# crested geckos for a beginner?



## shakey (Apr 29, 2010)

me and my partner are new to reptile ownership and have been doing lots of research and will be looking into things thoroughly before we make any decisions but wanted some advice please

we were looking around and geckos seem to be a popular choice for newbie owners due to ease of care and set up and diet all bonuses for us. we were especialy liking the look of crested geckos. however lots of people seem to think they are very boring uninteresting pets spend most of their time hiding. also are they easy to handle? these are 2 major concerens. also a baisc idea of purchase price would be good please?

if any one has any opinions on more suitable 1st time reptiles then advice recieved obviously we will read up but ease of care is important? we are leaning more towards the lizards than anything else i like the idea of a chameleon but have been advised def not a good starter pet.

we have a large glass aquariam sitting idle can we use this if moded properly?

any help appreciated


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## Jonnoak (Jan 10, 2010)

Hi, me and my daughter are also pretty new to crestied geckos and so far its been all good. Its pretty easy to handle (a bit jumpy sometimes, but getting better). 
There is a lot of care sheets about so have a good read and please bear in mind they are arboreal (like to climb!) so need some hight to play in 

Keep your eyes on the classifieds for someone local and to have a look at and have a chat before you purchase.


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## Dexter612 (Apr 2, 2009)

The boring part comes from them being nocturnal most likely, people expect their reptiles to be up and about all day like they are, failing to take into account that the majority are nocturnal. If you want something diurnal, look into beardie care, beginners love them, they're relatively easy to care for once you learn their diet and get the temps right, only con in relation to cresties is that beardies take up more room.


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

As Dexter said, the most boring part is probaly them being nocturnal, but they sometime do come out at day. Most gecko are nocturnal, but day gecko is diurnal. A lovely specie, great to watch, but not really a pet to handle. If you really want a pet you can handle you could go for a bearded dragon, although they need a 4x2x2 enclosure, they're great to handle. If you want a bearded dragon but don't have enough room, look into Rankins Dragon, there like a dwarf bearded dragon(but don't call them that, call them Rankins Dragon)
Hope this helps.


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## shakey (Apr 29, 2010)

thanks for the replies.

the fact they arent a pet to handle makes me want to consider a bearded but i dont know if we would be able to properly care for one also i understand they are quite expensive to keep?

we have a large glass aquariam would this be suitable for a bearded?


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

My first reptile was a crestie. I don't see why you can't handle them. Mine are all hand tame and friendly. You can hand feed my female. Just got to take the handling slowly and gentle. No more than a few minutes at first and mine stay out maybe 15 - 20 mins each evening now 

Hmm the glass aquarium isn't likely to be too much use unless you put in a sliding screen lid for something terrestrial. Cresties are arboreal. I grew mine up in an exo terra 30 x 30 x 45 and then went on to the 45 x 45 x 60 (although my male is in a 45 x 45 x 45 as he struggles to catch his food at bit in anything bigger). Exo terras are perfect for cresties and you can often buy them at nearly new quality second hand and very cheap. (I paid £50 for my last 45 x 45 x 60).


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## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

Crested geckos are good for beginners as they are pretty easy to care for, They are not as forgiving as some other lizards if you do things wrong and can go down hill fast if not cared for properly, But if you follow a good care sheet or book and dont cut corners they are pretty easy. They can get quite tame if you handle them reguarly but will be just as happy to be left alone.


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

Cresties are cool & definately not boring! My Keiko is out during the day too! He is so much fun to watch hunting crickets!

I'm getting a breeding pair now! Hehe


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## x_firefly_x (Sep 18, 2009)

xvickyx said:


> Cresties are cool & definately not boring! My Keiko is out during the day too! He is so much fun to watch hunting crickets!
> 
> I'm getting a breeding pair now! Hehe


hehe I also have a breeding pair now to lol! Addictive aren't they 

I'd agree with everyone else in that yes, it may be the nocturnal aspect making them seem boring to some people, but as I'm not really in the house during the day I don't particularly notice that lol And they are very active at night, sooo much fun watching them hunting!! 

I'd disagree with them not being very handleable though, I think as long as you get them used to it slowly, as someone said above, a few min at a time then build it up, then they are fine. One of my males has to be the most laid back crestie I've seen, he just comes onto my hand, has a bit of a climb on me and then settles down and sits on my shoulder!  Even my tiny babies are happy to be out and climbing over my hands, hardest part I find with mine is getting them back in their tank lol!!

But I guess in the end no matter what people tell you, it will just come down to which lizard you like most personally. But I would definitely recommend cresties as good pets.

