Congratulations on deciding to bring home your crestie! These little jumping beans are so adorable to watch, and even more adorable to hold.
I personally love the way our Ember flares her beautiful orange highlights whenever we handle her. She can be handful, though, just like any other crested gecko. Here's the rundown on everything you need to know when adopting one of these spicy little climbers!
What is a crested gecko?
A crested gecko is an arboreal (tree-climbing) gecko from the country New Caledonia. Their native habitat is mostly jungle, so they love the warmest, wettest climates this world has to offer.
Seeing as they're nocturnal, they're not particularly fond of bright lights and high heat, so take that into consideration when you decide to get a crestie. You'll have to be up late to interact with them, and their habitat needs to be somewhere with at least partial shade in your house so they can sleep comfortably during the day.
How much does a crested gecko cost?
Crested geckos cost anywhere from $35-$200, depending on the breeder, morph color, and age of the gecko. Our Ember came from PetSmart at around 1 year of age in good health, and she cost us $45.
Cresties may cost less if they drop their tail before you buy them, though, as they lose their tail for life once they drop it, and it's considered a "cosmetic defect." Keep in mind that most breeders and pet stores will sell cresties without tails for up to half the original price. Trust me, cresties are just as lively and adorable without tails as they are with them, so don't rule out this option!
Do crested geckos bite?
Yes, they can bite, but everything else with a mouth! It can hurt, considering that crested geckos do have teeth, but it's not going to leave a lasting injury. The most common case of biting in crested geckos is during hand-feeding, when cresties may miss the food and chomp down on your finger instead!
How big does a crested gecko get?
Crested geckos get around six-eight inches long from the tip of their nose to the beginning of their tail, and their tail (if they still have it) can be as long as their body. There are cases of cresties being smaller or larger depending on their diet throughout their lifetime, genetics, environmental conditions, etc, but for the most part, they stay small their whole life.
They are a little thicker in the body, though, compared to other geckos. They're built a little blockier and stronger all throughout their body to make those giant leaps they're so apt to making. This makes for an visually intriguing pet, especially if you get an interesting morph color with neat patterns!
What does a crested gecko eat?
Find recommended food here.
Crested geckos are classified as omnivores, but in reality, they don't have much of a taste for bugs. Baby and juvenile cresties may eat small insects to meet the protein requirements of a growing body, but once they reach adulthood, it's a struggle to get them to eat anything other than their fruit diets.
Since it's expensive and difficult to maintain a fresh-fruit diet simulating their natural New Caledonian environment, several reptile companies sell a powdered version of tropical fruit mixes for cresties. Pangea has one of the best lines of food options available. All you have to do is mix the powder with filtered water according to package instructions (usually 1:2 or 1:1 ratio), then set the food dish in your crestie's terrarium. No stress, no mess!
Some juveniles will turn their noses up to bugs altogether, even though they're a necessary inclusion to their diet at this critical age. In this case, switch your gecko over to a diet that's prepared with fruit AND insects already built into it. This may go over better than trying to force feed your gecko a wiggly little cricket.
Do crested geckos need calcium?
Yes, of course credted gekcos need calcium! Almost every animal on this planet requires calcium in their diet for proper bodily function. All of Pangea's diets provide a proper calcium intake for your crested gecko, but if you're one of the lucky few that can convince your gecko to eat bugs, lightly dust the bugs with a reptile-specific vitamin and calcium dust to enhance your crestie's health.
How do crested geckos drink water?
Crested geckos drink water just like you or me! They have their own variation on the methods, of course, and it depends on your individual gecko.
Our Ember enjoys it when we mist the top of her enclosure so she can lick the droplets off the glass. Other geckos will dip their whole face in a water bowl and drink that way. Still others will delicately lap up their water from a water dish one lick at a time.
No matter what your gecko prefers, ALWAYS provide a fresh, clean water bowl filled with filtered water each day. Also offer a daily misting for your gecko to drink from the water droplets on their encolsure. This way, you've covered all your bases, and you know your gecko won't go thirsty.
How long does a crested gecko live?
Crested geckos live 15-20 years in captivity, but as with all reptiles, their lifespan can extend beyond the normal limits. I've heard of many cresties living past the 25 year mark. As long as you employ proper animal husbandry with your gecko, he/she should bring you many, many years of happiness and joy.
What does a crested gecko need in their tank?
Find a full habitat kit here.
A crested gecko may be considered a beginner gecko, but their husbandry is a little more involved compared to their arrid gecko friends. They're tropical geckos, so they need higher heat and humidity in their tank. Let's dive into all the supplies you'll need to keep your crestie happy and healthy.
