Moisture Help? -Crested Gecko-

[ZuluGecko]

this is my first post, so hello to every one!

My little Guys name is Ed he's about 3 months old, i am having issues keeping the moisture in his tank, i have started with the Zillia Basic Tropical set and add some extra to it as well, i have so slats i got from Home Depot to cover parts of the top, but any time i use those the crickets i have in there die fairy quickly. i try to keep his tank around 75-80 with just the tank pad sinks below the 70 mark. its not vary arid where we live actually very humid, round 65%

so far what i have used

Coconut fiber, -dries out over night- caused our treated grape wood to mold
home made dripper- flooded bottom of tank- same gear at store bought one

i have looked at maybe using some kind of moss but i was wanting some more input before i go out and buy it?

 

[charmando]

i think a consistent 75-85 may be too moist. I would shoot more for the 73ish range. Also don't cover too much of the top if you have a glass vivarium because the gecko needs air and good ventilation to avoid respiratory illness. I've used sphagnum moss and it retained moisture very well. I would use repti bark and cover it with the moss. or you can increase humidity retention with a water bowl/ live plants. Note. I don't have a crested gecko, my family has four of them and this is what's been working for them.

 

[Hardknox]

So first you should note that this is the wrong area to post a crestie question though I am sure a forum mod will correct this for you sometime. Second off the humidity does not need to, and should not STAY high. For crested geckos and I believe most rhacs its better to increase the humidity and then let it fall throughout the day. So you want to spray it down at night for a humidity spike while he is out and about. I usually give a small localized spritzing in the morning also to give them a little water to lick off leaves. However it is best to have a humidity jump to 80% and then you WANT the cage to dry out through the course of the day. Drops to 50% are just fine for them so long as it does not stay that way for prolonged periods of time.

 

[ZuluGecko]

thanks for the help, i was wondering if i posted this in the wrong area, i explored the site a little more, but the main problem is that my tank is getting below 50, after a few hours. right now im am just using a tank mat with a few plastic plants, ive tried to use coconut fiber, but it dried out too quick.

 

[Hardknox]

Are you heating the tank or something because there is no way the tanks humidity can drop below the ambient humidity unless you are. Keep in mind, crested do not need a basking spot and temperatures should never go above 82F though mid 70s is a pretty comfortable place for them.

 

[ZuluGecko]

i have a tank heater and a light, i think i will try to keep off the lights today for a bit and see if improves my humidity problem, it has been unusually arid the last few weeks as well, and getting to summer time finally i guess it dry out here a bit as well, it sitting at a steady 60.

 

[Hardknox]

What is the cage sitting at temperature wise?

 

[ZuluGecko]

with out the top light (60w) it drops down to about 69-71 with the light it sits about 79-82.

 

[Hardknox]

Well that is one of the reasons you are drying out so fast right there. I would step that light down quite a bit. A small under the tank heater would probably work pretty well or drop down closer to a 20-40 watt bulb. You are straddling the max temp right now anyway, (82 is the absolute max temp they should be kept at). A smaller bulb will put off less light and a little less heat and so wont dry out the cage so quickly. You also might want to try moss as a substrate, it holds moisture very well.

 

[aucturas]

i use bed a beast coco fiber and it works great, as for mold, i just make sure the branches that are touching the substrate are covered at the bottom, i just coat them in silicon, i have about 3 inches packed down in there, kept damp, and my humidity almost never goes lower than 50%, and its pretty dry here, at least as far as humidity goes

 

[ZuluGecko]

thanks, this is most defiantly why i came here, i was miss informed about temp ranges i think, (PETCO) was told that 77-85 was the temp, as for the 60w bulb, it came with our tank kit, ill try backing off on the wattage.