How to make a climb-friendly cage for a special needs gecko?

[Martinotti Reptiles]

I was hoping to get ideas on a crestie issue I have.

I rescued an adult female nearly a year ago that was is horrible shape (skin and bones, broken front hand, feet completely wrapped and twisted by old shed...) and she's done a complete 180. She looks great. But we still have the problem that, probably due to the horrible shed on her feet for so long, has absolutely zero traction on her feet. She can't stick to anything, and can barely stay on your hand. Up until now I've had her in a screen cage that she could more or less move around in, but she still spend a good 90% of time on the floor of the cage, under the plants.

I just built a set of wooden cages for all my cresties and I bought some thick grapewood branches just for her since I figured that since she can't climb the sides like my other geckos, she can probably use the grapewood to get around, since it's so textured. I had the idea to really make her a cage she could really explore and move around in. Well, I put her in the unfinished cage this morning, on the branches, just to see how she moved around so I could tweak anything before I got all the cage decorated and ready, and she was slipping and sliding around, poor thing!

So I'm not really sure what I can do for her at this point. Now I'm thinking I probably should have built her a horizontal cage, but I would like to do something with the decor of this cage if possible. But I'm at a loss for ideas! If she can't climb grapewood, then what else can I use?

Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[StickyFeet.]

You could try adding a bunch of the magnaturals brand magnetic ledges in a staircase form, and in between the gaps (depending on how closely you space them) you could add hanging plants or magnaturals magnetic branches. The branches are quite large width wise.

The ledges come in all shapes and sizes, and most of all they are flat. If you organize them around the tank, she might be able to jump from one to the other to get to the top of the tank, but still be on a flat surface so you don't have to worry about her slipping and falling.

just a thought! Kudos to you for rescuing the girl though! I'm so happy to hear she's done a 180 for you! You must be so proud. :biggrin:

 

[Martinotti Reptiles]

Thanks! She's a great gecko, despite everything. I was just speaking to a crestie-enthusiast friend and she seems to think that her condition stems from MBD (lack of stickiness, broken hand...) which is something I'd never connected to that, but it makes sense.

I think that I'm going to give her a horizontal cage and leave it at that. If she does have MBD it's probably painful for her to walk around too much, so I would rather provide her with a comfortable horizontal environment and make everything as easy as possible.

 

[GeckoGirl1990]

my male crestie has never really had feet as sticky as my female's. I've found that he loves the exo-terra jungle vines. they are soft and textured, so the geckos can grip into them with their claws rather than their toe pads. these vines come in at least 3 different widths and are definitely worth the money.
I just try to make sure that all of his cage furniture is textured enough so he can get a grip.
I attached a pic of his cage. It has a stick and a thin bamboo branch in the back, with the jungle vine curving up to the top of the cage, to the magnet ledge. I'm not sure if it's made for fish or reptiles, but the thing in the middle is a bonsai stump thing I got at petsmart, with fake foliage from Michael's sticking out of the top =D
He really likes sleeping in the hollow trunk of the 'tree', which actually has an exit in the back as well.
Just some ideas =)

 

[Soul Eater]

I remember hearing bout this before, I think on here
Did you bring it up once before as well? If so, did the suggestions not help that time?

 

[Martinotti Reptiles]

Lol yes, it was me!
But the conclusion that time was basically leave her in a screen cage. But now I'm looking for decor ideas to allow her to be a crestie and use the height of her cage.

 

[Soul Eater]

Ah, I see. Good plan. I couldn't quite remember what the exact debate on that thread was. She's doing good with the screen then I presume?

 

[Martinotti Reptiles]

Ah, I see. Good plan. I couldn't quite remember what the exact debate on that thread was. She's doing good with the screen then I presume?

Yes but no lol. She can grab onto it but she still has a hard time climbing it. Most of the time she's on the ground. But if I give her a horizontal enclosure with everything on floor level she doesn't seem to like it! I'm going to see what I can come up with to give her a safe horizontal place to be but still give her the option to get a little height if she really wants to.

 

[Jheuloh]

Maybe you could make some stairs for her to go upward on? To hide the eye-sore factor of human shapes, maybe you could paint the climbing stair steps as pieces of some ancient ruins or attach various leaf-shapes to it to hide the unnaturally sharp angles. The step height would probably have to be low, it sounds as if your rescue-girl has a generally difficult time bearing her own weight.

 

[Soul Eater]

Awww, that poor girl. Feisty thing though
Just can't have it simply.

That's actually a neat idea Jheuloh! If you used maybe like the safe silicone (sp?) stuff to make sort of roundish shapes or something and painted them black then grey over it, you could make it look like old rocks. I'd bet it'd look pretty nice

 

[shadowdragon619]

stairs and ladders maybe? you can make stairs out a styrafoam and do the whole grouting and coating thing. i know in the bird sections of petstores you can sometimes find little climbing ladders.

i'm so glad you found this crestie and have made its life better!

 

[Martinotti Reptiles]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I still have her in a really simple 20-gal long tank for now while I wait to get some wood in the mail. I'll post photos if what I do for her works!

 

[shadowdragon619]

i think we'd like pics no matter what!

if it doesnt work out, pics could help us give you more ideas of what to change or add



good luck!

 

[AWW]

Nice idea on camouflaged stairs, but why not make it a camouflaged ramp? Should be that much less effort if she's having trouble moving around. I've seen pre-made ones for aquatic turtle tanks (or ferrets, chinchillas etc) or it would be pretty easy to make one using same methods as the stair suggestions others have made. Perhaps a series of slanted slabs that alternate directions (I'm thinking of some waterfalls I've seen in vivs) might look a little more natural? Good luck!

 

[Klowne]

Use this site for some awesome directions

Lizard care, and fake rock wall landscapes

There are detailed instructions on there about making stairs out of styrofoam and unsanded grout. You could do something this way and make a natural looking rock structure that you could also add plants and vines to. Since she can't stick to smooth surfaces you could also add some play sand to the structure for grip. I know Gecko's have sensitive pads, but this might be acceptable for your gecko. You could make several levels to climb on, and it would only take about a week to create something magnificent. One more note, if you do decide to use sand, ONLY use play sand as it is round with no sharp edges. Sand from anywhere else could have sharp edges that could cut the pads on her feet.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Oli ~

How are you treating the MBD? There is a liquid human-grade syrup, a mixture of calcium and sugar, called Calcium Glubionate, that your gecko will no doubt lick right off her nose. This can be ordered at pharmacies, but only comes in pints as far as I know. It is an excellent way to get the needed calcium into your gecko.