Crested geckos are considered a good “beginner” reptile because they are relatively inexpensive and easy to care for. They are comfortable at room temps, can be housed in attractive terrariums or simple plastic tubs, and eat a commercial diet that costs less than $20 per year for a single gecko.
Besides being fun for beginners, crested geckos can be intriguing for experienced reptile keepers because of their wide range of “morphs” or physical characteristics. They are extremely handleable and each has their own individual personality. They make a great “hands on” pet or display animal for their equally nocturnal keepers.
New Gecko Care Sheet
Whether you’ve bought your first crested gecko from a pet store, local breeder, or a trusted online source, there will be an adjustment period for your new addition. It’s best to do your research BEFORE you come home with a new crested gecko! Even though these geckos are easy to care for, they should not be thought of as a disposable pet. It is believed that they can live for 30 years if properly cared for, so your new friend will be a long term responsibility.
Be sure to have all of your supplies ahead of time, such as housing, decor, crested gecko food and insect dust. This will help ensure that your new crested gecko will have an easy and healthy transition period into your care.
Crested Gecko Care & Feeding
It seems that some geckos are slower to adjust to new foods, flavors and textures than others. Even ones that have eaten CGD (Crested Gecko Diet) forever. Keep in mind they don’t always eat every day or on your schedule. First, rule out any possibility of illness, since that can reduce a crested gecko’s appetite. It is a good idea to get a fecal done for your new crested gecko. This means sending a fresh poo sample to your vet! This can be difficult to do if your gecko isn’t eating.
Here is a simple guide to help ensure your crested gecko begins eating the right food from the start. Results may vary with other Meal Replacement Powders. Please browse our Nutrition section for tons of info on feeding, treats, and supplements.
Temperature & Humidity
Crested geckos respond well to room temperature. They can overheat if too much lighting is given or if you live in a warm area without air conditioning. A good range is mid 60s to upper 70s. Warmer temps cause more activity, heartier appetites and increased growth.
Although they are nocturnal and do not need special lighting, crested geckos do need a photoperiod, roughly 12 hours of light and 12 of darkness. Increasing and decreasing according to the seasons is fine; however, this may confine your breeding season to the summer months. Stricter control of lighting (and heat) can allow you to have a breeding season at any time of the year – but be sure the females get at least a 4 month break between seasons to “cool”.
Crested geckos are a tropical species but do not need constant high humidity; in a captive environment this can lead to respiratory infections. Misting heavily at night (80-90%) and lightly in the morning, allowing it to dry out to 50% during the day is adequate. However, it’s a good idea to keep a water bowl in the enclosure, especially if you live in a dry climate. Misting also encourages eating, so be sure not to skip this nightly routine. If you take frequent trips or have a tendency to forget, you can set up a crested gecko tank with an automatic misting system such as MistKing to spray once nightly; or, more heavily at night and lightly during the day (mid-morning works well).
It is much easier to maintain room humidity at 50% than to try to mist each enclosure. Proper ventilation is essential to health, so be sure that your tubs also have adequate ventilation. This should not be a problem if you have a humidifier running in the same room(s) as your crested geckos.
Quarantine
If you plan on eventually putting your gecko into a naturalistic vivarium, consider first giving them a short quarantine period in an appropriate sized Kritter Keeper on paper towels to make sure that they are eating and pooping – which is a good sign of a healthy gecko! This means they’re eating, even if you don’t think they are.
It is absolutely necessary to quarantine new arrivals before placing them in the same enclosures as other crested geckos!
14 days should be the shortest period of quarantine for a new gecko. One to three months is recommended before introduction to other geckos.
If they are just being stubborn, it is important to not use baby food or sweeten the mix with honey or fresh fruit because they may always hold out for the sweet stuff, which is not as good for them as CGD. In my opinion, I would rather they skip a few meals in order to get them on CGD than to give them an improperly balanced diet which can lead to MBD and other health issues.
You can try hand-feeding them if you are worried about weight, but this can lead to them only eating when you “baby” them.
If they start eating CGD on their own (no sweeteners, no hand feeding) you can introduce dusted crickets once a week as a treat. Just follow the directions on the label for how to mix CGD if you are also feeding insects.
How often do crested geckos drink?how often do I mist the cage?
They can drink up to several times a day, so I provide a water dish in each enclosure. I also spray once or twice a day, depending on the type of tank. Screen topped cages can dry out pretty quickly, so you might need to spray more often. For this reason, I don’t recommend entirely screen cages, unless you cover the sides with plexi-glass or plastic wrap.
I just got my crested gecko. I have a skim city tank dimensions are 14 by 14 by 20 tank I think. Is all glass and has 2 doors on the front with a screen top. I mist it a shit load to be honest cause the humidity goes down pretty quick. I keep it around 70 to 75 humidity. I keep my light on from 10 am to 10 pm central time I live in Florida. How do I keep an average humidity temp. Cause it drops down to 45 pretty quick. Should I just buy a humidifier? And my tank is always at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Please help.