Good luck in your decision and I hope you enjoy your new pet, whichever one you decide on


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## Malekko (Apr 10, 2010)

*Handling Tips????*



x_firefly_x said:


> hehe I also have a breeding pair now to lol! Addictive aren't they
> 
> I'd agree with everyone else in that yes, it may be the nocturnal aspect making them seem boring to some people, but as I'm not really in the house during the day I don't particularly notice that lol And they are very active at night, sooo much fun watching them hunting!!
> 
> ...


I've had my little crestie Malekko for 2 weeks now, he's adorable and we feel like proud parents, watching his every move when he's up and about in the evening. He's 5 months old, seems healthy and active enough and has settled in nicely.:flrt:

I'd love him to come out of his tank and sit with us, and I've tried to put my hand in the tank waiting for him to climb on and he goes in the other direction, he's really not interested. I've tried to feed him off my finger, even putting a little touch of smoothie to try and entice him, but nothing. can you give me any tips on handling??:whip::whistling2:

I've taken him out twice since i've had him to clean his tank, one of the times giving him a bit of a sauna with warm kitchen roll in a tupperware pot with holes in the top as he was sliding about all over the place, he really wasn't impressed with this at all and sat glaring at me in his tank for AGES afterwards! I've looked and looked and am sure i can't see any unshed skin and his tank usually has a fairly high humidity, but he still seems to be sliding a little, but definitely an improvement on before the sauna, so am sure i may have to stress him again in a few days to give him another one, perhaps it's food stuck to his little feet??

Even though he hates me for it, both times i've had to kind of grab him (as gently as possible of course) rather than entice him onto my hand otherwise we'd never get anywhere, and i knew i HAD to give him the sauna and clean out his cage, i don't want to have to grab him and feel so guilty after doing so, it'd be great if i could try and tame him to climb onto my hand to clean his cage, i feel like i'm frightening him everytime and i don't want him to be frightened of me, i wan't him to love me as much as i love him. :blush:

be grateful for any tips and advice. :notworthy:

Thanks!!!


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## x_firefly_x (Sep 18, 2009)

Malekko said:


> I've had my little crestie Malekko for 2 weeks now, he's adorable and we feel like proud parents, watching his every move when he's up and about in the evening. He's 5 months old, seems healthy and active enough and has settled in nicely.:flrt:
> 
> I'd love him to come out of his tank and sit with us, and I've tried to put my hand in the tank waiting for him to climb on and he goes in the other direction, he's really not interested. I've tried to feed him off my finger, even putting a little touch of smoothie to try and entice him, but nothing. can you give me any tips on handling??:whip::whistling2:
> 
> ...


Hi,

Congratulations on your new crestie, I love the name to!  I'm by far no expert on cresties as I have only kept them a few months myself, hopefully someone with more experience can come and answer your questions better than I can but I'll just answer the best I can from my own exprience of my lot 

He's 5 months old , so still pretty young, my youngest ones are almost months old now so a similar age to yours. I handle them by just "grabbing" them, obv as gently as possible out of their faunarium and letting them walk over my hands for a couple of minutes and then I put them back in their tank. I gradually extend the amount of time they are out of their tank also. They were very jumpy when I first got them but they have settled down wonderfully now. I think the main thing is just patience, and don't worry to much about having to grab them them out, you will basically have to do that until they get used to you. Even with 2 of my adults I have to go in and get them out, but once out they are fine. Its only my one male Tanuki that actually comes to the front of the tank when he wants to come out lol!!  So basically what I'm trying to say in a long winded way is, don't feel guilty about having to grab him, if you don't grab them out u won't get all that far with handling lol. It will take time but he WILL get used to it 

As for the lack of stickiness, one of mine, Kiki had that a while ago but that was because she decided to walk through her blooming food bowl :lol2: so she had to have a "bath" to try and get the food off her, she was not impressed though gave me a right "death stare" lol. Might just be worth having a thorough check of his feet to check for dried on food? Other than that I'm not sure what lack of stickiness could be...

Hope that helped anyway, just keep persevering with the handling, he'll get used to it one day, I promise! :2thumb:


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## Malekko (Apr 10, 2010)

*Thanks!!*



x_firefly_x said:


> Hi,
> 
> Congratulations on your new crestie, I love the name to!  I'm by far no expert on cresties as I have only kept them a few months myself, hopefully someone with more experience can come and answer your questions better than I can but I'll just answer the best I can from my own exprience of my lot
> 
> ...


Excellent advice, thank you so much, really appreciate it:no1: i like chatting to other new owners, helps me realise that we're not doing so bad really, i would have been driven crazy with stress over the past couple of weeks without this forum :lol2:

I reckon the stickiness is possibly food too, but i'm still unsure of what unshed skin looks like and think perhaps i'm looking too closely, do you think unshed skin is obvious??

