[crestiegrammy]

Hi! I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jessi, and technically I am "grandma" to our newest family member. My 8yo son loves reptiles and all he wanted for Christmas was a crested gecko, so "Gecky" became the newest member of our family on Christmas eve. We are all already madly in love with him, and I am afraid of making any mistakes that would jeopardize his health. We bought him at Petco. I know from reading these forums that that isn't a very popular place, but I feel that we got lucky because the manager of the store is a reptile lover herself. She has cresties of her own as well as a gargoyle, among other things. Also, there weren't many other choices locally, to purchase the little guy.
Gecky lives in a 10 gal tank with paper towel substrate. We have seen him eat two crickets and he has eaten cgd off my finger. He is very active, all over his tank at night. He does like to jump, which concerns me, we are all still nervous around him. (We don't handle him much, we are trying to let him acclimate, but we also want to get to know him, so we handle him about 5-7 minutes every other day, and not all of us at once) My biggest worry right now is 1) the temperature. The house sits at about 66-68 most of the day/ night. We have a heat pad on the bottom of the tank, plus the light (blue, daylight, 50w) The gauge in the tank reads about 65 most of the day, which is "technically" ok, but is it really? and 2) the humidity. He's on paper towels so we keep them wet, I spray him probably 4-6 times a day. My house is very dry! Tonight we bought a warm moist vaporizer but I am afraid to let it run while we sleep or while we aren't home. Plus, so far it doesn't seem to have an effect on the humidity inside the tank. Any suggestions? I have to go back to work next week so I am trying to figure out how to leave him safe and happy while I'm gone all day. Thanks for any ideas!

[lauraleellbp]

Welcome to GU!

Your temps sound fine, especially for winter. As long as they don't drop below 60F I wouldn't worry. Don't expect him to grow very quickly this time of year with the cooler temps- but that's very normal.

As far as humidity- you want to establish a cycle. 80-90% humidity at night, but it's also very important to let it dry down during the day to about 40-50%. That cycle is very important for their respiration and skin; contstant high humidity usually leads to mold and mildew problems in an enclosure and can cause respiratory problems and can cause shed issues just as easily as never enough humidity.

I'd recommend investing in a good digital hygrometer so you can experiment with misting and see what works in your area. For me, just one heavy misting in the evenings is perfect, whereas others need to mist 2-3x a day. There are also things that you can add or remove from an enclosure to help with humdity issues, such as water dishes, humid hides, live or fake plants, etc.

[Moosenart]

have fun! Be aware that this is an addicting hobby...........

[Kristy]

Welcome! Just be sure it doesnt get too warm. That can dry up the humidity. I use a blue night glo 50 watt bulb. They dont see the blue color, just feel the warmth. I think the day blue light is just a little brighter. I also cut a small hole in the screen and use a zoo med repti fogger for humidity (as opposed to a humidifier). They got bad ratings and alot of people prefer to hand spray. But I found it wonderful to use on a timer, twice a day, being that my house is so dry in the winter, even keeping the heat down. I got one for half the price on ebay. (and dont worry he wont crawl up the tube!) I still hand spray if I feel needed. Dont KEEP the papertowel wet, because of mold. Just do crickets once a week, not too often. The CGD has what they need. When you hold him, just be close to the floor. Talk to him so he gets used to your voice from the tank!! Check out youtube so see lots of info about cresteds. You'll soon be able to compare what is good and what is bad, as far as set ups. Good luck!