Graham_s
Super Moderator
Crested Gecko - Rhacodactylus ciliatus
Origin in the wild - New Caledonia
new caledonia - Google Maps
Q: How do I use the search feature?
A: Click on the “Search” button in the blue toolbar at the top of the forum page and type what you wish to search for.
Q: How do I post a thread with photos?
A: Geckos Unlimited - FAQ: vBulletin FAQ
Q: What does this mean: 1.1.0?
A: The first number is quantity of male animals, the second is quantity of females, and the third is unsexed.
Q: What do EOD and E3D mean?
A: Every Other Day and Every 3rd Day
Q: What morph is my Crested Gecko?
A: There are a lot of websites that give guides on what morphs there are and how to identify what morph your gecko is. Search the internet to see if you can find your answers as it is a very common question. One website worth looking at is Morph Guide
Q: What do I feed my Crested gecko?
A: Crested geckos can either be fed CGD (which is s type of MRP) with a mixture of certain fruits and occasional feeding of livefoods, although as it is an MRP, livefoods are not necessary.
Fruit that crested geckos can eat include: Banana, Papaya, Mango, Melon, Peach, strawberry, apricot, passionfruit, fig - NOT citrus fruits.
If you intend to feed your crested gecko live foods occasionally, remember to dust them with vitamin/calcium powder as you would with any other gecko.
Q: How often should I feed my gecko?
A: It is fine to feed your crested gecko every other day or every third day. You should notice a decrease in the appetite of your gecko during the cooler months of the year.
If you choose to feed live food as well then feeding live food once or twice a week (providing CGD at the same time) would be sufficient.
Q: What do CGD and MRP stand for?
A: CGD means Crested Gecko Diet and MRP means Meal Replacement Powder
Q: What substrate should I use?
A: Crested geckos generally do very well with paper towel as a substrate, which is usually considered the easiest and safest option. A lot of people also have had success keeping them on
A more natural peat/soil type substrate, with live plants in the vivarium also. Do not keep your gecko on a substrate of bark chips as it can lead to choking or impaction.
Q: What is a good size vivarium for...
A:
One adult gecko - something along the lines of 1.5 x 1.5 x 2.0 (WxDxH (in ft.)) should be fine for one adult gecko
Juvenile - Up to around 4-5 inches, something like the 11.75" x 7.75" x 8" kritter keeper would be a suitable container. Small sub adults would be fine in an 12"x12"x18" (WxDxH) vivarium.
Pair - Something a little bigger than the size above for one adult, so something like 2x2x2.5 (WxDxH (in ft.)) would be a good spacious vivarium for a pair.
Q: What do I do about heating the vivarium?
A: generally, crested geckos do not need any additional heat in their vivaria as they do very well at the temperatures that are normal room temperatures for us humans. However, they shouldn't
be kept cooler than 65*F MIN, and 85*F MAX, so heating or cooling may be needed, depending on the temperatures in the room you're keeping them in. Obviously it goes without saying that it
isn't a good idea to keep them close to their thermal limits, even if they are not being exceeded. A good average day time temperature would be 75*F. If heating is required, then a simple
light bulb over the mesh top of the vivarium would be sufficient, but it must be on a thermostat!
Q: Do I need to provide UV light?
A: This is not necessary, although some people choose to. If you choose to use one, then a 5.0% UVB tube would be absolutely fine. Remember, however that they can get quite hot and will therefore
affect the temperatures in the vivarium.
Q: What do I do about misting the vivarium/providing water?
A: There must always be a water bowl in the vivarium with fresh, clean water in it. Ideally crested geckos should be misted once a day in the evening.
Q: What should I include in the vivarium?
There should be plenty of hiding spaces and fake plants (unless you're using live plants), a water bowl and a food bowl. Remember that Crested geckos are arboreal so will want to use the whole
height of the vivarium. Try to arrange the vivarium decor accordingly.
Q: What sex is my Crested Gecko?
A: At the age of around 6 months your crested gecko should be old enough to sex. This can be done by looking at their underside, above their vent.
If there is a line of scales which have a dark spot in the centre, in a vague chevron shape, then it is a male gecko. If this is absent then it is most likely a female.
If old enough, males can also be distinguished by their hemipenal bulge - see here: AQUA-TERRA-VITA: Sexing Crested Geckos (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) Photograph
Q: What do I need to know about breeding?
A: Take a look at this website: http://jbscresties.com/breeding.html
There are many websites with information on this. Do a search of these forums and see if you can find the answers to your questions. If not, then it is always worth searching using Google.
If you feel that any basic questions have been missed out of this FAQ, or anything is seriously wrong with the information here, please send me a PM.
