Sorry so long in replying to everyone, did I mention I work odd hours? Yack! I completed a photo shoot with Cowboy, so will be posting my second thread soon!
Due to all the responses (and thanks for making me feel SO welcome!!) I'll be answering a few of the questions in one reply. Hope that's okay to all. Please keep in mind that my answers on the cresteds will be VERY brief. If someone wants me to go into another area that I lightly touch, I'd be more than happy.
madrush":f1639 said:
Wow they all look like they are smiling at us. :lol: What neat looking eyes too! Compared to Bearded Dragons how hard are Geckgos to care for? Do they have personalities like Bearded dragons?
taransteve":f1639 said:
My older son wants a gecko, we've been to a few breeders here in San Diego and we held a few "crested geckos".
I thought that they were kinda jumpy, absolutely adorable but not very easy to handle, is that how they are by nature?
These two I'll answer together. First, crested geckos aren't like beardies at all, lol. But, cresties can be very fun pets. I'm actually crowded for space right now with my cresteds, but will not sacrifice Cowboy's area because I *need* him. He gives me something that the cresteds don't.
First care, VERY simple. Each crested needs a minimum of a 10 gallon tank. I strongly recommend paper towels as a substrate. You can use bed-a-beast and other extremely fine substrates but the paper towels are so easy to clean. Once you use them, you'll never go back! Juveniles need to have their cages misted 2x a day and adults 1x a day. I mist everyone 2x a day for humidity levels. Cresteds don't require special heat sources and they don't require special lighting, although I do recommend using a UVA bulb.
Feeding is very simple. I feed Clark's Diet (special powder formula) and Crickets (crix) dusted in Calcium D3. Some breeders also feed Crested Gecko Diet (T-Rex). Some feed baby food but I do not recommend this as there is no nutritional value. I feed my cresteds daily, alternating between crix one day and Clark's the next. Cresteds do not need to be fed daily and some adults won't eat each feeding. Crix shouldn't be left with cresteds for extensive periods of time, similiar to beardies.
Temperament. Lol... Each has their own. I have some of the sweetest cresties that will sit on your hand all day long! Then there are others that bounce around their cages, or try to leap from my hands when I hold them. Still another than used to bite me every single time I handled her...she's outgrown that with regular handling.
Which leads me to handling time. Cresteds aren't beardies. They do not do well to be carted around for long periods of time. Exceptions are those that have super temperaments and aren't stressed by handling. Normally, I try to keep my handling times down to about 5 minutes or so. I do have a couple that I will take out with me for demonstrations, but these are the quieter more laid back cresteds.
Brief interlude. Chahouas are the ultimate laid back gecko! You can not go wrong with one. They are extremely calm & quiet, and enjoy handling. They don't leap around either. Downside is they are harder to produce as the females don't cooperate when laying their eggs, thus they are not as available and will cost you a pretty penny. But, they are worth each of those pennies. Guaranteed!
Back to cresties. If you are looking to purchase a crested, I would look into paying the extra for overnight shipping and purchase from a breeder. Pet store cresties aren't handled, and if you find the right breeder they will give individual attention to each of their cresties. If you find the "perfect" crestie at a pet store, you can work on the flight issue by what we call hand walking, and that is simply allowing the crestie to walk from hand to hand. They may do this very quickly for a few minutes before finally settling down. Many times age of the crestie is a factor. ALWAYS handle your flighty cresties when sitting down near the floor (or similiar) so that if they take that flying leap, they aren't falling stories to the ground.
Thank you for all the kind words about Cowboy! I did fall head over heels for my "Chicken" as I affectionately call him. He reminds me sometimes of a hen taking a sun
bath when he's stretched out underneath his lamp.
:mrgreen:
For those still interested in crested geckos, I am working on setting up a website and I do have available crested geckos for sale. Feel free to enquire. <grin> I'll post my website when I've got it up and running.