Crested geckos are possibly one of the easiest geckos to care for. They have very basic care needs and are very attractive coming in a range of colour morphs to suit every budget.

Crested geckos have “sticky” feet and a prehensile tail, which enables them to climb almost any surface and helps them to manoeuvre around their natural habitat with the greatest of ease, they are also very good at jumping. Crested Geckos come in an wide variety of colors and markings. Crested Geckos as so named as they have a fringed crest that runs from over their eyes down their necks and backs, the size of the crest does vary.

Scientific Name: Rhacodactylus ciliatus

Average Life Span: Crested geckos can live 10 or more years.

Size: Crested geckos reach approximately 7-10 inches in length.

Basic care needs

Crested geckos can grow up to approx 7-10 inches in length with males being slightly larger. They require a tank size of a minimum (for a male and female pair) 24x18x18”. Exo terra tanks are especially good for this type of gecko as they are arboreal and can climb the glass with ease. Also, it helps to attain their humidity levels.

Males should NEVER be housed together but females will usually tolerate each others company and they can be kept in groups of 1 male to 2 females with ease.

The vivarium for them should be well decorated with plants and branches – live plants such as ficus benjamina and pothos can be used, as can artificial plants.

Substrate can consist of a few materials – eco earth is popular although a lot of keepers prefer a basic substrate such as newspaper to avoid impaction risks.

A water bowl should be present with clean drinking water each day although crested geckos will more readily drink form the enclosure being misted each evening.

Heating, lighting and humidity

Crested geckos live quite happily at room temperature. Daytime temperatures should be maintained at 74-80 degrees F. while night times should see temperatures of 65-75 degrees F. DO NOT let the temperatures exceed 84 degrees F. as this can be fatal to crested geckos.

A photoperiod of 12-14 hours should be provided, varying throughout the year to reflect the seasons. This can be done by using normal household lighting conditions (no heat lighting required).

Humidity for crested geckos should rest between 60% - 90%. Daily spraying 1-3 times should keep the humidity high enough. Nighttime spraying is favourable as they are more active at night.

Diet

Crested geckos are omnivores meaning they will eat both meat and fruit.

You can feed your crested gecko a diet of crickets, locusts, cockroaches and silkworms. Waxworms and mealworms should be fed sparingly due to the mealworms having a hard exoskeleton and waxworms being very high in fat.

They will also eat many types of fruit. You can either mash up fruit to a puree for them or buy jars of baby food flavoured with things such as peach, banana, apricot, pear etc.

Another option is to feed things such as T-Rex Crested Gecko Diet. This is made up with water and is a complete diet for crested geckos. You don’t have to offer them any other foods live or otherwise when feeding this formula.

This is a very basic guide to caring for your reptile, this information is not exhaustive. Please find out as much information as you can regarding Crested Gecko care to ensure that your pet gets the most out of you and you out of your pet.

Care Guide information supplied by Emma Britton, Edited by A.Farley. All rights reserved.

Photographs courtesy of Meredith Ives and Guffa the crested gecko. All rights reserved.