Origin in the wild - New Caledonia
new caledonia - Google Maps
Q: How do I use the search feature?
A: Click on the “Search” button in the blue toolbar at the top of the forum page and type what you wish to search for.
Q: How do I post a thread with photos?
A: Geckos Unlimited - FAQ: vBulletin FAQ
Q: What does this mean: 1.1.0?
A: The first number is quantity of male animals, the second is quantity of females, and the third is unsexed.
Q: What do EOD and E3D mean?
A: Every Other Day and Every 3rd Day
Q: What morph is my Crested Gecko?
A: There are a lot of websites that give guides on what morphs there are and how to identify what morph your gecko is. Search the internet to see if you can find your answers as it is a very common question. One website worth looking at is Morph Guide
Q: What do I feed my Crested gecko?
A: Crested geckos can either be fed CGD (which is s type of MRP) with a mixture of certain fruits and occasional feeding of livefoods, although as it is an MRP, livefoods are not necessary.
Fruit that crested geckos can eat include: Banana, Papaya, Mango, Melon, Peach, strawberry, apricot, passionfruit, fig - NOT citrus fruits.
If you intend to feed your crested gecko live foods occasionally, remember to dust them with vitamin/calcium powder as you would with any other gecko.
Q: How often should I feed my gecko?
A: It is fine to feed your crested gecko every other day or every third day. You should notice a decrease in the appetite of your gecko during the cooler months of the year.
If you choose to feed live food as well then feeding live food once or twice a week (providing CGD at the same time) would be sufficient.
Q: What do CGD and MRP stand for?
A: CGD means Crested Gecko Diet and MRP means Meal Replacement Powder
Q: What substrate should I use?
A: Crested geckos generally do very well with paper towel as a substrate, which is usually considered the easiest and safest option. A lot of people also have had success keeping them on
A more natural peat/soil type substrate, with live plants in the vivarium also. Do not keep your gecko on a substrate of bark chips as it can lead to choking or impaction.
Q: What is a good size vivarium for...
A:
One adult gecko - something along the lines of 1.5 x 1.5 x 2.0 (WxDxH (in ft.)) should be fine for one adult gecko
Juvenile - Up to around 4-5 inches, something like the 11.75" x 7.75" x 8" kritter keeper would be a suitable container. Small sub adults would be fine in an 12"x12"x18" (WxDxH) vivarium.
Pair - Something a little bigger than the size above for one adult, so something like 2x2x2.5 (WxDxH (in ft.)) would be a good spacious vivarium for a pair.
Q: What do I do about heating the vivarium?
A: generally, crested geckos do not need any additional heat in their vivaria as they do very well at the temperatures that are normal room temperatures for us humans. However, they shouldn't
be kept cooler than 65*F MIN, and 85*F MAX, so heating or cooling may be needed, depending on the temperatures in the room you're keeping them in. Obviously it goes without saying that it
isn't a good idea to keep them close to their thermal limits, even if they are not being exceeded. A good average day time temperature would be 75*F. If heating is required, then a simple
light bulb over the mesh top of the vivarium would be sufficient, but it must be on a thermostat!
Q: Do I need to provide UV light?
A: This is not necessary, although some people choose to. If you choose to use one, then a 5.0% UVB tube would be absolutely fine. Remember, however that they can get quite hot and will therefore
affect the temperatures in the vivarium.
Q: What do I do about misting the vivarium/providing water?
A: There must always be a water bowl in the vivarium with fresh, clean water in it. Ideally crested geckos should be misted once a day in the evening.
Q: What should I include in the vivarium?
There should be plenty of hiding spaces and fake plants (unless you're using live plants), a water bowl and a food bowl. Remember that Crested geckos are arboreal so will want to use the whole
height of the vivarium. Try to arrange the vivarium decor accordingly.
Q: What sex is my Crested Gecko?
A: At the age of around 6 months your crested gecko should be old enough to sex. This can be done by looking at their underside, above their vent.
If there is a line of scales which have a dark spot in the centre, in a vague chevron shape, then it is a male gecko. If this is absent then it is most likely a female.
If old enough, males can also be distinguished by their hemipenal bulge - see here: AQUA-TERRA-VITA: Sexing Crested Geckos (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) Photograph
Q: What do I need to know about breeding?
A: Take a look at this website: http://jbscresties.com/breeding.html
There are many websites with information on this. Do a search of these forums and see if you can find the answers to your questions. If not, then it is always worth searching using Google.
If you feel that any basic questions have been missed out of this FAQ, or anything is seriously wrong with the information here, please send me a PM.
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