Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After researching tegus and chams and having my mom say no, i have been researching gargoyle and crested geckos (are their any other kinds of rhacodactylus i could research?). Can anyone tell me which kind of rhacodactylus i would like based on what i say?

i want something that can be handled.
i want something under 12 inches.
i want something that can be kept in a tank that has the floor space of a 10 gallon (height doesn't matter).
i want something colorful.
i want something that can eat the powdered diets from T-Rex, baby food, mealies, or a fruit blend i could make. (no crickets, superworms, waxworms, silkworms,etc)
i want something that doesn't make a lot of noise (no croaking/mating calls).
i want something that is friendly.
i want something that can do well in a vivarium.
i want something that doesn't require high maitenance (like a chameleon).
i want something that only requires a high temp of 85 degrees.

Can anyone give me opinions and recomendations?

any help or advice is appreciated
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

Of all the Rhacs, Cresteds and Gargoyles would be fine, but I can't say that I'd recommend any other Rhacs for what you want.

The only thing is, your cage size limitations are a bit much to ask, especially for something as big as a Gargoyle Gecko. Gargoyles are slightly larger and more of a ground dwelling species than Cresteds, so they're going to need more floor space. As for keeping either of those species in something with the floor space of a ten gallon tank, I don't really know what your reasoning for that is, but that's definitely a bit smaller than I would recommend for an adult pair of either species. If you're only getting one, that might be OK. There are a lot of affordable 16"x16"x30" tall screen cages on the market, which would be much more suitable and take up very little extra space.

Personally, I would go with whatever species you like best and try to be a bit more flexible about the cage size, especially considering you're only going to be housing a few.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

ok. I can definately fit a 16 by 16 tank on my desk. I wasn't measuring correctly.
What size cage would you house a gargoyle gecko in? (LWH)
Do you know of any good sites for crested and gargoyle geckos?
can you have cresteds and gargoyles in vivariums?
what are good plants for them to live with?
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

What is your definition of a Vivarium? If you mean a planted, naturalistic cage, sure, that would be fine.

Ficus plants are very popular among Crested and Gargoyle keepers who keep plants in their cages.

I would think the 16x16x30 cage would be fine for adult Gargoyles also, provided you give them lots of places to hide.

As for Cresteds and Gargoyles, it depends on what you want. If you want some higher end ones, shoot me an email and let me know what you're looking for. I keep pretty up to date on who has the good stuff. If you're just looking for average Cresteds or Gargoyles, there are tons of them on the classifieds.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

yeah by vivarium i meant like live plants and stuff.
Are cresteds or gargoyles more friendly?
how do you get them to eat the t-rex food stuff?
What kinds of morphs/colors are their for cresteds and gargoyles?
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger

i have a few more questions. i am going to repeat my above post also so you can see all the questions at once

yeah by vivarium i meant like live plants and stuff.
Are cresteds or gargoyles more friendly?
how do you get them to eat the t-rex food stuff?
What kinds of morphs/colors are their for cresteds and gargoyles?
will an all screen cage be suitable for gargoyles and cresteds?
what spacing of hardware clothe would you recomend? (if i build it myself)
i would plan to make a cage like the one here just smaller
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger

one thing that i dont think anyone addressed was that the r. ciliatus really cant tolerate high temperatures for sustained periods. it actually makes things a bit easier if you dont have to heat them, they like room temperature, and fluorescent lights dont put off much heat but generally last much longer than incandescent. might wanna check on the temps for leachianus, but im guessing those, too, require lower temperatures than the 85 degrees or so that youre looking for.

Actually, I think it was pretty clear that he just doesn't want anything that he has to keep above 85. Hopefully, if he reads the article that I recommended, he'll know what temps to keep them at.

I give my cresteds an 80-82 degree warm spot in their cages and egg production is best at that temperature. For breeding Cresteds, room temp is only good if your room is a typical reptile room that gets into the high 70's or low 80's during the day.

FYI- Leachianus can handle a 90 degree basking spot...and grow a lot faster when given one.

>>one thing that i dont think anyone addressed was that the r. ciliatus really cant tolerate high temperatures for sustained periods. it actually makes things a bit easier if you dont have to heat them, they like room temperature, and fluorescent lights dont put off much heat but generally last much longer than incandescent. might wanna check on the temps for leachianus, but im guessing those, too, require lower temperatures than the 85 degrees or so that youre looking for.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

Here's my answers...

>>Are cresteds or gargoyles more friendly?

