Look what I got! Need advice on Crestie.

[Thor's Mom]

Hi All,

I have been thinking about it for a long time now and I finally took the plunge and got myself a crested gecko on Friday. I just love him. He is very sweet and does not mind being handled at all. He loves to climb around on me and to jump from my hand to my chest/shoulder. I have him in a 20 gallon turned on its side so it has lots of height to it. He is on a dirt/wood type bedding for reptiles (it holds moisture). I have been misting his enclosure once a day and am feeding him the powder crested gecko diet that you mix with water. I realize that they need no heat or UVB and I know to make sure that the temperature in my apartment should not ever be allowed to go above 80 degrees because that type of heat is dangerous for him. He has a couple of stick on bamboo logs that he can climb across and several vines to climb and hide in. I have a regular energy saver bulb to light his enclosure. I know that these guys are nocturnal and I am wondering when/if I should leave his viv dark without the light on. Should the light be on all the time or should it be shut off during the day or just at night when I go to bed? Is there anything else I am missing in order to make sure he stays healthy and happy? He is my first crestie and I want to make sure I am doing right by him.

Also, I don’t have a name for him yet, so any suggestions would be welcome. He was sold as a "Frog Butt" crested gecko because he has already dropped his tail. I don't really care if he has a tail or not, bu the Frog Butt thing cracked me up. Here is a picture of him in his enclosure. He seems to be in very good condition and has been eating well since I brought him home. I will try to get more/better pictures of him tonight so I can add some more tomorrow. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you can offer.

 

[ewstokes]

Well like you said, cresties don't need light at all, so if you want to get the lightbulb that would be fine. If you really need to have it I would just keep it on during the day, to simulate daytime. During the nighttime it should be completely dark.

 

[wigglesworth]

he's gorgeous
his colouring looks nice

you seem to be pretty sorted
as far as the light goes, we do the same for our corn snake, she has an energy saving bulb i think its good to give them a diffinitive day and night cycle even tho they don't need the light, you just need to make sure there are dark places for them to go hide

do you have any more pics?

 

[Thor's Mom]

Hi Wiggles! Sorry, haven’t been on in awhile. I do have more pictures of Stimpy (that’s what we named him). I just love him. I have been doing the energy saver bulb during the day and leaving it dark at night. He is doing really, really well. He is so friendly and cute. I’m really glad I finally got one. I originally wanted a giant day gecko like Yoshi, I think Yoshi is so beautiful! Anyways, when I got to researching them they seemed a little more timid and high maintenance than what I was looking for. That is when I decided on a crested gecko and I couldn’t be happier.

 

[LJean]

Stimpy is a pretty crestie.

 

[wigglesworth]

Stimpy really is beautiful

We're going to get cresties, eventually, probably not this year i've been wanting them since i held one over a year ago but there is a list of other finicial priorities that come first

We love Yoshi to bits (we have a second Grandis arriving later this week, a male and a prospective partner for Yoshi) would really love to be able to handle her and hope she will eventually climb calmly on us, i say this as she has jumped on me she wasn't sure about it and rocket around like a pinball before returning to the safety of her tank. She will currently lick fruit off our hands and take insects off our hands but it did take work and patience.

Even if Yoshi does let us handle her in the future i'll still want cresties they such cute little things in their own right

 

[shadi11]

Very cute. looks like hes got some partial pinstripe markings and hes a nice flame Crestie. I usually make sure it dont go over the upper eights and my cresties do fine. Its hard to sometimes keep the room they are in below that because of all the other reptiles. and I do mistings morning in night but all I have is a paper towel substrate in all my crestie cages

 

[herpfreak]

Stimpy! :lol: An adoreable name for an adoreable guy! Congrats!