As said above, most crested gecko diets are in powder form and thickened with the addition of water for eating. You will need a food dish at least the size of a daily portion of food for your gecko. Make sure you clean this daily and offer fresh food each day!
Although your gecko may enjoy water droplets on the side of their tank, ALWAYS provide a fresh, clean water dish for your gecko. It doesn't matter if you never see them drink out of it; an animal should always have access to this basic necessity.
Dehydration can strike at any time, and your gecko may decide that today's the day they want a drink out of their water bowl. Don't deny them that! Dehydration is an initial cause of many health issues should it persist in your gecko, so always offering water is the easiest way to keep them safe and healthy.
Wooden Decorations
In the wild, crested geckos sit in the tree branches during the day. Their natural pigmentation is very similar to that of tropical tree bark, allowing them to camoflauge in their habitat. They will instinctively want to do the same in their terrarium to feel safe and comfortable.
Provide an array of woody decorations for your gecko, including wide, almost-vertical bark pieces, hollow pieces, thinner tree branch sections, and criss-crossing branches for your gecko to climb on. The wider variety of branch sizes you can provide, the better. This promotes good foot health for your crestie!
You can buy these wooden decorations from any number of reptile stores for quick & easy placement into your terrarium. I highly recommend Josh's Frogs for their cork wood decorations, but you can also shop other reptile vendors.
You can also use wood you find outside, but be aware that you will have to scrub the wood clean, soak it, and bake it to kill any bugs or pathogens the wood may contain. Just bake the wood at 225-250 degrees for an hour to ensure it's perfectly healthy for your gecko.
Leafy Decorations
Since camoflague isn't always enough, a crestie's secondary hiding place is among the leaves of jungle trees. There's so many leafy decorations out there, but the brighter, bushier foilage types are the best. These can be live or fake. Our Ember enjoys her fake leaf decorations for hiding just as much as her live ones!
You will want to distribute these leafy decorations equally across the entire terrarium. Even though it may make seeing your gecko more difficult, it will help him/her feel safe and secure in their habitat. Crested geckos are prey animals and require ample opportunities to hide in order to keep their stress levels low.
I promise, playing a game of find-the-gecko each morning and evening is more entertaining than seeing your gecko in plain sight! The details of their camoflauged skin is unbelievably beautiful to see up close.
Unlike wood, which you can bake to sanitize, leaves are harder to bake without destroying their integrity. I strongly recommend buying your leafy decorations. Josh's Frogs has a wide variety of live leafy decorations, and you can find any number of fake ones from any reptile vendor.
Unlike leopard geckos, who can get away with reptile mats for short periods of time, crested geckos CANNOT have reptile mats. They are always unnatural colors that make your gecko stand out. They will have higher stress levels guaranteed, so it's not worth it to try and use a mat.
Even if you're not using live plants in your terrarium, get an appropriate amount of reptile soil to ccover the bottom two inches of your terrarium. This will 1) help secure your branches in place and 2) provide more of the muted, natural browns your gecko instinctively searches for.
Your crested gecko will rarely, if ever, go to the ground, but that does not mean they don't need substrate. A bare-bottomed tank is even more stress-inducing than a reptile mat! Use a jungle-type soil if you can find it to make your gecko's habitat as natural as possible.
This is the fun part! There's a variety of low-light live plants and fake plants to choose from when decorating your gecko's terrarium. I recommend a mixture of bright greens and dark greens to provide the most variety possible for your gecko. Our Ember loves her neon pothos, but you can find a fake version of this plant at any number of reptile retailers for the same effect.
If you prefer live plants, you can go to Lowe's and find any number of low or medium light plants for $5-$7 in temporary pots. Research which plants are poisonous before you make any selections! Then, once you bring home your winners, rinse off their leaves and stems, then plant them in the terrarium substrate, or simply place the plant in the terrarium, pot and all!
In general, cresties prefer lives plants or a fully bioactive setup to fake plants, so I suggest taking this into consideration before you get your gecko. For advice on a bioactive steup, see our bioactive setup guide.
Mister or Fogger
Last but not least, you need a mister! We use a hand mister for our Ember, but have an automatic sprayer for our green anole that we're very happy with. If you're alright with spending the extra money, you can grab an automatic timed mister or fogger and build it into your terrarium.
If you have a terrarium lid, you may have to drill a hole or two to thread the connection hose through, but be careful not to make the hole too big, or your crestie might get stuck in it!
Temperature/Humidity Gauge
Don't forget your thermometer and hygrometer! You can find a digital thermometer from ReptiZoo here. Digital is always more reliable than analog!
