Crested Geckos

A thorough, well done care sheet by Emerson Sy. See more about crested geckos including Breeding, Hatchling care and a great photo Gallery visit Emerson Sy's website, Crested Gecko International

Scientific name: Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Common name(s): New Caledonian crested gecko; crested gecko

Housing

Housing is one of the most important factors to be considered in keeping crested geckos. Depending on your goals, an enclosure can be an elaborate vivarium or a simple setup with appropriate furniture. Crested geckos are arboreal species and thus, the height of an enclosure is more important.

A single adult specimen can be housed in an enclosure measuring 12L x 12W x 18H inches. A screen enclosure measuring 18L x 18W x 24H inches or a screen tubular cage or "tube" cage measuring 24H x 18 diameter inches can house a pair or 1.2 (one male and two females) comfortably. Provide several hiding spots to minimize stress. Females have high social tolerance, but this cannot be said about males. Housing two or more males in one enclosure should be avoided. Males are known to severely injure each other during a fight.

Males that are raised together in one enclosure establish social hierarchy early on and fighting rarely occurs. Individuals should be closely observed to make sure each one is eating properly.

Glass aquariums with screen tops have been used successfully. A 20-gallon tall glass terrarium can comfortably house 1.2 specimens. The bottom should be lined with moss substrate to avoid snout injury when catching preys. Dry branches and live plants should be added. The only drawback
of glass terrariums is poor ventilation.

Plastic containers can be utilized as well. Half gallon or one gallon plastic jars are indispensible when raising hatchlings and juveniles individually. The top should be covered with 1/16 inch screen to prevent escape. Various sizes of plastic containers by Sterilite can comfortably house hatchlings and adult crested geckos. Use soldering iron to punch holes for proper air circulation.

HOUSING

For keepers with carpentry skills, building your own enclosures is as satisfying as keeping crested geckos. Enclosures constructed with wooden frames and 1/16 to 1/4 inch galvanized screens work very well and are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

Crested gecko enclosures should be furnished with different sizes of dry branches at varying heights and orientations. Crested geckos actively climb horizontal and vertical branches through out the night.

Adding live plants such as ficus, pothos or schefflera is highly recommended. This will provide more hiding places for the inhabitants and help maintain humidity in the enclosure.

Mixing different species in one enclosure should be avoided whenever possible. Pathogens are known to be transmitted due to this practice. A screen cage elevated under a water basin to prevent ants from attacking CGs.Enclosures similar to the one pictured can be customed built to fit your specific needs.

TEMPERATURE

New Caledonia and its off-shore islands have moderate temperature throughout the year, but extreme temperatures as low as 10C (50F) and as high as 36.7C (98F) occur as well.

Ideally, temperatures should range from 22.2 to 25.6C (72-78F) during the day and 20.6 to 23.3C (69¡-74F) at night. During colder months, a basking lamp with 40 watt red bulb can be used, but ensure that the proximity of heat-producing lamps will not cause thermal burns.

Crested gecko seems to thrive and reproduce without the benefit of untraviolet radiation, but exposure to unfiltered sunlight whenever weather permits is highly recommended. Make sure that the cage has shaded part at all times when outdoors to avoid overheating, which can be fatal. When indoors, a ReptiSun 5.0 fluorescent bulb (Zoo Med Laboratories, San Luis Obispo, CA) placed approximately 13 cm (5 inches)away from the top of enclosures can be used for UVB irradiation.

HUMIDITY

In the wild, R. ciliatus experiences relatively high humidities averaging from 73% to 83% throughout the year. To replicate this in captivity, mist the enclosure once or twice a day. Ideally, heavily mist at night, which will also be a source of drinking water for geckos.

It is imperative to provide a hide box or nest box with moist moss. Crested geckos will retreat into the cooler hide box when temperature gets warmer than the optimal temperature range. A moist hide box will also help prevent difficulty in skin shedding (dysecdysis).

Enclosures should have good air ventilation to avoid stagnant air and wet conditions at all times. This can have a detrimental and sometimes fatal effect to crested geckos especially hatchlings and juveniles.

A digital thermometer-hygrometer (e.g. Radio Shack catalog number 63-1013) that can record minimum and maximum temperature and humidity is indispensible for monitoring purposes.


Another important factor is enclosure cleanliness. An enclosure should be thoroughly cleaned with running water once every week or two weeks. Dead crickets, uneaten food and fecal matters should be removed immediately to avoid attracting ants. This will also address unwanted smell that occurs when enclosures are not properly cleaned on a regular basis.

Substrate should be washed with tap water when soiled. Replace or add more substrate as required.



FEEDING

Crested geckos readily eat mashed fruits and insects.Ê The mandibles of a crested gecko are fairly weak so it is important to offer appropriate sized feeder insects that are soft bodied such as crickets (Acheta domestica),silk moths or silk moth larvae (Bombyz mori), small land snails (Helix aspersa) and wax moths and wax month larvae (Galleria mellonella). Crested geckos also do not masticate insect preys. As a general rule, feeder insects should not be bigger than the width of a crested geckoÕs mouth.

Crickets should be gutloaded 24 to 48 hours before offering to crested geckos. Offer different kind of grains such as oat, crushed rice, crushed corn, soybeans, barley, wheat bran and germinate to compose the dry part of the gutload ingredients. Most grocery stores sell powdered cereal or baby cereal made with various grains.

