Basic crested gecko requirements

Hi everyone!
I'm really sorry I haven't posted in quite a few days.
There's been some personal issues and sadly a loss, but everything is alright and I'm planning on regularly blogging again immediately!

I caught some pictures today that are blogging gold, and I'm excited for sharing them with you! - but first I want to talk about the basic crested gecko requirements.

I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but crested geckos are really just like babies. Although they may seem impossible to care for at first, once you know what you're doing it's a doddle. Just like a human, there's only really a few simple things that they could need to stay alive.

This post is really to give people the basic information about a crested gecko's primary needs - I repeat, shan't go into massive detail in this post. In the future, I will make sure to post about each section with more information for you!

Stay tuned for some pictures a bit later!

1. Temperature

A crested gecko can deal with temperatures from as low as 50 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) to as high as 80 Fahrenheit (approx. 27 Celsius).

Naturally they would face temperatures of the high 70's during the day, and as low as mid 50's at night in the wild. It is not necessary to alter the temperature at night for them.

It is best to try and keep your vivarium's temperature around room temperature, but the mid 70's is probably best.

Anything higher than 80 can be stressful for them and cause them to become lethargic. It can stop them eating, make them more likely to drop their tail and could even lead to death. The same goes for anything lower than 50.

You should try to purchase a thermometer to keep in your crested gecko's cage, just to make sure it is at the right temperature.

To keep the temperature up in your gecko's vivarium, you will need a heat mat. This usually comes with the vivarium, or you can buy it separately. This will ensure that their cage stays at the right temperature when the surroundings are below this.

If your vivarium becomes too warm, it is absolutely okay to unplug the heat mat. You might want to ensure that they are open to enough ventilation, or even place a fan near the cage. We have even put ice cubes in the water bowl during a heat wave before.

If the cage gets really hot, you can wrap an ice pack in a cloth and place it on top of the wire mesh. As cool air sinks, this will go into the cage without anything dripping in and help to cool it down.

2. Humidity

Humidity is a little more simple. Depending on where you live and the conditions of the day, the natural humidity in your gecko's cage can vary.

In the wild, a crested gecko is revealed to rather humid conditions which are crucial to their natural behaviour. A crested gecko needs humidity for a lot of things, but particularly for the ability of sticking to surfaces and for shedding assistance. They also need it to stay hydrated. The vivarium should ideally be more humid in the night time when cresties are more active, and dry out a little in the day.

To keep your crested gecko's vivarium humid, you can purchase a mistifier. It's basically a bottle that sprays very fine water droplets 

You can purchase a hygrometer online, or from any reptile section in a pet store, to monitor the humidity in your crested gecko's terrarium.

Advice about humidity varies from owner to owner, but it should be okay from as low as 50%-100%. The humidity tends to be approx. 70% in the day and 80-90% in the evening/night-time in my vivarium.

3. Nutrients

I've done a nice long section on food already (that you can check out if you need further advice!), but I should probably discuss it now.

Whatever you decide to feed your gecko, it's important that they get the nutrients that they require. Live food is obviously the most natural way to feed your crestie, although as opposed to CGD it does not come packed with the nutrients they need.

You should need a multi-vitamin supplement for your gecko. This can be overdosed, so you have to be careful how much you use. It comes in a little pot, and even though I've had Rocco for a long time now, I haven't yet needed to replace it. It is pretty much still full to the brim.
The multi-vitamin supplement should ensure that your gecko has all the extra vitamins and minerals they need that are beneficial to their health and their growth.

The most important thing you will need is a calcium supplement. This is usually called Calci Dust and can be found in any decent reptile store.
Calcium is completely necessary for a crested gecko's health and proper growth. It is particularly necessary for a gravid female, and after the laying of eggs.
You can tell whether or not your crested gecko is getting enough calcium by checking their calcium sacs at the roof of their mouth.



So those are the three main requirements of a crested gecko!
Obviously there are other things you should consider, such as hiding places, substrate, varied diet etc., but so long as you're getting the above three right, you most certainly will not kill off your crested gecko. In fact, I'm sure they will be absolutely okay.

For more details on crested gecko care, stay tuned for more detailed posts anytime soon!

I plan to do a fact file on crested geckos tomorrow or Friday for anything people might want to know :-) this will basically be about the crested gecko itself, as opposed to caring for them. It should be interesting for many people! :-)

Posting some pictures and vids up soon.
Hurry back <3333


Elly. x