Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, im about to get a crested gecko for the first time. i ran across several problems went i wanted to buy one.

-Should i buy from the internet or from a pet shop? Where is a reliable place?

-Should i get a juvenile or an adult for my first one?

-Should i get a male or female? I don't plan on breeding (at least for now).

Any help is much appreciated

-Should i buy from the internet or from a pet shop? Where is a reliable place?
I would buy from a breeder (groundgeckofreak.com, acreptiles.com, crestedgecko.com, or other breeders that post on the classifieds)
Some pet shops do have good quality animals, but usually they are way overpriced.

-Should i get a juvenile or an adult for my first one?
I would personally get a juvie (at least 2 months) so you can raise it up into adulthood.

-Should i get a male or female? I don't plan on breeding (at least for now).
If you get a juvie sexing won't be possible. Males will be less expensive than females.
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I have a place near me that sells crested geckos called scales and tails. i don't know if you have heard of them and i don't know if they are reliable or not. My think was that the store had to have the geckos sent to them and then i would be takeing them home. this way the animal would have to change tanks alot and be carted around in a box alot. If i buy straight off the internet then i am guessing i would minimize the stress of the animal.

I dont know if im right or not.

>>-Should i buy from the internet or from a pet shop? Where is a reliable place?

I've had the best luck buying directly from a breeder. The animals are usually better cared for. In a pet store, the employees don't always know how to take care of everything, but with a breeder, they obviously know how to take care of them...or they wouldn't be producing too many.

>>-Should i get a juvenile or an adult for my first one?
Adults that are up for sale have usually been passed around a lot...meaning they may or may not be in the best of health. Another thing to consider is that nobody sells their good looking ones. I don't know if looks are important to you, but for me, that's a big factor too. It's all up to you, but I have had better luck buying younger animals that I can raise up myself.

>>-Should i get a male or female? I don't plan on breeding (at least for now).

As Jake said, if you buy a baby or juvenile, it's not going to be sexable. If you buy an adult, you're not going to want to pay the price for a female.

Scales & Tails is in Lawrence, KS I believe. I'm from the Kansas City area, but I don't know if they produce their own Crested Geckos, as I don't know the new owner. Considering they're a pet store, I would doubt it, but you never know.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

I was thinking about buying from ACreptiles but i do not know how old the ones you are selling are. I was looking at the Dark Fire or the Dark Fire/Harlequin ones.

They're all between 4-6 weeks old and are eating and healthy. I don't usually keep them much longer than that unless I'm raising them up for breeding stock.

>>I was thinking about buying from ACreptiles but i do not know how old the ones you are selling are. I was looking at the Dark Fire or the Dark Fire/Harlequin ones.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

I was told that i should buy one around 2 mounths old. Would taking care of one of the 3-4 week old geckos be harder to do? i have a 50 gallon tank that im going to keep my gecko in. Should i just buy a smaller tank to raise the gecko in until it is big enough to go into the 50 gallon tank?

If you're buying from a pet store or online retailer, it would be wise to buy one that's at least two months old, so that you know they're not going to "crash" on you, due to dehydration or a nutritional imbalance of some sort.

That said, my baby geckos are pretty much pampered, which I feel is part of a breeder's job. Their cages are emptied and disinfected twice per week and they're fed a well balanced and properly supplemented diet no less often than every other day. By the time they're 4-6 weeks of age, I feel they're just as active and hardy as any two month old ever could be. At that point, I feel that they're just as easy to keep as an adult. If they were not, I simply would not sell them. In fact, I've never had anyone buy a gecko from me and then have problems with it.

If you are to buy one less than 3-4 months old, you would definitely want a smaller tank, such as a critter keeper, which you can get for about $5-10 depending on what size you get.

-Anthony

>>I was told that i should buy one around 2 mounths old. Would taking care of one of the 3-4 week old geckos be harder to do? i have a 50 gallon tank that im going to keep my gecko in. Should i just buy a smaller tank to raise the gecko in until it is big enough to go into the 50 gallon tank?
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

So if i bought one of your geckos do you think i could put it straight into my 50 gallon tank? I have moss bedding in my cage which i heard could be a choking hazard.

What do you suggest?

>>So if i bought one of your geckos do you think i could put it straight into my 50 gallon tank? I have moss bedding in my cage which i heard could be a choking hazard.
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>>What do you suggest?

Like I said in my last post, you'd need a smaller cage (like a critter keeper) for a baby Crested until it's at least several months old.

Please take a look at the crested gecko section of my website. There's lots of information on caging, substrate, etc.
Link

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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com