Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If crested geckos breed prolifically, can be kept in small cages, don't require too much extra heating, etc., why are they so expensive?
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~Sara~
1.2 ball pythons (Scorpio, Dayzee, and Satan)
1.0 Black-lined plated lizard (Lizzy Butt)
0.1 Burmese Python (Pixil)
1.0 Pacman Frog (Pudge)
5.2 Pet Rats (Emo, Skye, Siam, Lilac, Manson, Spade, and Zilk)
1.1 Dogs (Ozzie and Mandy)
0.1 Cat (Isis)
0.0.1 Synodontis Catfish (Big Spotty Fish)
0.2 Convict Cichlids
0.0.2 Crayfish

Go check ball python morph costs...then look at crested gecko prices...they will look really cheap then

I have never considered crested geckos expensive, though in Canada, where i am from, they are more often then not a good deal more expensive compared than the states for the same looking gecko.

Prices usually are high for the more 'pretty' ones, like creamsicle, high contrast patterns, pinstripes etc. The plainer buckskin type tend to be much less.

Even though crested geckos are easy to keep and breed, that very fact does make them very much in demand. They are pretty, personable, cute, don't need alot of space or special lighting/heating and are easy to feed, especially with the crested gecko diet available. Thus high demand for them as pets. However, they only lay between 6-10 eggs a year.

Compare to say, a bearded dragon..which can lay as much as 100 eggs a year.

Thus, you have popularity and low birth numbers, so there is high demand, low supply in some areas. And often, breeders can ask whatever price they want, and still sell them.

but for a great pet with a price range anywhere between $40 to $400, do enough looking around and shopping, and you will find one in your price range.
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PHLdyPayne

Well in my opinion, the only ones that are really expensive anymore are ones old enough to show their true colors and sex. You can get them pretty cheap now at young ages. They dropped alot since the beginning of this year. But for sure females are HIGH, and certain morph males are high still.

But I think their value is slowly dropping. And more morphs means lower prices for already existing morphs.

I wasn't aware of their low clutch sizes.
And I certaintly can't understand why some of the ball python morphs are so high. The albino and piebald and spider morphs are justifiably high due to how far away from "normal" they look, but "granite" "blackback" and a lot of the "pastels" just look like small variations of normal, and I for the life of me can't understand why someone would pay 50 times the cost of a normal ball python for one of them.

Do crested geckos live very long?
What is the most "far away from normal" morph (in your opinion) that the crested gecko comes in?
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~Sara~
1.2 ball pythons (Scorpio, Dayzee, and Satan)
1.0 Black-lined plated lizard (Lizzy Butt)
0.1 Burmese Python (Pixil)
1.0 Pacman Frog (Pudge)
5.2 Pet Rats (Emo, Skye, Siam, Lilac, Manson, Spade, and Zilk)
1.1 Dogs (Ozzie and Mandy)
0.1 Cat (Isis)
0.0.1 Synodontis Catfish (Big Spotty Fish)
0.2 Convict Cichlids
0.0.2 Crayfish

>>I wasn't aware of their low clutch sizes.
>>And I certaintly can't understand why some of the ball python morphs are so high. The albino and piebald and spider morphs are justifiably high due to how far away from "normal" they look, but "granite" "blackback" and a lot of the "pastels" just look like small variations of normal, and I for the life of me can't understand why someone would pay 50 times the cost of a normal ball python for one of them.
>>
>>Do crested geckos live very long?
>>What is the most "far away from normal" morph (in your opinion) that the crested gecko comes in?
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They can live for >15 years. As far as "far away from normal" morphs go, my understanding is that there is still a lot of experimental breeding going on. There's a lot of natural variety in their appearance, so breeding for specific traits will no doubt take a long time to isolate every possible morph. I'm not expert on crested morphs, but I know there are a ton of different ones out there, with more being discovered/created all the time.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear