Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You
Click for ZooMed
Click here for Dragon Serpents

min tank size? opinions please..

sleepofapples Jul 17, 2007 03:29 PM

I have read a lot of conflicting information about this.. I am now just looking for some opinions..

My conundrum is that I have 4 male crested geckos and 1 female.. currently the female and largest male are in a 40xhigh, and the other males are in 29 gallons. I am having to downsize my tanks as they are being moved into another room with less space..

Will 15 xhigh tanks be large enough for one male each? the dimensions are 18x20x10... The books I have say a ten gallon is large enough for one adult male, but that just seems tiny.. not to mention not vertically oriented.. If not, 25high ( 24X12X20) tanks are also an option, being not much wider than 15s.. they do however cost almost double what the 15s do..

the males will be rotated with the female so they will get some time in the larger tank..

let me know what you guys think!

thanks!
-----
my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

Replies (4)

warnersister Jul 17, 2007 10:04 PM

i personally feel a 15g tank is a decent size for one adult crested, provided you put a lot of foliage, hides, branches, etc. i would put it on its end so that it's 20" high. also, a regular 20g tank is more common in size and may be cheaper than the 15g.

when you say the males will be rotated with the female, how much time did you plan on having her separated between males? you may want to consider this if knowing who the father of her babies is is important to you. my females have been separated from the male for 8 months and are still laying fertile eggs.
-----
3.1 snakes, 3.3 crested geckos, 0.0.1 gargoyle gecko, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta

sleepofapples Jul 18, 2007 10:18 AM

ermm.. well i suppose i hadnt thought about how long in between.. i was mainly thinking about rotating them so that she could have some time to herself between males.. do you have a suggestion? i am not super concerned with keeping track of the parentage.. not right now anyway.. they are all pets, not breeding projects.. for me it was just a happy accident that they are easy to breed as well as being great pets... i hate to sound ignorant, but is there a reason i should keep track of parentage? i cant think of any as long as i dont intend on selling them..
-----
my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

hgecko Jul 18, 2007 12:48 PM

As far as cage size goes. I use 16x15x20 tall screen cages for all of my adults. I have one per cage except for breeding when I have two. They are $40 or $35 if you buy 4.

Breeding is more complicated. Rotating males does not necessarily mean you will have babies from different fathers. Cresties are strange like that. They can breed once a season and have fertile eggs all season. If you mix dads he may or may not be the father. No way to know. Even if you keep the babies yourself you might have concerns about breeding them to each other or their parents for genetic defect reasons. This is a touchy subject so, I won't go into it. But, some breeders choose to keep the bloodlines pure to reduce the numbers of genetic problems.
-----
15.25.30 Cresteds

www.geckoclutch.com

sleepofapples Jul 18, 2007 10:30 PM

i didnt know they could continue to produce eggs.. i believe box turtles do that.. or something similar anyway..

you are probably right about keeping track of parentage to avoid inbreeding...

i think i am going to keep her alone for a while until i decide if i want to pursue breeding them seriously.. if im going to do it, then i want to do it right.

where can i learn more about breeding and what i need to do to keep them healthy whilst doing so? websites, books, or publications? i love to read so suggest away..

-----
my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, eastern newts, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, red foot tortoise, 6 crested geckos, painted mantellas, crocodile skink, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, a dog (shiba inu/australian shep/husky, and a boyfriend.

Site Tools