# Crested Gecko Newbie



## datseika (Jun 13, 2011)

Hi everyone, I'm currently looking at getting three crested geckos come August / September time. I chose cresties because they seem to be a good beginners lizard, and they look fantastic. 

Any way I have a few questions about getting started and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. I'm currently considering buying from lilyexotic as the cresties they are producing look phenomenal and was wondering how highly recommended they come? 

Secondly I was wondering about how to keep my young cresties, how long can I keep them together before having to determine the sex. Roughly what size tank should they be kept in as hatchlings and at what age should I consider moving them into a larger tank, I'm thinking Exo Terra PT2602 or PT2607, or maybe even building my own. 

Finally, I'm a little concerned about keeping them in the same room as other reptiles, I am going to be living with someone who has a corn snake and two tortoise. We've got a spare bedroom in the house and would like to have a reptile room, would this work? 

As you may be able to tell I'm very excited about getting my new friends, but I dont want to jump in head first without any idea of what I'm doing. 

Whew, long first post...


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## MP reptiles (Dec 30, 2010)

you should start with one IMO


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

MP reptiles said:


> you should start with one IMO



Why? So long as the OP does plenty of research there is no reason why they can't get 3 if this is what they want & have the space to accomodate them :2thumb:.

OP, if you are buying tiny hatchlings they can live in a faunarium for quite a while. Just remember that Cresties like to climb so the height of any tank is very important, more so than ground space. My male is in a 45x45x45 Exo Terra & my 7 months old is in a 30x30x45 Exo Terra :2thumb:.


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## MP reptiles (Dec 30, 2010)

maybe thats why i said imo in my opinion because as im sure a lot of people would agree that starting out with 1 is best but at the end of the day they can still do what they want


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## datseika (Jun 13, 2011)

corny girl said:


> Why? So long as the OP does plenty of research there is no reason why they can't get 3 if this is what they want & have the space to accomodate them :2thumb:.
> 
> OP, if you are buying tiny hatchlings they can live in a faunarium for quite a while. Just remember that Cresties like to climb so the height of any tank is very important, more so than ground space. My male is in a 45x45x45 Exo Terra & my 7 months old is in a 30x30x45 Exo Terra :2thumb:.


If your 7 month old turns out to be female, will you put them together or keep them separate?


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## MP reptiles (Dec 30, 2010)

you should not keep a male and female together because of the hastle the male can cause the female includign stress. It can also mean that the female lays eggs at too young an age and can cause death.
Obviously peple put them together to breed but normally it is not advised.


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

datseika said:


> If your 7 month old turns out to be female, will you put them together or keep them separate?



No, they will be kept separately & only put together for breeding once they have reached the correct weights. As MP reptiles says the male will hassle the female constantly to breed which is very stressfull to her. So they will be put together just for breeding (think it's only for a short period of 7-14 days).


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

I would also advise starting with one just to start with, so that you know what to look out for if anything is wrong, or getting several older sexed cresties if you wished to get more then one, and make sure you have the seperate vivs set up incase anything happens, 2 females can live in a 45x45x60cm viv, or the Exo Terra PT2607, but be warned that 2 females wont always get along, and so you'd have to look out for any bullying/dominance issues

a 45x45x45 would fit a single one, but thats the minimum i would advise

Mine have always been in a 45x45x60 viv  since hatchlings

Depends on the temps in the rep room  most are quite warm, and cresties are not fans of heat i recall that temps of over around 33C is fatal to them...

Oh, and i do recommend lillyexotics xD i got my first one from them


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## MP reptiles (Dec 30, 2010)

yep my one was from them very good prices and also £20 delivery all over mailand uk which is a bargain i got a blonde harlequin who is stunning and he/she is still in a 30x30x45 but will be upgraded to a 45x45x60 in about 1 month -2 months depending on how big he/she gets in that time frame


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## Chunk247 (May 30, 2010)

if this is your first reptile then you should ideally only get one, especially if they cannot be sexed.

keeping reptiles in the same room is fine.


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## datseika (Jun 13, 2011)

Based on what people are saying, and after a discussion with my flat mate to be, we have decided that we are going to get two crested hatchlings in August/September, one each. 

We're going to start them both in a large faunarium together, and move them into a slightly larger vivarium which he has spare at the minute when they've grown a little. 

We're hoping they'll both turn out to be female, with a bit of luck we'll be able to move them both happily into the 45x45x60 viv I'm going to set up while they are growing. If they turn out to be males or one of each we'll separate them. 

Thanks for the advice guys.


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## Cairwen (Jun 16, 2010)

I would definitely advise only getting one to start out with.
As mentioned above, it gives you time to get to know the species, their habits and also, what to look for should they get ill etc.

If, after a couple of months, you are getting along fine and feel you could cope with more, then go for it!! I got my second crestie about 8/9 months after my first one. Just so I was confident in how to handle them and look after them properly.