I think Cresties are a little more laid back...but it's a close call. Gargoyles are said to be more willing to rest out in the open, but I haven't noticed that myself.

>>How do you get them to eat the t-rex food stuff?

In my experience, mixing it with baby food and vitamins seems to help, but if that's all you're feeding, I don't know how good of an idea it is to mix it into their baby food. I feed the t-rex mixed with baby food and then crickets on alternating days.

>>What kinds of morphs/colors are their for cresteds and gargoyles?

Lots. This is something that you could easily find by browsing this forum or doing some searches on Google.

>>will an all screen cage be suitable for gargoyles and cresteds?

Yep.

>>what spacing of hardware clothe would you recomend? (if i build it myself)

I use rubbermaids and I hate building cages (just being honest), so I wouldn't know.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

thanks for that info. I was planning on feeding mainly the t-rex/baby food with crickets,mealies, or superworms (when the gecko is big enough) once or twice a week.
What size rubbermaids do you use for your cresties? (for pairs or trios)
Can cresties do fine with a night time temp of 65 degrees all over the cage? or is a temp gradient required?
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger

Please read the article mentioned earlier. It will answer all of your questions

>>thanks for that info. I was planning on feeding mainly the t-rex/baby food with crickets,mealies, or superworms (when the gecko is big enough) once or twice a week.
>>What size rubbermaids do you use for your cresties? (for pairs or trios)
>>Can cresties do fine with a night time temp of 65 degrees all over the cage? or is a temp gradient required?
>>-----
>>0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
>>0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
>>1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)
>>
>>"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

you never gave me an article. You kept saying that i should read the article but never gave it to me.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger

>>you never gave me an article. You kept saying that i should read the article but never gave it to me.
>>-----
>>0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
>>0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
>>1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)
>>
>>"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

I've given this link to so many people, it all starts to run together.
Allen Repashy's Crested Gecko Article

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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

thanks for that article.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger

I made a cage like the one you linked to for me cresteds, though I've since gotten a subadult and another on the way and so moved the littler guys to a rubbermaid enclosure with screen inset in the top.

Here's a shot of the enclosure (I've also since moved the far right plant to the ceiling of the cage, which they like much better):

Here's a shot of Scooby having a drink off the side of the litter box I put in the base on top of a thick layer of newspaper:

And here's a shot of Carmen hanging out in the plants:

I hope those picture links worked. I used 1/2" pvc and 1/4" galvanized hardware cloth (the smallest my Lowe's carries), and gave the hardware cloth a good coating of Rust-O-Leum in order to prolong its life and prevent rust from regular misting. If I do it again, I'll use black of green instead of white. I hope this might be useful to you.

It sounds to me like the crested gecko (rhacodactylus ciliatus) would be the prime candidate for what you are looking for. If you only had one, and depending on the layout of your cage, I suppose a ten gallon tank would be okay, but the higher the better, as they love to climb. Crested are available in a wide variety of colors and patterns including, buckskin (patternless)
Fire, tiger, pinstripe, crowned, fringed, bi-color, chevron backed, harlequin, dalmation, oranges, reds, yellows, and some breeders are now working on a blue phase. As you can see, there are certainly a lot of choices out there when it comes to the crested gecko. To get the cresteds to eat the t-rex formula (which is excellent and contains all the nutrients that they need) mix it with some baby food, such as apricot, bananna, or, my geckos favorite, peach. Start slowly with small amounts of the t-rex formula in baby food and slowly work your way to a point where you can mix it with water as it says on the label if you choose. My cresteds will not eat it by itself, it must be mixed with baby food. Also, cresteds love crickets, so keep that in mind too. Use a potting soil (fertilizer free of course!), sand, orchard bark mix for the bedding, keeping it moist, but not wet. Every other day stir the bedding up and soon the substrate will become biologically active, meaning that it will eventually break down the fecal matter into usable fertilizer for any live plants that you may have in the enclosure. Crested geckos actually prefer lower temps, in the 70-80 range with a drop of 5-10 degrees at night, depending on the season. Try keeping your humidity range no lower than 60%, with 80% being optimal. Provide them with a water bowl and they will drink from it. Mist the cage lightly in the morning, and thoroughly at night and you will accomplish two things. You will keep the humidity up and give them water droplets from which they can drink. I appologize for the length of this reply, but I hope that it helps you out with your decision, should you choose to go with a crested gecko.

thanks.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 normal ball python (felix)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

"There are six genes which determine the amount of melanism present in a person's skink"-meretseger