Enclosure: 

Crested geckos are native to New Caledonia.  In New Caledonia you may find a crested gecko hiding in a bush close to the ground or you may find them higher up in a tree. This means that crested geckos are not ground dwellers and prefer vertical enclosures that are filled with branches and plants. For housing an 18”x18”x24” exo-terra enclosure (or similar style and brands like zoomed, thrive, dubia enclosures, etc. ) is a great size for a single adult crested gecko although you can always go bigger if you'd like. However, for a juvenile you may want something smaller and then upgrade as you go. Another great option for housing crested geckos are standard aquariums. Aquariums tend to have more space horizontally so you may want to turn your aquarium onto it's side. I use 29 gallons for adults and 10 gallons for juveniles. You can use a good screen lid and cage clips to keep the lid on or you can buy your own conversion kits online.  I use a mix of zoo-meds, exo-terras, and converted aquariums for my crested geckos.

 

Regardless of the size enclosure you get you want to make sure you fill out your enclosure and don't have a lot of empty spaces. You will want to use things like branches, vines, cork bark and plants. A filled out enclosure will make the gecko feel safe & secure.  For substrate you can use: paper towels, coconut fiber, or if you want to step up your enclosure game you can go bioactive and use a homemade ABG mix.

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Heat & Lighting:

Room temperature is usually ideal for crested geckos (temps ranging from 70-80 F). Night time temps can drop into the mid 60's. Above 82 degrees can be detrimental for a crested gecko. Like most animals crested geckos require a day and night cycle. You can achieve this by natural light, fluorescent lights or LED’s. If you are keeping a bioactive enclosure LED’s will be beneficial for your plants. If you chose to use natural light NEVER place your gecko directly in front of a window. 

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Humidity:

Ideal range for crested geckos during the day is 50-75% humidity. During the night humidity should be around 60-80%. You should mist your enclosure once at night and allow for a dry off period during the day. Humidity will spike to 75-100% directly after misting and then will drop as the enclosure dries out. During the day humidity should not drop below 50%. A dry off period is important because too humidity or too dry can cause shedding and respiratory issues.

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Diet: 

​Every day to every other day: provide a small bowl of complete crested gecko diet (CGD) like Pangea or Repashy. You can alternate between brands and flavors but make sure you are offering a complete diet. For example. Pangea offers a fruit mix gecko treat. This should not be fed day to day as it is a treat high in sugars and is not a full nutritional diet. However, this treat can be a fun addition for your gecko. Who doesn't like a treat every once in a while? 

 

There are many different flavors and brands out there. You can provide your gecko with many different options or mix a few together to switch things up. Alternative brands to Pangea and Repashy include Lugarti, BP Zoological, Arcadia, Zoo Med, etc. You should mix the diet of your choosing with water until it is a smoothie or ketchup consistency. Please pay careful attention to the instructions on the bag and feed accordingly. However, it is important to NEVER feed your geckos food dry. 

In addition to providing a CGD it is important to offer live insects to your scaly friend. For young geckos live insects should be fed 2-3x a week. For adults you can provide live insects once a week. Make sure to gut load your insects prior to feeding and dust with calcium. Common insects we use here at Jess's Jungle include crickets, dubia roaches, and black soldier fly larvae.  However, you can use other insects as well! It's important all insects are captive bred and not caught from outside. Outside insects could be carrying toxins from pesticides or have parasites that can effect your gecko. To find insects you can go to your local pet store, reptile expo, or order online. 

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