I know have three!! 

Oh and you can keep babies in faunariums, but I would say put them seperately, means you dont have loads of cresties trying to escape when you go to handle them!!

Good luck with them


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## Baby_DJ (Sep 24, 2008)

datseika said:


> Based on what people are saying, and after a discussion with my flat mate to be, we have decided that we are going to get two crested hatchlings in August/September, one each.
> 
> We're going to start them both in a large faunarium together, and move them into a slightly larger vivarium which he has spare at the minute when they've grown a little.
> 
> ...



You would need a slightly bigger exo for two. 
These are the 'recommended sizes'
45x45x60 - one
60x45x60 - two


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## kitschyduck (May 30, 2010)

I'd recommend you don't just cross your fingers that they're both females by chance. Why not get ones that can be sexed or a baby one and once you know what sex it is, get another female if the one you have is female too?


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## Jasia (Feb 15, 2009)

From reading through this post I personally think you have done a lot of thinking about this, looked into it and then come on for some advice (and maybe a bit of back up).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but you are the one who can decide if you can manage 2 or not, and as you have said 1 will be yours and 1 will be your flat mates. You will have 2 set ups so you are ready if there are any issues with having them in together.

I don't see a problem with you getting 2 at the same time, all you have to do is be aware of any issues that could arise and have plans in place just incase.

Good luck with them, they are great pets. I love mine. :flrt:


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

45x45x60 is fine for 2 i think  

i also think its okay for you to get two, cause technically one is yours, one your flatmates  

but i would advise you house them seperately, males will develop much faster and earlier, and can end up with you having either 2 fighty males, or a very young gravid female who isnt of breeding weight


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

if you get hatchlings they have to live in a large faunarium until they're 4 months old this is because theyre so small and they wouldnt be able to find their food


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## datseika (Jun 13, 2011)

Jasia said:


> From reading through this post I personally think you have done a lot of thinking about this, looked into it and then come on for some advice (and maybe a bit of back up).
> 
> Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but you are the one who can decide if you can manage 2 or not, and as you have said 1 will be yours and 1 will be your flat mates. You will have 2 set ups so you are ready if there are any issues with having them in together.
> 
> ...


Absolutely right, I've done a lot of research, but there's a whole bunch of contradictory advice online, and I needed a little more guidance, and as I said, my flat mate knows a lot more about reptiles than I do, and knows a lot of reptile keepers in the area which will be able to offer advice if something unexpected should happen, plus I live less than 2 minutes drive from an emergency vet, so I'm hoping I'll have all bases covered in terms of back up and support when it comes to caring for my crestie. 

If either of them show any signs that they could be male, we'll separate them immediately. I've looked into how to start identifying them, but I'll probably be on the forums for second opinions all the time once I've picked them up. 

I've considered other lizards, but I think I've really got my heart set on a crestie now. I'd quite happily get one, but I think my flat mate really wants to get his own too, so really I don't think there should be any issues with two.


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

To be honest if its male, and of the right weight you'll KNOW its a male *cough* its fairly obvious


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

if you really want two you could either buy two adult or subadult females, or buy two babies and to be safe house them in separate fauns until 4 months, and then house them in large RUBS until 6-7 months, and then split appropriately if they're m/f or m/m


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

datseika said:


> Absolutely right, I've done a lot of research, but there's a whole bunch of contradictory advice online, and I needed a little more guidance, and as I said, my flat mate knows a lot more about reptiles than I do, and knows a lot of reptile keepers in the area which will be able to offer advice if something unexpected should happen, plus I live less than 2 minutes drive from an emergency vet, so I'm hoping I'll have all bases covered in terms of back up and support when it comes to caring for my crestie.
> 
> If either of them show any signs that they could be male, we'll separate them immediately. I've looked into how to start identifying them, but I'll probably be on the forums for second opinions all the time once I've picked them up.
> 
> I've considered other lizards, but I think I've really got my heart set on a crestie now. I'd quite happily get one, but I think my flat mate really wants to get his own too, so really I don't think there should be any issues with two.




Sounds like you have done lots of research :2thumb:. You have most things covered, i say go for it & good luck. How can you resist these cute faces.....










I spent over 2 1/2 months researching before i bought the one above, then 2-3 weeks later i bought my male :2thumb:.


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## emmilllyyy (Oct 9, 2010)

i researched for 4 months and got my baby gizmo, he was 6 weeks old and now he's a gorgeous Halloween partial pinner male 









within a week I purchased a male with his setup because he was only £90, and he's gorgeous so was a chance I couldn't miss..









and tuesday I recieved this gorgeous girly from hissnhers









trust me they're addictive!:lol2:


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## datseika (Jun 13, 2011)

Aw they're so cute. :3


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## tigger79 (Aug 22, 2006)

or if u were feeling really daring you could go for a breeding group with setups


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