# Any advice for Crested Gecko Setup?



## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Hi, I am new to the forums. I have had a Crested Gecko for a few months, everything is going well. He's in an exo terra 18x18x24 with exo terra moss as substrate, a few plastic plants, a piece of wood and a magnetic feeding platform that I made for him. He seems happy enough but I see all the "Naturalistic Planted Vivariums" on here and everywhere else and really want to try to do one.
This is the current setup:









I have experience with plants in Aquariums but not Terrestrial. My plan is to use the expanding foam and coco fibre method for a background. With areas to plant up high in the background. I will be adding a drainage layer with Clay pellets and then soil on top with a barrier in between. I really like the plants "Neoregelia Meyendorfii", Cryptanthus 'novistar', Boston Fern and Birds nest fern.

My questions are as follows:

- What kind of Expanding foam is safe and readily available? I've heard most are safe when cured, but would rather be sure.
- Where am I likely to be able to buy the clay pellets?
- What mixture of substrate is best? (I've struggled to find organic soil in the past)
- What plants are suitable for a Crested Gecko? (I'd like a couple of bromeliads or other epiphytic plant, a tall sturdy background plant and a few medium/low growing plants)
- Will I need to have micro fauna such as Springtails and Woodlice (I'd rather not)


Sorry for all the questions. Just want to make sure I'm getting it all right.

Picture of my Crestie, Dovahkiin (Any Skyrim Fans?)









Thanks


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

Job4acowboy said:


> Hi, I am new to the forums. I have had a Crested Gecko for a few months, everything is going well. He's in an exo terra 18x18x24 with exo terra moss as substrate, a few plastic plants, a piece of wood and a magnetic feeding platform that I made for him. He seems happy enough but I see all the "Naturalistic Planted Vivariums" on here and everywhere else and really want to try to do one.
> This is the current setup:
> image
> 
> ...


Hope this helps
Always happy to help if you need anything else

Dave


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Thanks for the help, that's great. Will be buying materials soon. Oncce I've done the background ill worry about what plants and soil etc to buy.
I don't mind changing the soil every now and again, just don't like the idea of having bugs in my room lol.
Just thinking about lighting aswell. At the moment I have an exo terra canopy with two Morrisons energy saving bulbs. Obviously these won't do, can you reccomend any specific lighting. I understand 6500k is the best to get. Will any daylight aquarium compact flourescent do.

Thanks again.


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## qbvbsite (Jul 2, 2012)

Job4acowboy said:


> Thanks for the help, that's great. Will be buying materials soon. Oncce I've done the background ill worry about what plants and soil etc to buy.
> I don't mind changing the soil every now and again, just don't like the idea of having bugs in my room lol.
> Just thinking about lighting aswell. At the moment I have an exo terra canopy with two Morrisons energy saving bulbs. Obviously these won't do, can you reccomend any specific lighting. I understand 6500k is the best to get. Will any daylight aquarium compact flourescent do.
> 
> Thanks again.


I didn't want bugs either but tropical spring tails and woodlice are small and unnoticable... plus they can't live outside the viv. (and would die if they got out). Having them there will break down the gecko's poop/pee so that all you have to do is spot clean the viv.


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## JPalmer (Jul 7, 2012)

Iv got the woodlice for my frogs tank! Can baily see them and they do a brilliant job! Well worth having in a planted viv!


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

qbvbsite said:


> I didn't want bugs either but tropical spring tails and woodlice are small and unnoticable... plus they can't live outside the viv. (and would die if they got out). Having them there will break down the gecko's poop/pee so that all you have to do is spot clean the viv.





JPalmer said:


> Iv got the woodlice for my frogs tank! Can baily see them and they do a brilliant job! Well worth having in a planted viv!


OK great, will have to re-consider. Where's the best place to buy them from?

Did a quick scan of wilkinsons on way home, found this expanding foam. Is it safe/suitable. Just double checking...










Ordering some black silicone now. If all goes to plan I can start on the background on Monday, getting excited now.


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

Job4acowboy said:


> OK great, will have to re-consider. Where's the best place to buy them from?
> 
> Did a quick scan of wilkinsons on way home, found this expanding foam. Is it safe/suitable. Just double checking...
> 
> ...


Dartfrog sell springtails and so on if i remember correctly. That foam is fine. And yeah, lighting wise you'll need something giving out light in the 6500k range, i'm no expert on this though, I basically muddle along with tubes, however I did bookmark another users suggestion a couple of months ago, Mini Lynx Fast Start 23W ES 860 10K Hr 31175 Low Energy Light Bulb Sylvania apparently these are pretty good as far as compacts go :2thumb:

Dave


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Job4acowboy said:


> OK great, will have to re-consider. Where's the best place to buy them from?
> 
> Did a quick scan of wilkinsons on way home, found this expanding foam. Is it safe/suitable. Just double checking...
> 
> ...





my_shed said:


