(?) or pheremones(?) of any gecko, or if he's on alert, ready to defend his territory from the other male gecko. He doesn't have any difference in color, or temperament with my handling. Do you think this might be a sign that my little guy would appreciate a buddy?
