Breeding questions and concerns

[daycrarble]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this forum but have belonged to other forums. I have a gold dust day gecko(male), a marbled gecko(female), and a crested gecko(male) all living in one 55 gallon aquarium that i made into a living terrarium with all live plants and eco earth substrate and a fogger. I am thinking about getting a female crested at the end of this month to breed with my male crested. All the geckos in there right now all have thier own hiding spots because i made the terrarium as think as the amazon jungle so they cross paths every now and then but have never freaked out and fled or fought, just mosey on by. So I dont think it would be a hassle to breed them, and i have a ten gallon tank juss waiting around for something. So do you think it is a good idea? Also, if you dont cool the female, would she cool herself like they do in the wild kinda thing? I'm curiuos to how it does it in the wild versus captivity! Thanks for the help in advance!!!!

 

[the_sneetch]

Everything about how you are keeping your current geckos is wrong. First of all, you have three geckos from three completely separate continents in the same enclosure. All three of those species have different habitat requirements, and you are even mixing species that are nocturnal with those that are diurnal. I know you are probably thinking you are doing the best thing for your geckos giving them so much space, but nothing about your situation is ideal and is generally frowned upon in the experienced gecko community. You really need to do some research on each of these guys before you even think about breeding any of them.

I would suggest getting your gold dust out of there first before he becomes a snack, and getting him set up with the 88-90 degree hot spot he needs. That same hot spot will kill your crested gecko, so get him out, don't just add a hot spot to your 55.

As for breeding cresteds, keep in mind that there are tons and tons of crested geckos in the world, and you will probably have a hard time moving offspring.

 

[mikew1234]

I don't even know where to begin...

Let's start with the most simplistic part first. Sell the 55 gallon for 50 bucks. Then go to Petco and purchase two more 10 gallon tanks with covers. That will cost you roughly 40 bucks. Then move each individual gecko into it's own enclosure. Then use that Google search bar and get good information on each gecko.

It'll tell you that the gold dust is a hot and humid species which is diurnal and from Madagascar

Crested geckos are a cool humid gecko from New Caledonia

Marbled geckos are one I don't keep, nor know anything about

Find a map, and look where those places are.. None are near South America.

Set their 10 gallon enclosures up accordingly.

Keep these geckos correctly for a few months, making sure that you are keeping them correctly, and they are fat and healthy. AND kept correctly CAN NOT be emphasized enough.

Then and ONLY then can you even begin to think about breeding.

I'm sorry if I sound rude with my post, and I'll blame it on whoever sold you these geckos saying they're compatible just because I don't want to assume someone did no research before purchasing great geckos like gold dusts and cresties (No love for the marbled).

Everyone wants that ecosystem tank, I understand that and wish I could do it too, but it is not always the best idea. There are very few animals which are truly compatible, no matter who tells you otherwise.

 

[daycrarble]

The tank is set up so it is hot and humid on the right side, then cooler and not as humid on the left side. The crested only stays on the left side, and the gold dust stays on the right side where he already has a basking light and a fogger. The marbled gecko just does as she wishes, she will go and lay under the heAt lamp an go hide under a fake log cave thing. So as for them living together, even though some of you do not agree, all is well, they have been this way for at least 6 months and i have had no problems. The question for this post was mentioned before, good idea to breed in the enclosure(which from the response of wat i already got, i feel like u all are gonna say no), and about the cooling time for the female. Oh, also, the whole Gettin rid of them is a go for right now because i already have a person from a pet shop wanting them desperately because he cant find them cheap enough(mom and pops kinda pet shop). Now, i understand that its not something to get worked up about but i have sone other options. I do appreciate the feedback though, so thank you and i hope im not comin off as rude or ignorant.

 

[mikew1234]

That's too bad that you'll ignore the advice given. You came to a forum which specializes in geckos. Of course you will look ignorant.

I bred hundreds of cresties, as well as kept 5 different species of day gecko. Others on this forum have practically pioneered keeping and breeding of many species. You came asking a question, even though you already had your mind made up.

As for your questions. No you should not even think of breeding in that enclosure. And crested geckos do not use a cooling period. I had dozens of eggs laid every month of the year. Do you understand the extra necessities involved in breeding crested geckos? Do you feed crested gecko diet now? Do you use day gecko diet also? These are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT items for both basic care, as well as for a thought like breeding.