> Dartfrog sell springtails and so on if i remember correctly. That foam is fine. And yeah, lighting wishttp://www.dartfrog.co.uk/e you'll need something giving out light in the 6500k range, i'm no expert on this though, I basically muddle along with tubes, however I did bookmark another users suggestion a couple of months ago, Mini Lynx Fast Start 23W ES 860 10K Hr 31175 Low Energy Light Bulb Sylvania apparently these are pretty good as far as compacts go :2thumb:
> 
> Dave


If you can bear to deal with them you can introduce ordinary European woodlice, easily collected from under rocks and bits of wood. Cresties do like to eat them, though. As mentioned above, most of the bugs you intoduce can't survive outside of the viv- and you will hardly see them, while they get on with their work of breaking down all the crap.
EDIT: You can buy cultures of the useful bugs from Dartfrog: http://www.dartfrog.co.uk/


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Ron Magpie said:


> If you can bear to deal with them you can introduce ordinary European woodlice, easily collected from under rocks and bits of wood. Cresties do like to eat them, though. As mentioned above, most of the bugs you intoduce can't survive outside of the viv- and you will hardly see them, while they get on with their work of breaking down all the crap.
> EDIT: You can buy cultures of the useful bugs from Dartfrog: Dartfrog - Everything for the Amphibian Keeper


If the crestie eats the won't it cause impaction? I tried feeding my crestie crickets once and he just ignored them so maybe it'll be cool. I just worry about putting things in with the crestie that may harm him. 
What about parasites etc from wild caught woodlice?
Am i overthinking this?


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Ok, so i bought the foam and some small plant pots for the background. Will it be necessary to provide drainage for the pots in the background? If so how do I go about this.


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## qbvbsite (Jul 2, 2012)

Job4acowboy said:


> Ok, so i bought the foam and some small plant pots for the background. Will it be necessary to provide drainage for the pots in the background? If so how do I go about this.


I personally would do this. Just use a straw or something from the drain holes in the pot when putting on the foam.


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

qbvbsite said:


> I personally would do this. Just use a straw or something from the drain holes in the pot when putting on the foam.


I have loads of left over aquarium airline tubing from my old fish tank that I could use. Thanks for the tip!


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Didn't want to start a new thread for this quick question. I just finished siliconing the glass were the foam will be about an hour ago, turned out pretty good.
Do I have to wait to put the expanding foam on or not? The silicone is dry to the touch but obviously it still smells.
I'm ok waiting for tomorrow but would like to do it tonight if possible.

Thanks.


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

OK background is finished.










I now need to decide what plants I want in it. I've decided on:

"Guzmania theresae" for the left pot
"Cryptanthus novistar" for the middle pot
"Cryptanthus microglazioui" for the right pot
"Tradescantia albiflora" (Wandering Jew) To climb up the Corkbark/Branch (Branch isn't in the picture, but its the height of the tank and will sit in the left back corner)
A peace lily for the Back right

Leaf litter for the floor area.


I just need an idea for a plant for the front left, Its gotta be small, low growing, and preferably green as I have enough red in there now.

Can anyone suggest anything.

If you have any comments on my plant choice please let me know. Not going to buy them just yet.

Thanks


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Fittonia might be worth trying for your short plant :Fittonia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia you can often find it in branches of Wilkinsons or Homebase.

To answer your earlier question, no, woodlice won't cause impaction, and although there may be some small risk of parasites, I've never had a problem from feeding them to all kinds of reptiles and amphibians.


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Looks like the start to a great viv!

I'm happy to advise on plant growth if you want me to,

John


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Ron Magpie said:


> Fittonia might be worth trying for your short plant :Fittonia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia you can often find it in branches of Wilkinsons or Homebase.
> 
> To answer your earlier question, no, woodlice won't cause impaction, and although there may be some small risk of parasites, I've never had a problem from feeding them to all kinds of reptiles and amphibians.


Thanks, had a look in wilkinsons buy couldn't see any, bought a different plant, not sure what it is. will post a pic later.



Arcadiajohn said:


> Looks like the start to a great viv!
> 
> I'm happy to advise on plant growth if you want me to,
> 
> John


Thanks, I will be sure to ask you if I have any questions. I'm sure i will lol.


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## jimskio (Nov 28, 2009)

my_shed said:


> Dartfrog sell springtails and so on if i remember correctly. That foam is fine. And yeah, lighting wise you'll need something giving out light in the 6500k range, i'm no expert on this though, I basically muddle along with tubes, however I did bookmark another users suggestion a couple of months ago, Mini Lynx Fast Start 23W ES 860 10K Hr 31175 Low Energy Light Bulb Sylvania apparently these are pretty good as far as compacts go :2thumb:
> 
> Dave


Just thought I would stick my nose in! I use two of them bulbs in my exo terra with a prayer plant and a birds nest fern, i have to keep hacking them back as they are out growing the tank even with limited soil. These bulbs seem to do an excellent job, one of the other smaller plants is under the shade of the prayer plant and keeps dying off until i hack it back and the dead plant can see the bulbs, then it sprouts again, so they definitely work!

the tank looks good! i shall be watching to see what inspiration I can nick for my next tank!