Have u still got yours in the little plastic faunarium then? When do you think you might put her in the bigger viv age/size? Do you use heat and light, if so, could you tell me what you bought, i'm a little confused at the heat thing, i'm in the uk and the weather is mild enough not to need any additional heat at the mo, but i'm sure the cold weather'll kick in before we know it.

(i've also posted my question on a new post in the forum, just to see what other people have to say, thought i'd let you know so you know i'm not going mental and keep reposting the same thing over and over :lol2

Much appreciated.
: victory:


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## x_firefly_x (Sep 18, 2009)

Malekko said:


> Excellent advice, thank you so much, really appreciate it:no1: i like chatting to other new owners, helps me realise that we're not doing so bad really, i would have been driven crazy with stress over the past couple of weeks without this forum :lol2:
> 
> I reckon the stickiness is possibly food too, but i'm still unsure of what unshed skin looks like and think perhaps i'm looking too closely, do you think unshed skin is obvious??
> 
> ...


Ahh no worries, glad I'm actually being of some help lol! I agree it is nice chatting to other new owners, and this forum has been an absolute gem for me, so much useful information, would have been lost without it!

Mine have had the odd occasion of a little bit of stuck shed, though its disappeared within a day so I must just have caught them mid shed lol. But its pretty obvious to spot in general I've found, hard to describe...but its a lot duller than the rest of the crestie and sometimes you can see the edges of it peeling up and sometimes it looks a bit wrinkly. That has to be the worst explanation ever, sorry :lol2: If I had pics it would be easier to describe. But it should be pretty obvious if its unshed skin. Only problem with checking for either food or unshed skin on the feet I've found is getting the little buggers to stay still, my lot give me a right run around whenever I want to check them, swear they do it on purpose :lol2:
Mine the similar age to yours are currently still in their faunariums, they are both around the 4/5g mark at the moment. I'm going to leave them in there for maybe another month or so and then move them up to a slightly bigger tank(I have a 60w x 30d x 40h perspex viv which I am going to split in half so they are each in a 30x30x40 and leave them in that till they are big enough to go into either a 45x45x60 or 60x45x60 exo terra. But yeah I guess the move into a bigger viv kind of depends on your perception in a way, basically when you feel like they are outgrowing their viv or they look a bit cramped, move them up. Just as long as there is plenty of foliage and places to hide in the bigger one the little one should be happy 

I have UV light on only one viv at the moment, thats my rescue cresties viv as he had mbd when I took him in so was v.calcium deficient so I have the uv to help him with calcium metabolism and production of vitamin D3. I'm planning on putting uv into the others vivs though at some point soon, I mean cresties do fine without it, but I just like to try my best to mimic natural conditions they would experience in the wild, plus the uv does have some benefits. But its not been proven to be essential, so its personal preference really.  As for heating I live at the moment in a flat with no double glazing and large rooms with high ceilings...so its goes flipping arctic in winter!! So cold its unbelievable, so I had mine on a heatmat on a stat during the cold period, but now its warmer I'm not using any heating as room temp is adequate. But I have the heatmats just in case of another cold spell, u know what british weather is like lol!!


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## shakey (Apr 29, 2010)

well we went round all the exotic pet shops in our area and got lots of advice i have ordered a book by someone whos name i cannot remember lol philippe de vo.....? been reassured its a good one

after lots of consideration we brought home diego the crested gecko and i am in loooovvvee his sticky little feet and little tounge :2thumb:

he is in his faunariam just on some paper towel with a bit of foliage to hide and climb and a bottle top for food. he is having some crickets tonight. we are going to move him across to the large glass enclosure when he is bigger.

thanks for all the tips


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## rhys s (Mar 8, 2010)

they maybe nocturnal but i see mine out early around 7pm i turn lights off at 8pm . while i also hand feed mine which is really nice to do . they can be snappy sometimes while i still get attack by one of mine who just hangs onto my finger .

but overall this is a great speices to have.


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## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

Yeah the nocturnal thing is not a problem, My crested gecko may not be active in the day but you can always see it stuck to a branch, unlike other nocturnal geckos that stay in a hide all day


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## darwin2 (Mar 20, 2010)

i'm not an expert either, only had mine a month or so but here goes. 

you can almost always see my 5month old, the 9weeks old is a bit trickier to find due to size and lack of tail! their also up around 7-8pm waiting to come out for a run then get fed, its become a ritual!

handling is not a problem if approached in the right manner. i started with the hand walking thing for like a minute and within a week he'd run up my arm quite happily. i have noticed that if i can't get him out one night for some reason, he's a tad reluctant the next night but fine once he's out. 
as for being nocturnal, i work nights so handle before work and watch when i get home, it means i'm not woken by them crashing around hunting on bug nights!!

good luck with your lil one


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