Crested Gecko Lighting Questions

[Revasius]

Hello!
I recently purchased two cresties (male & female) from Petco. (I know, not the best, but their setups were great, the manager was extremely knowledgeable, and everything seemed fine to me).

Anyway, I have a HUGE custom cage (about 24 x 70), completely set up with plants, branches, vines, etc.

(the top half of the cage).

(the bottom half of the cage).


My questions are as follows:

My room doesn't get much natural light, and I'm trying to get them onto a day/night cycle. My family had cresties in the past, and we used a 40 watt Zoo Med Nightlight red bulb, which states that it can be used 24/hours a day, which we did.
I had been using that exact bulb 24 hours a day the past few days, but they aren't being really active at night. Then I used it during the day and turned it off at night, same result. I had been using it because I was concerned about keeping the tank warm enough, (I used a dimmer to keep it from getting too hot), but the tank is currently at 75 degrees Fahrenheit without any light or heat source, so I doubt I need it.

Because of how dark my room can be, should I get a daytime bulb for them? Will it help get them into a proper day/night cycle?

As well, do they require any nighttime lighting? I'd planned on turning everything off at night and only using that red light if I was viewing them for a short amount of time, and I've heard a lot of controversy over red/blue/black nighttime bulbs.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[CrestedL]

Hi, I just want to clarify, you are not housing these geckos together right? It's best to house them seperate as they might harm eachother or mate unexpectedly (which could also result in harm) unless you are hoping for eggs

Although the custom cages are looking great, Cresteds require a LOT of foliage to feel safe, you're going to want to cover it with fake or live plants to give your crested plenty of places to hide, a safe crested is a happy crested

Cresteds, although contrary to the belief, can still see red light, they are nocturnal so they are perfectly fine in darkness, if you want them to be active I would suggest turning off the light, but if you're having heat problems and need the light to provide heat I would suggest a ceramic dome heater, where they just release heat without the light

Cresteds know the cycle, unless you keep your room absolutely pitch dark there should be no problem, I leave a sliver of my curtain open during the day to let sunlight in without it being enough to overheat the cage and he goes to sleep on time the same time everyday and wakes up at the same time too

They do not require nighttime lighting, I believe nighttime lighting is just for observation, I have a red some light I keep in the cases of nights where I hear him fall off of a plant or chirp so I can check on him, but I do not keep it on all night

 

[Revasius]

Thanks for the advice! I am hoping that I'll get eggs... They're each about six inches long and he's already starting to show signs of being a male, while she's definitely not. I only ended up purchasing both because they were already being kept together at the store and get along really nicely... They're actually laying on top of each other now!

I am planning on purchasing a ficus tree for them whenever Home Depot starts carrying them again... I have 5 different Exo Terra/Zoo Med artificial plants in there for now, as well as the humid hide that they both really like.

Once again, thank you!

 

[CrestedL]

No problem! If you have any other questions on breeding we do have a "Breeding and Incubation" you can ask in

 

[CrestedRick]

I use these Jungle dawn Leds, they don't give off much heat compared to the cfls I was using and they aren't definitely helpful with growing plant's. These guys also have a huge selection of plants so check out the entire site as well as their articles on lighting and breeding.
New England Herpetoculture LLC - Bulbs (Vivarium)