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What can i house with a Crested Gecko?

turtlequest Aug 31, 2004 10:45 AM

I am getting a crested gecko very soon. I would like to house two cresties together, but i know that they will end up biting each others tails off.

I want the tank to have a lagoon type enviroment at the bottom of the tank. I want the background to be very jungle like.

Will the crestie drown in the lagoon? Also what else can i house with the crestie?

I am looking to put some small tropical fish in the lagoon. I would like some tree frogs, or poison dart frogs. Would the crestie attack the frogs or vice versa.

Thanks.
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0.0.2 RES's (The Boondock Saints)
0.0.1 Common Snapping Turtle (Aggro)
0.0.1 Eastern Red Bellie (Jake)
0.0.1 Map Turtle (Mappy)
0.2.0 Bearded Dragon (Yeungling,Killian)

Replies (11)

reptilefreak16 Aug 31, 2004 11:03 AM

It is not true that if you house two cresteds together they will bite off each others tails. If you buy two babies and raise them together they will most likely do just fine. Or if you have two females together.

I dont know about the lagoon but i myself wouldnt risk it.But they have the topads so i would think they could pull themselfs out of the lagoon.

How big is the enclosure gonna be.??

As a general rule of thumb never mix different species together.

Reptile
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www.reptilefreaks.tk
4.7.2 leopard geckos (super hypo tangs, blizzards,albinos)
1.0.2 crested geckos (lite cream fire, buckskin, tiger)
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supermogwai Aug 31, 2004 11:29 AM

Since most geckos, (even fruit eating geckos like cresteds) will attack something that is smaller than them and that moves--I wouldn't risk it. Especially with something as costly as dendrobatid frogs. Also its not usually a good idea to mix different frog species as some have toxins in their skin that aren't necessarily lethal (as in the case of wild poison dart frogs), but will still seriously injure or kill other amphibians. For example, I've seen countless pet stores housing fire-bellied toads with other species of tree frogs or newts, and be completely mistified when all their animals get sick.
As for the tropical fish, there are certainly some fish that could work, but how deep are you talking? I would recommend something hardy but not particularly aggressive--something like rams. Maybe some dwarf gouramis. And how are you planning on filtering this? I've seen this kind of thing done before--but its extremely difficult. If it was me, I'd probably use a fluval 404 cannister filter, so you could hide the intake and output tubes behind your "jungle." Maybe if you did the fish area off to one side and cleverly blocked the geckos from even being able to get over it, you could increase your potential number of species. Hope this helps.

turtlequest Aug 31, 2004 11:51 AM

Thanks for the input.

What i was going to do with the lagoon was to only have it about 6 inches deep. I have a small fluval filter that i was going to hide inside of a rock shaped hidebox. I was going to run the chord through a hollow bamboo type stick.

Thanks for the imput.
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0.0.2 RES's (The Boondock Saints)
0.0.1 Common Snapping Turtle (Aggro)
0.0.1 Eastern Red Bellie (Jake)
0.0.1 Map Turtle (Mappy)
0.2.0 Bearded Dragon (Yeungling,Killian)

supermogwai Aug 31, 2004 12:37 PM

What size tank is it? I don't know of too many fish that can live comfortably in 6 inches of water aside from maybe guppies or something. You're also probably going to need a fish tank heater to keep the water the right temperature. (5 watts per gallon)Maybe you could get away with an axolotl (a small one, and with an adult gecko) in there, but figure out some way that the geckos cant fall in, or better yet, have no access to the water. Most geckos' toepads dont work well when the glass is wet. Trying to think of other fish that might work (I did tropical fish before I ever got into reptiles)--worked in an aquarium store for 3 years! Maybe serpae tetras. Theyre cheap and if you get a bunch they'll school. hardy too. Also, be aware that once you set up the aquatic portion your going to have to get it biologically viable for fish. Put one hardy fish in, which you muight lose anyway--and he'll introduce your beneficial bacteria. Wait 3 to 6 weeks, before adding any more fish, do not change the water and do not touch the filter. You need to have bacteria growing in there that can break down the fish's ammonia into less toxic chemicals and it just takes that long for them to get a foothold.