On another note. If a pet store can't afford 15 dollars wholesale for a crested gecko, then they would be far from anyone who I would sell my animals to. Though I bet they told you this enclosure would work in the first place..

 

[PassPort]

I can't believe that no one has mentioned that there's at least a 98% chance that two of the geckos are wild caught and about parasite loads different parts of the world. Anyone want to chime in before I do?

 

[daycrarble]

No, i am taking into consideration and i got repashy diet for crested and the day gecko. Also i provide gut loaded crickets every third feeding. As for cooling the gecko, Jbscresties(trusted site from what i have read on here) says that its a good idea too. So not to be rude there buddy, but how r u saying you pioneered whenever u never did anything that noone else has? Ive pioneered more than you have by placing geckos together. Im not sayin im the gecko expert but how can u andwer my questions if u dont know the answer. Also, they dont buy over the internet since they have gotten some animals with diseases and other illnesses kill half their stock so they only buy at shows(live animals that is)

As for the parasites and wat not, i quarantined for 60 days(hence the ten gallon tank), i understand it may not get rid of every disease or parasite but i tried to do what they say on gecko care sheets and books i have bought. I am interested though, how many different parasites do i have to worry about? And if the parasites are there, wouldnt they have already traveled to other host and i would have noticed? Oh the crested and marbled are captive born, idk about the day gecko though.

 

[daycrarble]

And i you dont give you geckos a coolig period, does the female stay as healthy as she normally would? I have read they could die sooner or become lathargic ad die. I have read so many different sites, that i am confused whom to listen to. As you say you dont cool yours and others saying they always cool theirs. So forget my enclosure, and answer the questions

 

[mikew1234]

I won't post on this thread after this because of obvious reasons. I never said I pioneered anything. I do know I bred crested geckos for years, and produced hundreds. I do know what I am talking about when it comes to many species, and when I do not, I don't comment. As it is, I have kept two species which you keep. Both for years. I have also kept all but two Rhacodactylus species, and breed four of them. And yes, there are people who have pioneered care on this site. Never did I say I was one of them. I got to where I am in keeping by listening to others, and doing what is best for my animals.

As for you feeling you pioneered something, go to a show, and ask ANY breeder who has crested geckos at their table, or better yet ask anyone on any forum, or site, and see what they say about your mix.

Passport, is it worth the breath?

 

[daycrarble]

Then come i bought my crested at a show and they were the ones who have been beeeding for two or three yrs. also the own has a day gecko of his own ahas mixed it with the crested before just like i did and he had the same sort of set up from me. Im not saying im not listening to what u say, but half of wat u say is not making sense in my head becuase its basically ur opinion on how to house geckos. And again, how were uur females without a cooling? I would love to not have to cool her, makes my job easier. If it doesnt hurt her, and is easier for me, i would love to that. And it isnt a waste of breathe. U are helping me and im interested about the disease thing. But im glad to see that this forum is just like every single other one that they just find crap in ur post ad disregard the actual reason for the post. So i will probably be never be posting anything on this forum either, juss try to search my questions over the internet because it aint worth fightin over this irrelevant topics. If i wanted to talk about how everyone hates mixing geckos, i would have titled this, please tell me how stupid you THINK i am... So ya i have been going to shows for a while now and alot of the geckos breeders ask me question about y enclosure because they curious and have an open mind unlike everyone on here constantly thinking "oh this guy has no clue what he is doing". Good job to you for breeding almost every type of crested and whatever else you did, but there is more than one way to do things sometimes and its not always the first way it was done.

 

[the_sneetch]

It is so sad when people come to reputable sites filled with reputable people to seek advice, and yet they turn another ignorant eye.

Daycarble - Just because nothing has happened between your geckos in six months, doesn't mean it won't. You've set them up for a massive fail. To assume your geckos stay in their spots and don't go near the other geckos is just willfully ignorant.

JB from JB's Cresties is a personal friend of mine, I can assure you that she would not condone your gecko keeping husbandry either, and she would spend time focusing on helping you with your existing problems than giving you breeding advice when you are clearly not ready for that step yet.

Cooling females is easy. Everything about crested geckos is easy. If you are concerned about your job being hard with these guys, you really need to do a lot of rethinking.

You may also want to work on your English skills if you want to be taken seriously. If you can't take the time to type out the word, 'you', then frankly my gecko advice isn't going to help you.

