Getting a new crestie - checking my husbandry

[Mim]

Hello all!

So, im going to be getting a Crestie next weekend my friend bred hers and this little guy is quite young (2-3 weeks old) but has been eating well, has shed a couple of times and is so far thriving. I havent owned a Crestie in several years so im a little nervous and i want this to be a good experience. I have done my research and have a good idea of the correct husbandry, but i want to run it past the expert BEFORE i get the gecko and also ask a couple questions.

Due to his small size im going to start by housing him in a plastic critter keeper, then move him to a 10gallon tank once he gets a little bigger. Im going to start by keeping him on shelf liner just because he is so tiny, switching him to eco-earth once he is a little bigger. In the cage i will have a couple pieces of driftwood, a live pothos plant and some hanging plastic plants for visual coverage, i will also include a shallow water dish and a feeding station (I will be setting this tank up entirely in the next couple of days and will post a picture.)

His diet will consist of mostly CGD (He is already well started on the plain stuff although she has been mixing peach or lamb flavored baby foods in, so i was going to get the flavor system and go with peach flavored) with crickets offered a couple times a week for variety.

I will be misting him several times a day.

Does this general care outline sound adequate? Any tips or pointers?

Here are my questions....

1. Supplementation. Do i just mix calcium in with the CGD, or is it complete enough that it does not require me to add any calcium? Will cresties lick calcium from a separate dish of it? Should i be dusting the crickets?

2. Humidity levels. Im going to be digitally measuring his humidity levels but im a little unclear as to what the exact level should be?

3. Diet. How many crickets are ok? i know that they can be fed 100% CGD, but i also understand (if i am correct) that some crickets are ok as well. Is offering a few (say 4-5) small crickets a couple times a week too much?

4. Temps. This is my big question, im very concerned about over heating my crestie. I have two options for temp ranges in my house. I can keep him in the reptile room where all my other herps are - this room has an ambient temp of 78-80 degrees, but on warmer days there is a a chance of the temps getting a bit higher. Night time temps in the reptile room are usually 65-70degrees. My other option is to house him in the main living area of the house where the ambient temps are around 72. The night time temp of the house is also 65-70 degrees. Im a bit nervous that my reptile room might be too hot, but my house might be a bit too cold. Whats your thoughts?

5. My last and final question is this - because this is essentially my first crestie (I had one years ago but not for very long) i am very nervous about anything going wrong. I feel pretty comfortable about this guy because the breeder is my friend and she assures me he is eating the CGD and crickets and overall doing well. But he is so young. How fragile are they at this age? wOuld you recomend holding off and getting ones that a bit older...or with the proper care are they pretty hardy even at this young age.

Im sure more questions will come as i continue through the process of setting up his cage over the next couple of days - its direly important to me that my care is correct ahead of time, so bear with me while i nag you all for info!

Thanks

[PandaParade]

1. Supplementation. Do i just mix calcium in with the CGD, or is it complete enough that it does not require me to add any calcium? Will cresties lick calcium from a separate dish of it? Should i be dusting the crickets?

The CGD is fine without adding calcium. It has the right ammount in it already! Some may lick from a bowl if they need it, Usually you only do that if it lacks calcium or is a breeding Female though, I wouldnt worry about it. Yes dust the crickets with a non D3 calcium powder, feed small crickets maximum of 3 times a week.

2. Humidity levels. Im going to be digitally measuring his humidity levels but im a little unclear as to what the exact level should be?
keep the humidity about 50% in the day or a bit lower then spray the tank at night to around 90% Dont let it always be high, it needs to cycle.

3. Diet. How many crickets are ok? i know that they can be fed 100% CGD, but i also understand (if i am correct) that some crickets are ok as well. Is offering a few (say 4-5) small crickets a couple times a week too much?

As many as he wants, Some may not want crickets, and remember you dont have to feed Crickets if he is on a strict diet of CGD and thats it! Feeding crickets is fine though, Let him eat as many as he wants during that time period too.

4. Temps. This is my big question, im very concerned about over heating my crestie. I have two options for temp ranges in my house. I can keep him in the reptile room where all my other herps are - this room has an ambient temp of 78-80 degrees, but on warmer days there is a a chance of the temps getting a bit higher. Night time temps in the reptile room are usually 65-70degrees. My other option is to house him in the main living area of the house where the ambient temps are around 72. The night time temp of the house is also 65-70 degrees. Im a bit nervous that my reptile room might be too hot, but my house might be a bit too cold. Whats your thoughts?

Keep him in the second choice if I were you, If it gets too hot thats a problem, and can result in death, and we dont want a fried crestie! The coldest it can get to in my opinion should be around 65 or a little lower. In the day I would at least reccomend 70, but never over 80 if you can help it. Ive heard a few people have temps above that but I would keep it from 65-80.

5. My last and final question is this - because this is essentially my first crestie (I had one years ago but not for very long) i am very nervous about anything going wrong. I feel pretty comfortable about this guy because the breeder is my friend and she assures me he is eating the CGD and crickets and overall doing well. But he is so young. How fragile are they at this age? wOuld you recomend holding off and getting ones that a bit older...or with the proper care are they pretty hardy even at this young age.

Well Let him get used to his new surrounding first, wait a week or two or even three if you want, I would say around two. After that sit the Kritter Keeper on your bed or on the floor and take him out for a bit. Work with him. At first try only a couple minutes and if he calms down work a bit more with him!