You can try covering up half of the top screen with plexi-glass, plastic sheets (from overhead projectors, for example) or a damp towel. You can safely let the humidity drop to 45-50% during the day as long as there is a water bowl present and you do a heavy misting at night. Turn off the light, it will make the tanks cooler and more humid. Lights and air flow decrease humidity; you could also move the light so it only reaches a portion of the tank, giving it a heat gradient in which the gecko can thermoregulate. Take temperature readings from multiple areas in the tank to make sure there is a spot that stays under 80 degrees that they can retreat to as necessary. A room humidifier is good if you have low humidity (below 45%) in the room but not necessary. If the room feels uncomfortable to you, it could also be for the gecko.
What kind of substrate do you use? I recommend paper towels for new additions, but once you know he is eating and pooping you might consider a natural soil substrate as well as plants to add humidity. I’m not familiar with the brand of tank you have, but if it can hold a substrate I would recommend it for a gecko over 15 grams.
Good luck!
Here is my email xxgavinxx10@yahoo.com
Message me and I’ll give you my number it’d be easier to talk that way. If that’s ok with you. And I use this little bark chip things.
hi, i just wanted to know if you would know if you can put crested geckos with any other geckos or form of reptiles, we have had crested geckos for the past 3-4 years and we are thinking of getting a tiger gecko i was just wondering if this has been done before? and if not do you think that they would be ok or to house in seperate vivs?
Hi Stacey!
I’m not sure which species you mean for tiger gecko, this is a common name for at least two different species – either Goniurosaurus luii, which is closely related to the leopard gecko and African fat tailed geckos in the Eublepharid gecko family or the African Thick toed Tiger Gecko Pachydactylus tigrinus. Both of these require warm, semi-arid conditions are are entirely unsuitable to house with a crested gecko. You would need a separate enclosure for sure.
The only other reptile we know of that has been found suitable to house with cresties are Pink Tongue Skinks, they require similar levels of humidity and also feed on CGD, with additional food items like ground meat, snails and possibly insects. They are not arboreal, they love to burrow in substrate. You’d want to have a really big tank to comfortably house a mixed-species enclosure, not something you could do in a 20 gallon.
i got a crested gecko given to me about 2 years ago and i forgot to give calcium and vitamins to it i just gave it crickets, is that bad? i just started sprinkling the crickets with calcium a few weeks ago. i also feed him like twice a week but starting to feed him every other day.. i feel like im a horrible caregiver for little’ Mick Dundy’
It’s a pretty unbalanced diet, but as long as your crestie isn’t showing signs of ill health, you can start feeding the Repashy CGD as well as dusted, gutloaded crickets and he should be ok. If you see any lumps in his limbs, kinks in his spine or soft jaw that doesn’t close very well, you’ll want to take him to a vet for some calcium treatments. If he shakes a lot or acts paralyzed that’s another bad sign of calcium deficiency & Metabolic Bone Disease. Hopefully your little guy will be fine!
Hey,
i just got a crested gecko and he kinda looks a little grey is that a sign of anything?
Hey i’m worried about my 2 girls (Cresty’s). They sound like their weezing or have a cold. What do you think it is and how would they have acquired this ailment?
There are grey crested geckos, so it could be normal coloring. Sometimes they look a bit greyish right before a shed so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about!
That doesn’t sound good, it could be a Respiratory Infection, similar to a cold but can be fatal. If you are still hearing the wheezing and haven’t taken them to the vet, you should do so ASAP. If their tank doesn’t dry out during the day, it can create a perfect environment for molds, bacteria, etc to grow and cresties (and other reptiles) can get infections in their lungs. You’ll need medicine (antibiotics) to treat it. Good luck and I hope all goes well!
I’m worried about getting a Crestie because I’m wondering how much responsibility i have to put into it. And I’ve got plenty questions. Here goes,
•how often do you feed a juvenile and adult?
•can I feed a Crestie just CGD?
•about how much will my budget be? (I already have a high 25 gal. Tank)
•where do I find a vet?!
We feed juveniles and most adults every other night, sometimes every 3 nights when the weather is cool and they aren’t as active. We feed CGD nearly exclusively, and only feed bugs once every few months to geckos we know like them. You can feed bugs once or twice a week, or not at all, if you feed Repashy CGD.
A young male crested gecko will be about $50-75; they are generally the cheapest because breeders don’t want to hang on to extra males unless they are of high quality. The 4oz CGD is around $10 depending on where you buy from, and will last 3-6 months depending on how much you mix up. A 25 gallon tank is perfect! You can buy some fake plants and decorations at petshops or even at Dollar Stores. Just be sure to make sure it’s water-proof, isn’t toxic and doesn’t have sharp edges or exposed wires (fake plants sold in long chains typically have wires). This will cost under $25. Please see our Supplies page for a more comprehensive list! Many supplies are very cheap! You should be able to get everything you need for $50-$100 depending on how elaborate you want to get.
Finding a reputable reptile vet can be difficult, depending on where you live. We’ve linked to some herp vet resources that can help you get started. You should have at least $150 available for emergency vet visits. If you plan on breeding, you’ll want to sock away more or devote a credit card for such purposes or get a Care Credit account. Be sure to ask if your vet accepts Care Credit beforehand.
I hope this information helps and feel free to ask more questions!
my baby is looking chalky white, is it time for shedding? Is it ok to have a small light on during the night?
They can fire down to a very white color, depending on what their base color is. Reds, yellows and oranges all get pretty light. It could also be shedding! I don’t recommend keeping a light on at night, they are nocturnal and would prefer to have darkness.
Do crested geckos need a light to live?