 

[daycrarble]

It is so sad when people come to reputable sites filled with reputable people to seek advice, and yet they turn another ignorant eye.

Daycarble - Just because nothing has happened between your geckos in six months, doesn't mean it won't. You've set them up for a massive fail. To assume your geckos stay in their spots and don't go near the other geckos is just willfully ignorant.

You may also want to work on your English skills if you want to be taken seriously. If you can't take the time to type out the word, 'you', then frankly my gecko advice isn't going to help you.

Also, as JB is a personal friend of mine, I can assure you that she would not condone your gecko keeping husbandry either.

Its not that I am ignoring you, its that I have thought alot of scenarios out. And wouldn't a gecko come across another animal in the wild? Tgey have crossed paths before and nothing has hapened, I'm not saying nothing will ever happen but it does seem ok. Especially since the day hecko hides in a think vine that my crested might not even make it threw. I'm not trying to give reasoning to why I have everything set up how it is, but I jave been watching them closely. Like how the crested cant walk on the glass, mainly where the day gecko stays. Tje marbled gecko stays hiden during the day then comes out and mainly hangs from the screen. Literally, it is if they dont even realize each other living in there. And again, prove me right by talking about irrelevant crap like my spelling, im typing on an iPhone, you think you wOuld try to take some short cuts here and there. But could you do me a favor and ask JB what to think about that guy not cooling his geckos. So i do plan on splittin them up, so please answer about what would happen if i didnt cool. And what would be the ideal set up for the crested care?

 

[Hilde]

And wouldn't a gecko come across another animal in the wild?

Yes, in the wild they cross paths regularly. Some get eaten. Some get maimed, mauled or outright killed. Some survive. Species survive by sheer numbers - produce more than the predators can kill and your kind will be around for a long time. It's a dangerous world out there, just like your set-up. Making a naturalistic set-up does not have to include the natural dangers of the wild world.

Tgey have crossed paths before and nothing has hapened, I'm not saying nothing will ever happen but it does seem ok.

So you admit that things can go wrong. You know all hell could break out, yet you're not doing anything to prevent the resulting carnage?
Have you considered the fact that they stay in their own little corner and don't bother each other because they're scared to death of being attacked by the others?


I got my first crested geckos in 1997, not long after they were rediscovered and available in the pet trade, bred them since 1998 so I have a pretty good idea about cresties. I've had various Phelsuma, including goldies, but never had G. grossmanni, so I know only what I read about them. Everything I know about these 3 species, and geckos in general, tells me you have a time bomb on your hands. It might not happen this week, but the timer is ticking.

So I dont think it would be a hassle to breed them, and i have a ten gallon tank juss waiting around for something. So do you think it is a good idea?

No. I don't. However, I think you should follow the advice you've been given and save a few innocent lives.

But im glad to see that this forum is just like every single other one that they just find crap in ur post ad disregard the actual reason for the post.

They all find the "crap" because it has to be addressed first. Throughout life you fix the existing problems before making new ones. Forum members who really care will work on helping you fix those problems. Addressing the actual reason for the post isn't always the most important answer.

 

[daycrarble]

now that is a response i am looking for. but ok I will get the tanks set up and ready for transfer. God, catching this day gecko is gonna suck!!! haha fast little bugger!!! but again, what is the side effects of no cooling?

 

[Aimless]

your question has been answered, several posts ago.

one ten gallon tank is also not even close to large enough to house all the offspring you will get in one season, unless you sell them soon enough after birth that they are not yet established.

if your crested gecko honestly can't walk on the glass, he has larger health concerns that need to be addressed before you consider breeding him.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

As you can see from the response so far, mixed species enclosures are, in general, frowned on. If you do a search through the forums on here, you can find MANY threads on why even the most experienced of us don't attempt mixed species enclosures. So please, instead of dragging this topic out even further, use the search feature and read the threads that are already existing on this topic.

As for cooling your crested gecko, I suggest again that you utilize the search feature and review the threads that already exist in our crested gecko forum. These types of basic husbandry questions are asked on a regular basis. A little research goes a long way and avoids people getting upset about topics that are continually brought up.

We have many very experienced users on this forum that make for a great resource. But this site is also a huge archive of existing information. Most of the answers are already there somewhere if you just take the time to look for them. I think that you will find many of the members of this site to be far more helpful if you've spent the time to search first, and THEN ask questions that remain unanswered by your research.