crested geckos and vivariums

darkcrest · #1 09-13-2011, 03:56 PM

Ok first off i was told by petco that i should not have live plants in my crested geckos tank bc of the fact that the lighting required for the plants would harm or kill my pet but i have seen online thru different forums that i can have them on black jungle website has a list of plants for my crestie i know not to listen to one site or one place for info and this would be the best place to ask this question what plants and lighting would be good for both if possible

thank you

lauraleellbp · #2 09-13-2011, 04:11 PM

You do want to be careful not to overheat your Crestie, but as long as the temps don't go over the low 80s F and you provide a light and day cycle, lighting and live plants are fine. A single 26 watt spiral flourescent (get a "full spectrum" bulb in the 5000-6700 kelvin range) inside a $10 garage light fixture is a very cheap and effective way to go.

darkcrest · #3 09-13-2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

You do want to be careful not to overheat your Crestie, but as long as the temps don't go over the low 80s F and you provide a light and day cycle, lighting and live plants are fine. A single 26 watt spiral flourescent (get a "full spectrum" bulb in the 5000-6700 kelvin range) inside a $10 garage light fixture is a very cheap and effective way to go.

thru online ive found out crested geckos dont need a heat lamp room temp is fine i bought a kit from petco tank ,light ,heating pad, mat then i bought hanging fake plants for cover he has a fogger and a timed day night switch i replace his basking light with a low watt bulb that produces no heat warm to the touch but i did leave a heating pad on one side of the tank so the tank would stay warm as of right now its about 78-80 during the day a cooler during the night ive never owned a gecko i just want to make sure im doing the right thing to make sure its happy and healthy thru out its life plz so give me a few pointers

lauraleellbp · #4 09-13-2011, 05:43 PM

The changes you've made sound good to me.

I don't use any heat at all for my cresties, but then my room temperature never drops belows the 70s F year round. You do want to keep their temps no lower than the 60s, so some people do need to use heat during the winter.

Establishing a good humidity cycle is key. You want the humidity up around 80-90% at night while they're active, but you also want the humidity to dry down to about 40-50% during the day. So be sure to set your fogger accordingly.

Temperature, humidity cycle, feeding (feed mainly Repashy CGD with occasional dusted and gutloaded crickets and/or roaches), and right setup (vertical with lots of climbing branches and leafy hiding spots) are really the key factors in keeping healthy Cresties.

darkcrest · #5 09-13-2011, 05:58 PM

yes i agree to everything that you have mentioned there will be changes bc i fogg during the day and mist the cage at night will set my fogger for less time during the day and to fogg more during the night i fogg every 2 -3 hrs for 3min each and about 6 times a day i guess i missed the part about it only being 50% during the day time i need to adjust my timing to fine tune the cage right now its in a small 10gal i cant wait to move it to its new home