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

jimskio said:


> Just thought I would stick my nose in! I use two of them bulbs in my exo terra with a prayer plant and a birds nest fern, i have to keep hacking them back as they are out growing the tank even with limited soil. These bulbs seem to do an excellent job, one of the other smaller plants is under the shade of the prayer plant and keeps dying off until i hack it back and the dead plant can see the bulbs, then it sprouts again, so they definitely work!
> 
> the tank looks good! i shall be watching to see what inspiration I can nick for my next tank!


Thanks for the review on the bulbs, will definitely be buying them then. And thanks for commenting on the tank, I'm really happy with it. Took plenty of pics and will be doing a build journal when its finished. Just gotta wait for plants. Dartfrog.co.uk is closed at the moment so I've gotta wait for the 27th til they'll despatch them.

I bought this plant whilst I was out, can anyone ID it and let me know if its safe. I really liked the look of it, I know its not low growing lol but I had to get it.


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

Job4acowboy said:


> Thanks for the review on the bulbs, will definitely be buying them then. And thanks for commenting on the tank, I'm really happy with it. Took plenty of pics and will be doing a build journal when its finished. Just gotta wait for plants. Dartfrog.co.uk is closed at the moment so I've gotta wait for the 27th til they'll despatch them.
> 
> I bought this plant whilst I was out, can anyone ID it and let me know if its safe. I really liked the look of it, I know its not low growing lol but I had to get it.
> 
> image


Looks like a parlour palm, got one in with my cham (thanks to gill  ) They're safe and fine, although will grow to a decent size and need a fair depth of substrate.

Dave


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Yep, it's a parlour palm- I use these lots, as they are very useful, tough tallish plants. They grow *very* slowly, although eventually (*years!*) they will out-grow most vivs. They are one of the few plants that I would advise to keep potted, with the pot sunk into the soil- they hate root disturbance, and grow better confined to an extent.


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

Thanks guys. Might use it in the setup, depends how it looks.
So my plan is when I've planted the viv and introduced the springtails and woodlice ill wait a week before I put in the gecko. Give everything a chance to settle and establish itself.
What kind of substrate mix do you guys suggest. I have organic soil, eco earth, exo terra tree fern and spagnum moss. Was gna get some orchid bark but totally forgot about it when I was at the garden centre.
Also im buying a wandering Jew plant, hows best to plant it (does it need to be in the soil) and train it to climb up the branch and corkbark?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm a total noob to terrestrial plants.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Job4acowboy said:


> Thanks guys. Might use it in the setup, depends how it looks.
> So my plan is when I've planted the viv and introduced the springtails and woodlice ill wait a week before I put in the gecko. Give everything a chance to settle and establish itself.
> What kind of substrate mix do you guys suggest. I have organic soil, eco earth, exo terra tree fern and spagnum moss. Was gna get some orchid bark but totally forgot about it when I was at the garden centre.
> Also im buying a wandering Jew plant, hows best to plant it (does it need to be in the soil) and train it to climb up the branch and corkbark?
> ...


We all have our different favored soil mixes, and most work. The bark is useful to help to keep the soil open and help drainage, but other variations also work. A week should be ok- beyond that, as long as you want to give is also fine- giveing all elements time to settle in. But don't panic, it *will* all settle, in the end. Tradescantia is one of those plants that roots everywhere and spreads like marmite, or pegs it for no reason at all. It usually does well, though, and you can shove rooted parts or even bits of stem into the soil wherever you want it to grow.


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

Ron Magpie said:


> We all have our different favored soil mixes, and most work. The bark is useful to help to keep the soil open and help drainage, but other variations also work. A week should be ok- beyond that, as long as you want to give is also fine- giveing all elements time to settle in. But don't panic, it *will* all settle, in the end. Tradescantia is one of those plants that roots everywhere and spreads like marmite, or pegs it for no reason at all. It usually does well, though, and you can shove rooted parts or even bits of stem into the soil wherever you want it to grow.


Lol too true on the tradescantia, i had a lovely healthy big plant that mysteriously perished, however the few little cuttings (mostly accidental) that jus got pushed in wherever have all gone mad 
If you're looking for a plant that'll do well and take up a bit of space I can recommend calathea, there are different varieties but they all look good and don't necessarily need much light so do quite well in a darker corner, plus they look good and jungly!


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## Job4acowboy (Jul 12, 2012)

I'll see how it goes, I know its going to be trial and error to start with. Same with planted fish tanks.
The peace lily i bought has wilted away, almost melted and its not even in the viv yet, still in it original pot. I suppose its down to the heat we've been having recently. Don't think ill be adding it to the viv, will put the palm in its place and i bought some fittonia for the front.

Any advice on the 3 bromeliads I bought for the pots?
"Guzmania theresae"
"Cryptanthus novistar"
"Cryptanthus microglazioui"


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