So here is what I have

[Geck-oh]

Ok so I'm just making sure that I fully understand before I jump into it. Crested geckos like a taller tank, so a 20 gallon tall will work for one gecko. They need a lot of foilage to hide in. Paper towel is the best substrate. They eat mainly fruit, but also eat crickets and mealworms. They need to be misted once a day or as needed depending on humidity. Tempurature is not that important. Lighting is not a necessity

 

[thorrshamri]

UVB ligthing is not a necessity, though lighting is important to reproduce the day and night cycles or your animal's metabolism could be severely perturbated.
Paper towels are ok for quarantine and juveniles, as for adults, you will need a substrate which retains humidity better, such as coconut mould covered with some dead leaves or natural moss.
Hides: foliage is important, don't forget to use vertically-oriented pieces of cork bark oak though
They are perfectly ominivorous and crickets or roaches are tu be used as a staple diet as they are more nutritious; fruit and CGD comes next.
Daily mistings are ok, but don't make the substrate soaked, you can mist the enclosure every other day and it will be absolutely fine

 

[Aimless]

I'd also encourage you to stay far away from mealworms. that's like giving your gecko big macs; it's not good for his liver and if he decides he likes worms better than his CGD and roaches or crickets, you can develop problems getting him to take the healthier, more appropriate food.

 

[crestokay]

i would say they dont mainly eat fruit. i feed mainly cgd and dusted crickets every once in while. and i agree with thorr that they do need a lighting schedule. they just dont need uvb or heat lamp

 

[Spyral]

Ok so I'm just making sure that I fully understand before I jump into it. Crested geckos like a taller tank, so a 20 gallon tall will work for one gecko. They need a lot of foilage to hide in. Paper towel is the best substrate. They eat mainly fruit, but also eat crickets and mealworms. They need to be misted once a day or as needed depending on humidity. Tempurature is not that important. Lighting is not a necessity

Unfortunately, it's not easy to sum up crestie care in one paragraph. There are many, many ways to safely keep and care for them!

I think a regular 20 gallon on it's side would be more appropriate. I've found, however, that front-door opening terrariums like Exo-Terra or Zoo Med 24” x 18” x 12” is an ideal habitat for a single, adult crestie. For a young gecko, smaller enclosures such as Kritter Keepers work well. Foliage and branches and hides should be provided. Cover the tank with about 50% foliage, and leave some empty space for jumping and climbing.

You're going to get a lot of people recommending a variety of substrates. Paper towel is fine, and poses less risks than a particulate substrate. However, many keepers find that a natural soil or moss is more attractive and encourages natural behaviors, as well as holds moisture. If you have a young gecko under 15 grams, I would avoid a natural setup and stick with paper towel. ANY type of substrate can be an impaction risk as can anything that can be swallowed.

As for diet, there are many people who lean towards doing it "old school" with mashed fruit and insects, but for beginners and ease of feeding, Repashy Crested Gecko Diet is great. It cuts down on risks of over and under supplementation, and provides macro and micro nutrition. You can still feed bugs twice weekly, and if you want to blend up a fruit smoothie once or twice a month, that's fine too. However, over 10 generations of crested geckos have been raised on CGD so it is a tried and true formula that takes a lot of worry out of raising cresties.

Humidity & temps don't need to be tightly controlled as with more delicate species of gecko. You'll want to have a wet and dry period, from 90% after a good nightly misting to about 45-55%. Depending on your tank, you can just spray once during a 24 hour period. Stay under 82-84 degrees as they are prone to heat stress over 85. A range from low to high 70s is ideal. You do need a day-night cycle but you do not need UVB lighting, as pointed out.

So you were pretty close but there are lots more details as to the hows & whys of crestie keeping! :biggrin:

 

[thorrshamri]

I would be interested in papers, reports or links about impaction caused by any kind of substrate in crested geckos. Spyral, I shall be grateful if you could provide me with such precise references.

 

[Aimless]

I've heard that too, that anything but paper towels could cause problems with juvie cresties.

I also would be interested in some sort of documentation, because I've only heard it second-hand and it doesn't correlate with my experience.

I had a trio that I got at about 3 grams several years ago, hoping to grow up a girl or two. I kept them in a planted 10 gallon for about 6 months, until they began to show a size discrepancy and seemed to be beginning to stake out "territories", at which time I separated them. they were fine, and all 3 are healthy happy adults now, almost 4 years later (males, unfortunately, and all have gone to live with friends).

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[cricket4u]

It's true. I have seen a few including adults impacted with substrate. Look on pangeareptile you will find a picture of a dead one cut open with the substrate exposed.

 

[thorrshamri]

Hmmm...pure speculation maybe, but before that, I only heard of impaction in E. macularius captive individuals. The stomachal juices of reptiles is more acidic than the human ones and can "digest" a whole lot of stuff. I have kept many other species on sand without any issue over the years. I am just afraid the fact that cresteds are now affected by impaction has something to do with uncontrolled crossings and so-called "selection" from a very small number of wild ancestors. Choosing traits which are usually recessive and often genetic defects (such as albinism) certainly has consequences on the good functionning of the internal organs. How can you imagine wild cresteds subject to impaction by simple earth particles where they live? I would greatly be interested in a comparative study between populations of R. ciliatus and E. macularius in the wild and in captivity since several generations, with a comparison of the "organs failures" rate such as impaction. I have seen some Uroplatus swallowing substrate, big pieces of dead leaves and be perfectly fine with it. In the latter case, there are no artificial genetic selection and the gene pool for the main species is well renewed...coincidence? Maybe...:evil:
Ask Jon and other very experienced breeders, I don't think Jon has had a single case of impaction with F1 animals or WC ones of any species, and he has been keeping many of them on sand for much longer than me quite unproblematically...Likewise, I have never heard log-term Phelsuma breeders mentioning cases of impaction...

 

[cricket4u]

Most of the Phelsuma species are so super beautiful that they are spoiled and fed with tongs or in dishes. :biggrin: