sericinda
Member
I raise crested and gargoyle geckos and they do not require any kind of special lighthing or heating. They thrive at room temperature of 65-78 degrees (any more or less is very dangerous for them), do not require UVB and the diet they eat is very cheap....a bag of crested gecko diet purchased from Pangea reptile is about $20 for a year for a single gecko. They do not require bugs in their diet, although you can supplement with dusted crickets or dubias. Some geckos don't care for bugs.
Adults can be housed in a 20 gallon tank tipped on its side, with a reptile screen. Finding used tanks cheap on craigs list and whatnot is usually pretty easy, and Petco often has $1 a gallon sales. Papertowels make the best substrate, easy to clean and cheap. Fake plants and vines are a necessity and can be purchased for cheap at dollar stores and hobby lobby when they have their 50% off sale.
They ARE nocturnal, but if purchased from a good breeder and handled often, they make very good pets. All of my babies are very tame because I spent a lot of time with them before they are sold, and my adults are all very easy to handle. Many people find geckos rather boring, but mine all have loads of personality and love to cuddle and hang out. You get out of a pet the time that you put into them
They need to be misted once or twice a day to keep humidity up. Initial cost can be a bit high depending where you get them from and if you buy a baby or an adult, and there are dozens of morphs so different colours cost more or less as well. You can get a good quality baby for $80 or so, sometimes cheaper at shows.
They are excellent starter reptiles, even more so than leo's as they don't require bugs and they don't require heat or UVB.
Adults can be housed in a 20 gallon tank tipped on its side, with a reptile screen. Finding used tanks cheap on craigs list and whatnot is usually pretty easy, and Petco often has $1 a gallon sales. Papertowels make the best substrate, easy to clean and cheap. Fake plants and vines are a necessity and can be purchased for cheap at dollar stores and hobby lobby when they have their 50% off sale.
They ARE nocturnal, but if purchased from a good breeder and handled often, they make very good pets. All of my babies are very tame because I spent a lot of time with them before they are sold, and my adults are all very easy to handle. Many people find geckos rather boring, but mine all have loads of personality and love to cuddle and hang out. You get out of a pet the time that you put into them
They need to be misted once or twice a day to keep humidity up. Initial cost can be a bit high depending where you get them from and if you buy a baby or an adult, and there are dozens of morphs so different colours cost more or less as well. You can get a good quality baby for $80 or so, sometimes cheaper at shows.
They are excellent starter reptiles, even more so than leo's as they don't require bugs and they don't require heat or UVB.
