Crested Gecko

Friendly and intelligent, Crested Geckos make wonderful pets. They also enjoy being handled, so start picking up your gecko as early as possible to encourage this behaviour. You may find that they enjoy climbing around your fingers and jumping between your hands!

Crested Gecko

Overview

  • Behaviour: Nocturnal
  • Diet: Omnivorous (insects, fruit and nectar)
  • Ease of care: Beginner
  • Handling: Beginner
  • Humidity: 60-80% during the day and 100% at night
  • Life span: Up to 15 years
  • Origin: New Caledonia
  • Potential adult size: 6-7” (15-18cm)
  • Scientific name: Correlophus ciliatus

Top Tips

  • An arboreal feeding ledge will give your Crested Gecko a natural place to feed and hydrate.
  • Pick a bedding that will help you to maintain humidity.
  • Your Crested Gecko will appreciate a bit of shelter, so make sure you include live or artificial plants in your enclosure.
  • Keep a close eye on the temperature of your tank as Crested Geckos do not like being too hot.
  • Spritz your tank with water and your Crested Gecko will be able to drink from the droplets.

Housing

Crested Geckos live in trees and are cold-blooded. This means you will need to create a home in a tall, humid and warm enclosure.

A heat bulb at the top of the terrarium will create a nice basking spot for your gecko, which should be around 26-29℃. The rest of the tank should sit around 22-26℃, dropping to 20-26℃ at night-time.

To create the right temperature, fix a HabiStat 75w Heat Bulb into an Arcadia Reflector Clamp Lamp With Ceramic Holder. This can then be placed on the mesh roof of your terrarium. To help you control the temperature, connect your heat lamp to a HabiStat Dimming Thermostat. This will lower and raise the temperature as needed. You can also keep an eye on the temperature using a reliable thermometer.

Your gecko will need plenty of light too. An Arcadia ShadeDweller Arboreal 2.4% UV light will be ideal for this, but make sure your Crested Gecko cannot get too close.

It’s also important to control the humidity of your terrarium to keep your gecko happy. To keep it at around 60-80% during the day, give the terrarium a good misting of water. A HabiStat Rainmaker can also help you. At night, the humidity needs to rise to 100%, which can be easily achieved using a HabiStat Humidifier.

To make your terrarium look good and feel safe and comfortable for your Crested Gecko, you should decorate it. Crested Geckos live in trees, so you should include things such as HabiStat Cork Branches, HabiStat Grapevines and HabiStat Tea Tree Branches for your gecko to climb. Live and artificial plants will also give your gecko some nice shady areas to hide in. At the bottom of the tank, put in some bedding such as HabiStat Jungle Bio or HabiStat Coir with HabiStat Moiss mixed in.

Care

Once everything is set up and your gecko has settled in, you will need to keep the terrarium clean. Every day, give your gecko some fresh water, spot clean the bedding and check the vents of the enclosure. You’ll then need to disinfect the water bowl and wipe down the glass and walls with a reptile-safe disinfectant every week. It’s also a good idea to shake-up the bedding and remove any dirty bits. Around once a month, a deeper clean is needed. Remove and replace all of the bedding and wipe down the inside of the enclosure and all of the decorations with a safe disinfectant.

Remember: Always wash your hands, equipment and surfaces with plenty of warm water and soap after handling or feeding your gecko, or cleaning its enclosure and equipment.

Equipment Needed

  • Arboreal terrarium
  • HabiStat 75w Heat Bulb
  • Arcadia Reflector Clamp Lamp with Ceramic Holder
  • HabiStat Dimming Thermostat
  • Thermometer and hygrometer
  • Arcadia ShadeDweller Arboreal 2.4%
  • HabiStat Rainmaker
  • HabiStat Humidifier
  • HabiStat Jungle Bio / HabiStat Coir with HabiStat Moss mixed in
  • HabiStat Cork Branch / HabiStat Grapevine / HabiStat Tea Tree Branch
  • Live or artificial plants

Diet

Crested Geckos love to munch on insects, as well as occasional pieces of fruit and sips of nectar.

To keep your Crested Gecko full and healthy, offer them insects such as crickets. These shouldn’t be larger than the gap between your gecko’s eyes. Once a week, feed them a specially created food, such as the HabiStat Crested Gecko Diet. It comes in a variety of flavours so you can experiment to see which one your Crested Gecko loves best!

Your Crested Gecko will also need some supplements to keep them in tip-top health. A calcium and multivitamin powder, such as Arcadia Earth Pro-A and Arcadia Earth Pro Calcium Mg, can be dusted over your gecko’s insects to give them everything they need. When it comes to dosage, read the instructions on the packet.

Your gecko will need enough to drink too. A good way to provide fresh water is via the HabiStat Arboreal Feeding Ledge.

Additional Information

Geckos have a prehensile tail, which helps them to grip onto branches and move confidently through the canopies of trees. If your gecko feels threatened or under attack, their tail can fall off. Sadly, it won’t grow back again if this happens.

Your Crested Gecko will also occasionally shed its skin. You will be able to tell that your gecko is about to shed because it will start to rub its face against a branch or other object to loosen the skin. As the skin is shed, your gecko will eat it, so you won’t need to clean it up!

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