How big of a terrarium does a crested gecko need?
A crested gecko needs AT MINIMUM a ten gallon terrarium as a juvenile. When they become an adult, you MUST provide at least thirty gallons total.
Gallons can be a misleading measurment, however, because cresties need more climbing space than walking space. Choose a terrarium that is taller than it is wide. If you can provide a terrarium shaped like a cube, that's even better. The terrariums from Josh's Frogs and ZooMed are of suitable size.
Our Ember is moving into a 2x2x2 Zen Habitat in the next month. I strongly believe that this is the proper space for a crested gecko to thrive, and I hope that you consider providing your gecko with the maximum jumping space possible. These are active creatures (at night, at least) that will become increasingly athletic the more space you give them. If you want your gecko to truly live his/her best life, get them a big habitat and watch them go!
Do crested geckos need UVB?
Yes, crested geckos need UVB. Even nocturnal animals will ocassionaly wander out during the day to catch some rays. Without UVB, they will not be able to absorb the calcium from their diet into their bones, and they will end up with some major deformities if they go without it for an extended period of time.
Provide a UVB meant for tropical animals, around 15 watts or lower, considering they prefer the shadier, less sun-intense environments. This will be just enough for your crestie to have the opportunity to bask without giving them too much UVB light. Don't forget your deep dome lamp for your bulb, either!
Do crested geckos need a heat lamp?
Yes, crested geckos need a heat lamp, but not an intense one! Desert animals enjoy hot rays of sun, but a shade-dwelling tropical gecko like a crestie prefers only a touch of heat. Think of a warm spring day versus a scorching day in the middle of July.
A heat lamp for a crested gecko should be 25-50 watts. 75 watts or higher is too hot and will 1) dry out your environment and 2) pose a burn risk to your crestie. Provide the lowest-wattage heat bulb you can and allow your gecko to decide how warm they'd like to be. Don't forget the deep dome lamp!
Increasing the wattage of the heat lamp due to cold ambient room temperatures is not a viable excuse. Keep your ambient temperature around 70-75 degrees Farenheit. Don't rely on an under-tank heat mat to increase the ambient temeprature, either; your crestie won't touch the ground and will get no benefit from it up at the top of their terrarium.
There's no need for a night light, either; if it falls to 60-65 degrees at night, that's perfectly fine, as jungles do reach those temperatures naturally, and cresties are tolerant of it. Just don't let it fall below 55 degrees, which is the point where reptiles begin to freeze.
Do crested geckos shed?
Yes, crested geckos, like all reptiles, shed. In addition, like most lizards, they shed piece by piece instead of all at once, and they'll eat their shed to reclaim the lost nutrients. Don't panic if there's no pieces of skin to pick up after your gecko sheds! It's less maintenance work for you, anyway.
Do crested geckos like to be held?
Compared to most geckos, cresties as an overall species tend to be pretty tame and respond well to handling. Babies will always be flighty, as is their instinct, but the juveniles and older geckos will quickly adjust to handling.
As always, each individual reptile has its own personality, quirks, and life expereinces. Just because the species as a whole is typically a good handling animal doesn't mean your individual gecko will enjoy being handled. Give your crested gecko time to adjust to their terrarium and your presence long before you attempt handling.
When handling a crested gecko, take your time. Let them come to you. It's okay to nudge them by gently poking their back toes or their back to get them out of their terrarium, but once they're out or in hand, let them explore! Cresties adore making long jumps and staring at new items in their surroundings. They're curious little guys, so let them explore to their heart's content!
If you plan to handle your gecko regularly, you'll have to practice being around them and having them in hand regularly, too. Be patient, notice changes in your gecko's behavior, and don't be afraid to take breaks. Your gecko can have bad days, too! Time, empathy, and persistance are the keys to good handling experiences with reptiles.
Do crested geckos have eyelids?
No, crested geckos do not have eyelids. They have a protective scale over their eye that sheds when they shed. They clean their eyes via licking instead of blinking. This means that they will not close their eyes when they're sleeping; instead, like snakes, they will sit very still, breath slowly and shallowly, and turn paler.
Why do crested geckos drop their tails?
Crested geckos drop their tails due to stress. It's not uncommon for a baby crestie to drop its tail at the first touch of a human. Even the sight of a large animal, whether it be human, dog, cat, lizard, or otherwise, may stress a crestie into dropping their tail.
This is not life-threatening. It's not even life-changing. A crestie without a tail doesn't have a different quality of life than a crestie with a tail. The only difference is how much effort they put into balance!
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