Have fun with the new gecko!

[Mim]

Thanks so much for your reply I have spent the week getting the tank all set up - i have to get some more "foliage" but overall i think its almost set.

I checked the temps in the reptile room over a couple of days and i am finding that it does spike to 82-83 in the day, so i am definately going to keep him in the living room. The temps in the living room stay 70-72 all day, dropping to 68-70 at night. I know that these temps are within the appropriate range but i just worry because they are on the low end - is there any harm in the temps being constantly around 70??

Also, here is a picture of the tank as of now - any tips or advice?

[PandaParade]

Not at all, In fact that great!

[Mim]

Excellent!

The only thng i might change is that i will section it off to make it smaller depending on how tiny the gecko is (i havent seen him yet).

So its in the living room officially now - the temps are 70-72 during the day, this is definately not too low, right?

[PandaParade]

Perfect temps, and dont worry if it goes up or down a bit!
These geckos prefer height so f you can, you can flip the tank on its side long ways also! that is if your lid will work out with standing on its side.

[rhatfield]

At two to three weeks, it is going to be tiny, around two grams. You diffenelt will want to keep in a critter keeper or section the cage off. That cage will be a crestie paradise. Nice job! Good luck and welcome

[Mim]

Thanks Im glad the temps are ok...I was a bit nervous!

I know they prefer more height, i have a 20high and a 29 gallon tank available for when he gets older, but i figured since he will be SO tiny he will probably have plenty of space in that tank. I will definately put a divider in and make the tank nice and small for him. I was originally gonna go with a kritter keepr but since the tank has to be in the living room i was worried about my younger cat trying to knock the tank over, those kritter keeper are so lightweight i didnt want to risk it!

So i will work on the divider today...im just waiting for my CGD to arrive! Should be picking up the little guy tomorrow...im so excited and nervous...i will keep you all posted :-D

[PandaParade]

great! youll have to post pics!!

[FastFoward5k]

1. Supplementation. Do i just mix calcium in with the CGD, or is it complete enough that it does not require me to add any calcium? Will cresties lick calcium from a separate dish of it? Should i be dusting the crickets?

There is plenty of calcium in the meal replacement powder. You shouldn't need to add any supplements to it. If you have a gravid female, the calcium supplemented Crested Gecko Diet that Matt sells is perfect. I wouldn't mix calcium on my own, Matt's is all measured out perfectly. You should dust the crickets with calcium and D3 like you would with any other reptile.

2. Humidity levels. Im going to be digitally measuring his humidity levels but im a little unclear as to what the exact level should be?

You don't really need a digital hygrometer. If you have one already, it's fine, but it isn't worth the money. They aren't real picky on humidity. Keep it above fifty per cent at all times. I spray my crested gecko twice a day, bringing it up to around seventy or eighty per cent for about an hour after each misting.

3. Diet. How many crickets are ok? i know that they can be fed 100% CGD, but i also understand (if i am correct) that some crickets are ok as well. Is offering a few (say 4-5) small crickets a couple times a week too much?

That is a little much. I would say four crickets once a week for a baby. As it gets older, I would feed five or six once a week. But feeding crickets more than once a week could cause health concerns. Also, feed a very small amount of crested gecko diet every other day of its life.

4. Temps. This is my big question, im very concerned about over heating my crestie. I have two options for temp ranges in my house. I can keep him in the reptile room where all my other herps are - this room has an ambient temp of 78-80 degrees, but on warmer days there is a a chance of the temps getting a bit higher. Night time temps in the reptile room are usually 65-70degrees. My other option is to house him in the main living area of the house where the ambient temps are around 72. The night time temp of the house is also 65-70 degrees. Im a bit nervous that my reptile room might be too hot, but my house might be a bit too cold. Whats your thoughts?

That is fine. As long as there are not prolonged periods of over eighty-five degrees, you should be fine. The ideal temperature range is seventy-two to eighty degrees. Up to eighty-three is okay, but do not let it get over eighty five degrees for more than a few hours. I know someone who's crested gecko got shriveled two days after she got it because she put a seventy-five watt basking light over it - she obviously did no research, impulse buy.

5. My last and final question is this - because this is essentially my first crestie (I had one years ago but not for very long) i am very nervous about anything going wrong. I feel pretty comfortable about this guy because the breeder is my friend and she assures me he is eating the CGD and crickets and overall doing well. But he is so young. How fragile are they at this age? wOuld you recomend holding off and getting ones that a bit older...or with the proper care are they pretty hardy even at this young age.

They are not fragile. Mim, I know you are very experienced and you should have no problems at all with him. Even though it is only a couple weeks old, they are still fairly hardy at this age. Make sure he eats and poops whenever you feed him and keep a close eye on his weight. You'll be fine. The only thing I have to disagree is that you shouldn't keep him in the adult cage even when it is divided. It is much easier to monitor the gecko in a one to five gallon plastic container or aquarium than in a divided tank. The simplest and best set up for a baby is a two-and-a-half gallon Kritter Keeper with a few sheets of cardboard eggcrate (like you would use for crickets and roaches), a paper towel roll (like you would use for hamsters, mice, and gerbils), and a food and water dish.

Remember: Never feed the crested gecko its crickets while it is in its cage. Move the gecko into a small container to feed or hand feed him his insects.


Could you please post another picture of the cage? It got deleted.