Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Since this seems to be a question that gets asked over and over and over again, I'm going to post this here.

The below is taken directly from my website...

Yes, New Caledonia has high relative humidity, but this does not necessarily mean that the Crested Gecko needs it to survive. I'm from Kansas City and although it gets unbearably humid in the summer here, I could definitely live without it.

A popular misunderstanding about humidity and reptiles is that the humidity needs to never drop below a set percentage. This is not true. You actually want the cage to dry out and humidity to bottom out at whatever it is in your reptile room, creating a humidity cycle.

If the humidity stays too high for too long, bacteria and fungus will start to grow, creating an unhealthy environment. This is why it's important to have plenty of ventilation and to let the cage dry out every day. I typically spray cages at night and let them dry out as the day gets warmer. I try to spray the cages lightly enough so that they dry out completely by the following morning or afternoon.

While Crested Geckos do not need constantly high humidity, babies dehydrate more easily and should be misted more regularly to make sure that they don't have shedding problems. On the other hand, I've noticed that reptiles that are kept too wet for too long can have shedding problems as well, so you still want baby cages to dry out periodically. I keep babies in Kritter Keepers, which have plenty of ventilation, so I can spray heavily and not have to worry about the cage becoming moldy or unhealthy.

So "what percent" you ask? There is no set percent. The temperature has a direct bearing on relative humidity and so do many other factors. As a rule of thumb, I try to lightly spray (not soak) everything in the cage every evening. The water from this usually evaporates within 4-6 hours.

In my experience, humidity is not at all vital (except in the first few weeks of life) to a Crested Gecko and is not a concern as long as the gecko is able to drink daily.
My Crested Gecko FAQ Page

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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

I'm curious as to the effects of humidity and breeding? Do you have any information to share on that?

I am really happy with keeping mine in screen cages. I have been misting them once a day - and they seem to be doing fine.

thanks for the great information Anthony.
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Monte Meyer
Powergeckos
Email

No Fru-Fru morphs in the herp room

>>I'm curious as to the effects of humidity and breeding? Do you have any information to share on that?

Monte,

I've never even attempted to keep mine more humid than I do right now because I see no need for it. Mine are cranking out a clutch every 3-4 weeks like clockwork and I don't think I'd want to see them lay any more often than that. I've already had to shut down a few of my females this year due to them laying what I feel is an excessive number of clutches (9 ) for a first year female.

-Anthony
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

I live in Colorado which is really dry and unpredictable. I have to heavily mist my tank to get the humidity up to the 60's or 70's. Within about 3 hours the cage goes back down to what ever the humidity in the house is (right now about 30%). I was thinking about getting a fogger and putting it on a timer so that it goes off about 2 or 3 times a day.

I don't know though

The fogger is unnecessary and in general, they're more trouble than they could ever be worth. As I stated in my FAQ section, there is no set percentage of humidity that must be maintained in the cage. That said, you really don't need to monitor the hygrometer on an hourly basis.

As long as your gecko is not having trouble shedding, you have nothing to worry about. If (and only if) the gecko does have trouble shedding, you may need to spray more often or reduce the amount of ventilation by covering part of the screen top.

>>I live in Colorado which is really dry and unpredictable. I have to heavily mist my tank to get the humidity up to the 60's or 70's. Within about 3 hours the cage goes back down to what ever the humidity in the house is (right now about 30%). I was thinking about getting a fogger and putting it on a timer so that it goes off about 2 or 3 times a day.
>>
>>I don't know though
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

A group of German herpetologists published their findings in a recent addition of UBERGECKO. Just kidding!

Did you ever get your stamps? Pretty cool, eh?

NH

Hey Nathan,

Yep, I got them...very cool. I've already got various Morelia python pieces in the reptile room, so I want to frame a sheet and hang it over on the gecko side of the room.

>>A group of German herpetologists published their findings in a recent addition of UBERGECKO. Just kidding!
>>
>>Did you ever get your stamps? Pretty cool, eh?
>>
>>NH
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com