# Creasted Geckos Help



## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

Hey guys,

Some information on cressties would be nice, I'm thirteen and think about starting a four year reptile breading project, I've been told that Cressties are best starter gecks and I'm planning on getting two females for the first year (these wont be bredding intill i get to know them) and then I'll introduce a male later, Erm I need help on, Housing(viv sizes, Do they need seprated vivs ?, Price ??) Feeding(What do they eat ? Should I bread the bugs too to save money ??), Total price and Health,

Thank you,


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## Chunk247 (May 30, 2010)

it would be alot easier to start googling care sheets first, and don't get two until you've already had one.


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## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

Ok thanks


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

jottog said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Some information on cressties would be nice, I'm thirteen and think about starting a four year reptile breading project, I've been told that Cressties are best starter gecks and I'm planning on getting two females for the first year (these wont be bredding intill i get to know them) and then I'll introduce a male later, Erm I need help on, Housing(viv sizes, Do they need seprated vivs ?, Price ??) Feeding(What do they eat ? Should I bread the bugs too to save money ??), Total price and Health,




Housing will vary depending if you buy them together or individually, a single adult needs a minimum of a 45cmx45cmx45cm, a pair or trio 45cmx45cmx60cm minimum. If your buying the geckos from different sources you want to quarrentine them individually for at least 3 months (6 months + is always better though) before introducing them cause if 1 has something nasty the other is likely to catch it if living together, thats going to double your set up cost needing 2 vivs. You may struggle to find 2 females from the same source though, and females are a fair bit more to buy than unsexed juveniles so again this is going to bump up your start up costs. Two females may also not get on, its not too often that they dont get on but it does happen like in all species of animals.

Food wise, crested gecko diet (repashy or clarks) is best as their main diet to give them the right balance of nutrients and vitamins that they need, then optional ontop is live food; crickets, locust, roaches and the occasional waxworm, or mealworms as a treat. I like to give mine live food as a varient in their diet and it does help them grow at a quicker pace. For just a few geckos I wouldnt bother attempting to breed cricekts or locust as a setup for that will cost you a fair bit. Roaches are easy enough to breed if you wanted to breed your own livefood you can buy starter groups on the feeder classifieds.

Prices in rough:
45cmx45xcmx60cm exo terra - £60-£100 (you can get used ones from about £30, depends how you feel on a used tank)
Vines, plants, hides - £15-£35 depending how much you buy
Crested Gecko Diet - Starts at about £9 for Repashy or Clarkes, you can get komodo from about £4 but alot of geckos wont eat it.
Eco earth substrate - £4ish (or you can use kitchen roll which is cheaper)
Calcium powder & Vitamins for dusting bugs - £8ish
Food dish - £3-£4
Spray bottle - £4ish

Then youve got heating which you may or may not need depending on where your going to keep the tank and the temps that the room gets. If you do need additional heat it pushes the cost up a fair bit, a bulb with a holder and thermostat or a heat mat with a thermostat is going to bump you up another £50-£70.

Female crested geckos sell from anything between £80-£200 each, £120 is about the average price for one female.

Another option would be to start of with a pair of hatchlings, they cost £35-£70 each, you could house them in a large faunarium (£10ish) which will be ok for upto 8-12 months, small vine, cave/hut, hanging plant (£15ish) kitchen roll substrate, milk tops as food dishes, then your crested gecko diet, powders and spray bottle. You can house them together but you have to keep an eye out for fighting or bullying and if either look male youll have to split them until fully grown so 2 set ups might be a better idea but its your choice.

Starting from scratch buying everything can cost a fair bit if you go all in, however on the classifieds you can find some real bargains of geckos with their current setups included.


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## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

Thank you, What about feeding them baby food ?


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

jottog said:


> Thank you, What about feeding them baby food ?


Short answer, no.
Baby food is for babies, not geckos. There have been specially formulated diets, such as the ones mentioned by James and Hana, made so you do not have to feed baby food. It does not provide the right nutrients for them that this specialised diet does.


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## Cairwen (Jun 16, 2010)

Personally, i really would only start with one crestie.
That way, the set up cost is much lower , plus you can gain experience and learn how to care for them properly. Experience and knowledge is essential to have to ensure the health of your reptile. 

xx


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## trogdorable (Feb 4, 2011)

baby food is for human babys.
complete crestie diets are the way to go , komodo , repashy, zoomed, clarks.

if your thinkingof breeding them, do your own research as well rather than just asking for all the information on here. literally 5 minutes on google will give you lots of caresheets, so in the time youve been asking for information on here, you couldv have already found out.
have a look at pangea crested gecko site.


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## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

Thank you guys, this information is really helping, I got a £300 budget, do you reckon thats will be enough for one hatchling and its equipment and food ?