The wet part of the gutload ingredients should be chosen based on high calcium contents. This is also the feeders' source of water. Deep green leafy vegetables such as collard green, mustard green, texas green and turnip green are good choices. Yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots and yellow squash should be offer as well. Different fruits such as sliced apples, peaches, oranges, lime and cantaloupe can be offered interminglingly.
A feeder insect should easily fit in a CG's mouth
Only offer 3 to 5 appropriate sized insects per feeding for each CG at night.Ê Excessive insects can stress crested geckos and they will ignore the insects.ÊÊ
Aside from live prey items, crested geckos readily eat mashed fruits such as peaches, apples, bananas, pears, apricots and various berries. Calcium and vitamin supplements can be mixed into the mashed fruits before offering to crested geckos. Commercial baby food brands such as Gerber ¨ and Beech-Nut ¨ are readily available in baby food section of a local supermarket.

Use a small inverted plastic lid to place half to one teaspoon of mashed fruit per gecko.Uneaten portions should be removed the following morning to avoid attracting ants, which can kill crested geckos.

Mashed fruits can compose 50-75% of the diet and live insects can compose the other 25-50%.

Based on fecal analysis, crested geckos in the wild mostly consume fruits (Henkel, 2000).

Adult crested geckos should be fed 3 to 4 times a week. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed 4 to 5 times a week for optimal growth.

Although crested geckos accept various fruits, peaches are more readily eaten >>>

VITAMIN AND CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS

Feeder insects lack all the required nutrients for a crested gecko to thrive. It is therefore important to supplement with vitamins and calcium carbonate. Calcium supplement should be offered at every other feeding for adult crested geckos and more often for juveniles and gravid females. This can be done by "dusting" feeder insects prior to being offered to your crested geckos. Calcium and vitamin supplements can also be mixed with mashed fruits.

Multi-vitamin supplements should be offered once every week or every two weeks depending on how well you gutload your feeder insects. Popular brands such as Herptivite and Reptivite are commonly available in reptile stores.

Over-supplementation does occur with detrimental results. It is best to use moderation when using vitamin and calcium supplements.

WATERING

Mist the sides and plants of enclosures atleast once a day to provide drinking water for crested geckos. Mist more often during warmer months to help cool down the ambient temperature. A small water dish can be ulitized as well, but make sure to change the water every day. Stagnant water can be a breeding ground for bacteria and other pathogens.


DISEASES AND DISORDERS

Most diseases and disorders can be prevented or avoided if proper husbandry is followed. The following are some common problems:

Dysecdysis
Improper shedding is mostly due to husbandry problems such as consistently low humidity, low temperatures, improper nutrition and insufficient cage furniture to rub against. Prevention is the key to avoiding shedding problems.

Dystocia
Difficulties in laying eggs can be due to improper or inadequate laying site, improper nutrition, low temperatures and dehydration.

Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD)
MBD occurs due to insufficient calcium and source of vitamin D3 in the diet. Hatchlings, juveniles and breeding females are most affected by MBD. Some signs of MBD are loss of muscle control (twitching), inability to move around without difficulties and lack of appetite. Feeder insects should be fed a calcium rich diet 24 to 48 hours prior to being used as food items. Using calcium carbonate supplement is recommended as well.

Pneumonia
Commonly referred to as respiratory problems, this can result due to improper husbandry (e.g. constant wet condition, poor air circulation), insufficient nutrition and lack of sanitation. Prevention is the key in avoiding this potential fatal problem.

Thermal Burns
When using a heat lamp as a source of heat, allow 3 to 4 inches of space between the bulb and the side of the enclosure to prevent crested geckos from getting too close and burning themselves. Also, THINK fire safety when dealing with electrical equipments. Installing a smoke detector is highly recommended.

Anorexia
Lack of appetite can occur due to improper husbandry such as improper food items (e.g. too large or too many insect preys), improper temperature (e.g. too hot, too cold), lack of sanitation and stress induced by conspecies or too much handling.

Floppy Tail Syndrome
FTS is a condition when the tail flops to one side, which may be due to weakness of the caudal attachment to the pelvis to facilitate tail loss when threatened. de Vosjoli hypothesized that this may be due to lack of appropriate climbing branches in the enclosure and early calcium deficiency that weakened the precaudal pelvic bones. FTS does not negatively affect a crested gecko's ability to reproduce.

Autotomy
Dropping a tail is the result of some negative stress such as rough handling, exposure to prolonged high temperatures and aggressive nteraction of conspecies. Although tail-less specimens are the norm in the wild, the cause of tail dropping should be investigated to avoid similar situation from happening.

Nematodes and Flagellate Protozoans
Wild caught (WC) and captive bred (CB) crested geckos may harbor intestinal parasites. Fecal checks should be done and proper medications administered under the supervision of an experienced reptile veterinarian. Fenbendazole for treating nematodes and metronidazole for treating flagellate protozoans have been proven effective.


Following good husbandry practices such as washing your hand with antibacterial soap before and after handling a specimen and quarantining newly acquired specimens for 60 to 90 days will go a long way in preventing many potential problems.

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Emerson Sy