Reptile & Amphibian Forums

And set him/her up in a tank of her very own. She was sold as a "brindle" and was a very pretty grayish color with black and tan markings. She was completely washed out by the time I got her home and set up, so this picture doesn't do her justice. There were a lot of nice reds and traditional pattens, but I really liked her better.

I talked to a dart frog/crestie breeder who walked me through a natural setup. I know there's varying opinions on food hunting, but I raised my other crestie in a habitat with a lot of plants,etc..and she's a happy healthy grownup now.

She had me put clay balls on the bottom, aquarium gravel to hold those down and help drain excess water, eco earth bedding, moss, and I got a nice chunk of driftwood with a great layer of moss on it. I picked up two plants from Lowes (rinsed & replanted in eco earth).

I'm very happy with the setup for my first time doing one like this. Feel free to provide input if you would do something different next time. My hope is to introduce her to my other girl when she's big enough to go with her.

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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
1.0.0 Mali Uromastyx
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Crested Gecko
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Cockatiel and Conure)
1.1.0 Rabbits
0.0.2 Florida red-bellied turtles
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

The enclosure looks great so far, but is in dire need of some branches/twigs/corkbark flats or something to fill in the upper 1/2 of the cage. The way you have it set up would be suitable for a terrestrial gecko, but cresteds climb around a LOT!

I'm aware they climb.

For a hatchling baby, that's quite a good deal of climbing she's got going on IMHO. She seems to be rather happy and sticks to the middle/bottom as it is right now. The plants will grow as she grows and give her access to more room. Considering most juveniles at the breeders live in breeder racks with cardboard inserts, she's got plently of climbing to stimulate her.

Thanks for your input.
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
1.0.0 Mali Uromastyx
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Crested Gecko
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Cockatiel and Conure)
1.1.0 Rabbits
0.0.2 Florida red-bellied turtles
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

"I'm aware they climb."

so why don't you put something in there for them to climb on?

"For a hatchling baby, that's quite a good deal of climbing she's got going on IMHO. She seems to be rather happy and sticks to the middle/bottom as it is right now."

Of course it's going to stick to the bottom half of the cage if that's the only place there is for it to hide and feel comfortable

Flamedcrestie has some good points there...
"The plants will grow as she grows and give her access to more room."

The plants will not grow up all that much, which is the point of putting vines or other climbing objects in the cage. You can always remove objects as the plants start to fill in. Also, as the plants grow, technically there will be access to LESS space ( more space is filled by the plants)

"Considering most juveniles at the breeders live in breeder racks with cardboard inserts, she's got plently of climbing to stimulate her."

You didn't ask for the most common breeder set-ups and how plain they are. You asked for suggestions on your cage, if you don't like the suggestions, then don't ask

I agree. if you put more in there for the gecko to climb around on, it will use it. this person seems to have set you up with more of a dart frog tank than a crested gecko tank. it looks good, but definitely needs more climbing space. leaving nothing but glass to climb on is one of the things a lot of people think leads to floppy tail.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

3 geckos, all VERY strong tails that they use actively.

Boy, just look at that floppy tail on my adult female! Absolutely no grip on my finger whatsoever...where's the eye rolling emoticon when you need it?

It's no wonder so many people leave kingsnake... All one is treated with is as though they are naive and know nothing. I'm so glad the breeder of my gecko has a friendly forum.
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
1.0.0 Mali Uromastyx
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.2.1 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 German Shepherds
1.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Cockatiel and Conure)
1.1.0 Rabbits
0.0.2 Florida red-bellied turtles
3 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

Nobody said your geckos had floppy tail.
It was mentioned as a reason for you to think about adding more furnishings to your geckos cage.
Nobody said you were naive, or presumed that, you asked for suggestions, they were given, and for some reason you are getting defensive and all bent out of shape.
Please feel free to post again when you decide you can take the constructive criticism that was given to you by the helpful forum members here.

No thanks.