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

Ophexis said:


> Short answer, no.
> Baby food is for babies, not geckos. There have been specially formulated diets, such as the ones mentioned by James and Hana, made so you do not have to feed baby food. *It does not provide the right nutrients for them that this specialised diet does*.


^ This. The only time id even half consider using baby food would be if thats what the gecko is used to and wont take anything else and id be mixing crested gecko diet in with it bit by bit until it was on just crested gecko diet.


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

jottog said:


> Thank you guys, this information is really helping, I got a £300 budget, do you reckon thats will be enough for one hatchling and its equipment and food ?


Might be a bit tight... I went over £300 with my crestie, but I started with the adult sized tank right from the off. If you get a baby and house it in a faunarium for a few months, it gives you time to save up for the adult enclosure for when it's older.


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## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

Yeah i'm gonna start with a baby , thank you so much guys, my project seems its gonna go well already.


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## trogdorable (Feb 4, 2011)

id say £300 would be enough to get started on one. you got any rep shops near? just have a wee look and add the prices of everything you need.
how did you get £300 at 13? lol! if i had that much money at that age i think i would have exploded!


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## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

I've been saving for like 2-3 years LOL. Thats how bad I've wanted one of these


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

If you start of with a baby and a faunarium, you could easily do it for £100-£150 including the gecko if you dont need additional heat  I think its a good idea you want to start with a baby, youll have the time to handle it to ensure it becomes calm and handlable, its also really nice to see how they develop and change with age :flrt:


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

James_and_Hana said:


> If you start of with a baby and a faunarium, you could easily do it for £100-£150 including the gecko if you dont need additional heat  I think its a good idea you want to start with a baby, youll have the time to handle it to ensure it becomes calm and handlable, its also really nice to see how they develop and change with age :flrt:


Tell that to my little monster! :lol2:
He cost me an absolute bomb, is still somewhat skittish and wild, and the only change he's made with age is his blushing :lol2:


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## jottog (Apr 3, 2011)

Yeah I've wanted one of theese for many years, my mate had one, his parents didnt like it for a while, and then the whole family wants it, there just such good pets, and far more intreasting than any other animals.


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## andy007 (May 13, 2008)

Ophexis said:


> Might be a bit tight... I went over £300 with my crestie, but I started with the adult sized tank right from the off. If you get a baby and house it in a faunarium for a few months, it gives you time to save up for the adult enclosure for when it's older.


Wow, no wonder I keep selling out of stuff:lol2: Been doing young cresties with a small rainforest kit and all the extras for £110 including the cresty, and for larger cresties a 45x45x60 rainforest for £150 including cresty. 
Ran out of kits bar one now


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

Ophexis said:


> Tell that to my little monster! :lol2:
> He cost me an absolute bomb, is still somewhat skittish and wild, and the only change he's made with age is his blushing :lol2:


Lol aww you didnt have the best experience then  Naughty gecko :whip: I held onto a number off last years hatchlings as they werent selling I thought id sell them grown on at Donncaster in June when they were a much better sized and showed their potential. They have changed so much in colours, pattern and potential that now Im tempted to keep 6 I hadnt planned to :blush:


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

andy007 said:


> Wow, no wonder I keep selling out of stuff:lol2: Been doing young cresties with a small rainforest kit and all the extras for £110 including the cresty, and for larger cresties a 45x45x60 rainforest for £150 including cresty.
> Ran out of kits bar one now


:lol2: I totally splashed out for my little guy, went mad. But he was worth it. 
Also, part of the 'over £300' came from paying for a courier, who proceeded to smash the viv so I had to pay extra to repair it :devil: It made my introduction to cresties quite an infuriating one lol.



James_and_Hana said:


> Lol aww you didnt have the best experience then  Naughty gecko :whip: I held onto a number off last years hatchlings as they werent selling I thought id sell them grown on at Donncaster in June when they were a much better sized and showed their potential. They have changed so much in colours, pattern and potential that now Im tempted to keep 6 I hadnt planned to :blush:


He's still pretty young-ish, just over a year old now I think... but still very, very small in stature and in weight... so who knows? Maybe when we get some weight on him, he'll show some more potential  
And nothing wrong with a few holdbacks :whistling2:


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## andy007 (May 13, 2008)

Ophexis said:


> Also, part of the 'over £300' came from paying for a courier, who proceeded to smash the viv so I had to pay extra to repair it :devil: It made my introduction to cresties quite an infuriating one lol.


Oops:whip:


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

Ophexis said:


> He's still pretty young-ish, just over a year old now I think... but still very, very small in stature and in weight... so who knows? Maybe when we get some weight on him, he'll show some more potential
> And nothing wrong with a few holdbacks :whistling2:


Well im going to be good, if I keep some myself ill possible sell a few more females than planned at Doncaster  My eggs are taking much longer than usual to hatch this year so I doubt ill have any hatchlings ready by then, I thought id had quite a few. Ill have more time to fall in love with new hatchlings before Septembers show :whistling2:


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