Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so i have been reading alot of everyones messages on here and im thinking i have my set up wrong, Im using some sort of what looks like little woodchips and mulch for my cage(only because the dude at the store said it was good stuff to use)and it said it was great for crested geckos on the bag. Is there something better i should use for the bottom of my cage, If so what is that?

Mine's totally happy living on paper towels - makes cleaning up the enclosure really easy too, just pull out the paper towels, throw them away, wipe down the walls and reassemble with fresh paper towels. Quick, easy, cheap, disposable. That being said, a more natural looking enclosure can be more pleasing to the eye, but it is harder to maintain properly.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

ok if i was looking for more natural looking enclosure what kind of flooring would i use and if i go the pappertowel way can i keep my enclosure the same way and just have the pappertowels on the bottom?

Papertowels would work find in the setup you showed, however, please forgive me, I have a few questions:

Is that two lights? How are your temps then? I would think you would be getting above 85F with two lights and an average room temp. For our setup, we don't even have a specific light for the crested, her terrarium simply is set up next to our leo's which gives her a light cycle. Temps above 85F are very stressful on cresteds. Since crested ideal temp range is closely related to what we humans like, most people forgo any sort of light or heating of any sort.

Also, with both lights on the side of the enclosure it doesn't look like the little guy has a lot of dark hiding spots during the day. I would remove the lower light and make sure you have some sort of hide in there.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

it really only stays around 75deg. in the cage with the two lights in there but i will lose one to create more spots to hide. I was scared it will be to cold in there.

Are you measuring temps using those round temp gages stuck to the side? They are in shadow in the picture I am guessing that is where you are taking your temps. Like ALL reptiles you want to have a cool/cold side and a warm/hot side. The temp you should be watching is directly under that light source. That temp should be no more than 85F when the light is on. The cold side should be lower, in fact, for the daytime with lights on 75F is a fine temp for the daytime cold side. With a range of temperatures, you gecko can go where it feels comfortable and can regulate its own body heat in that way. Get a temperature under those lights and then work from there. Good luck.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Well i have two of them now that i think about it in the shadows, And i have one on the top right in the the direction the top light is facing and that ones stays around 75-80 for the most part but i will move the others and see if that changes anything. Always up for suggestions thanks for the feedback!!

Good catch by sleepygecko on the temps! The min/max on temps from a comfort point of view should be around 70 and 82 degrees.

Bedding, there are several options available-
Bark-NOT GOOD, if you are feeding crickets, you have a VERY good chance of impaction- the gecko eats the bark after missing the cricket. This can kill you animal.
Sand- Not so good, again impaction issues and it's just not what they are use to.
Repto Carpet- OK, I've not used this but it seems that this would both cover the esthetics and ease of clean up side of things. My only concern would be the little claws catching on the fibers.
PT- OK, good, great for clean up but not so nice to look at.
Unfertilized Dirt- Good, Would provide wonderful area to plant live plants. Clean up would be picking out the bigger pieces and letting the other naturally decompose. Many keepers have gone in this direction. (MAKE SURE IT'S UNFERTILIZED)
Ala Natural- Good, easy cleanup. I have gone this route. I purchase bunches of plastic/silk plants and scatter them on the bottom of the enclosure. Looks fairly natural and they love to hide under the leaves.

Good Luck and let us know your selection.
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http://wkern.msspro.com/supremegecko.html

Is your gecko having problems with the substrate? If not, why change it? Sure, you read lots of different things on this forum, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are doing it better or worse than you. I imagine you are probably using something like "Jungle Bed" as a substrate now. It's typically made of chuncks of mulch and coconut husk and some soil/sand mix. This is actually a descent bedding for cresteds. This type of sub- strate is very good for holding and elevating humidity levels within your enclosure, which of coure, is very good for your crested. So I say again, if your crested seems to be doing alright in the setup that you have him in, then go with that. It's excellent that you seek to improve on your setup and that you are interested in acquiring newer and more beneficial information on your cresteds. But always take what you hear, (or read) and apply its theory to what you know, and then go from there. Best of luck to you and your crested! Cheers!

Well thanks thats cool! I'm just tryin to get the most love from my gecko so i try and make him happy and everyone i've asked qustions to in here seem to be on the ball so im grateful. I'll try and post more pics and show progress as i go!

Well thanks thats cool! I'm just tryin to get the most love from my gecko so i try and make him happy and everyone i've asked qustions to in here seem to be on the ball so im grateful. I'll try and post more pics and show progress as i go! Heres on from last night!!