JEFFREH Aug 31, 2004 05:16 PM

ok, heres the deal, u can house 2 crested together in a 29 gallon but i definetly wuldnt risk any other species of animal. the only things that have similair needs are gargoyle geckos but once again, i wouldnt risk it. And may i ask something... do think crested geckos can swim? cause they cany and they might think the stupid fish at the bottom are food, jump in and drown. cause they cant climb anything wet (very well at least). if u dont believe me, ask someone who has a crested gecko or a pet store to mist the glass or a branch the gecko is on. he will fall right off. and its also a stupid idea cause u need a fricken huge aquarium and hows the gecko supposed to find his food anyway??? the smallest thing ive seen a few fish in is a little bowl that gold fish live in and 6 inches deep of an aquarium would mean u need at least an aquarium measuring 30 inches tall about 60 wide, and about 72 long! plus the gecko will have trouble finding food! if u want a reptarium zoo in yur house, buy seperate tanks for everything and put them near each other. Never mix any animals together. o and btw, the fish will die and so will the crix if u feed him those cause they will drown. so thats all i gotta say other than just get a couple of female cresties and slap in a 29 gallon enclosure. Sorry im kinda sounding mean, its just that im in a bad mood cause my best friend just moved today to oklahoma, i have about 4 hours worth of homework, my parents are out at our new house, and i got a B on my spanish test. ( my parents r real strict and a b means bad news) plus, ive never heard something so stupid as adding fish with a crested gecko! im not sayin yur stupid but i just think its hilarious someone wuld even consider that! sorry again for being rude.

supermogwai Aug 31, 2004 08:32 PM

It's not a stupid idea. It's just an extremely difficult to execute one. I think it could be done--the question is really how much time, effort and money this person is willing to spend. If you read my last 2 posts, I was trying to suggest to him he could engineer it in such a way that the geckos never even came in contact with the fish. (And by the way there are plenty of fish that eat crickets, so I don't think that would be an issue.)
Sorry about the spanish grade, man.

turtlequest Sep 01, 2004 07:46 AM

Well i was thinking about putting a nylon netting over the lagoon several inches, then cover the netting with plants and moss. It will be very difficult, but a project i might attempt one day.

Thanks for the ideas.
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0.0.2 RES's (The Boondock Saints)
0.0.1 Common Snapping Turtle (Aggro)
0.0.1 Eastern Red Bellie (Jake)
0.0.1 Map Turtle (Mappy)
0.2.0 Bearded Dragon (Yeungling,Killian)

polosue25 Sep 01, 2004 12:00 PM

but then wouldn't it be tough to feed the fish?

JEFFREH Sep 01, 2004 06:16 PM

alright, im feeling a bit better today and im in a slightly better mood. i still personally think its kinda an odd idea but i suppose it wuld be and culd be donr. there r endless problems that culd accur and if u fix one there will be another problem popping up. as for the netting, how do u feed the fish and can u even see the fish through it? wats the point of having fish if u cant see them. and it would still have to be fricken huge and that means difficult finding food. i just think the best thing to do is getr sepertae cages or u can section off different areas so that it looks like its one big super cool zoo but its not. and u can try to make like vines coming down where the sectioned piece is so that u cant see the glass. now that would be prett awesome. make it all look the same with 3 different sections. the one on the right can be fish but u can have similair decor as the cresty cage so that it looks like its part of it. plus the vines. and u can have 2-3 cresties in the middle. make them female and really pretty different color morphs with like 30 inches long, 24 high, and 18 wide or something with little places to place the babyfood and like one of those exo terra mister things and thrown a few crickets and mealworms into a dish near the hiding spot of the gecko so they can eat properly. (rip off the crickets back legs and one on each side of the front so they move but cant get out). and make it real cool. then on the left side, sectioned off, is a super cool huge tokay gecko moving in the darkness. u can make that side have the light since they need more heat and tell all yur buddys it for all of them. that wuld be fricken awsome! i wish i culd do that. or u can make like, an oasis. with a couple leapard geckos sectioned off to the left and a bearded dragon sectioned odd to the right and in the center this jungle oasis with a cresty or 2. and u can maybe try some way (even though i think its impossible or very difficult) to put little fish and water in the oasis part. i like the first idea i had better, with the sectioned off vines to the cresties fish and tokay. but watever u do pleaze make sure to tell us and say wat u did! i hope this helps some!

umop_apisdn Sep 01, 2004 09:03 PM

ok. ive never thought about crested geckos swimming. although i highly doubt they are adept swimmers, but some shallow water, perhaps with well-textured banks would be good enough for a crestie to get out, should it decide to take a dip. i think it would be a real attractive setup, but like others have mentioned, it would be difficult to set up. especially if screen/moss is covering the top of the water, it would be quite a mission to get the fish fed or do any cleaning. perhaps if you built a bottom layer with gravel and some type of bottom filter for a fish tank, it would work out because that way you wouldnt have to worry about stagnant water. i also doubt if your crested gecko were to fall in that it would just freeze and die, granted it had something to grip to and climb out. as far as fish, im sure you would wanna keep them tiny. the worst thing i can think of is the fact that crested geckos (as so many other lizards) seem to love to expel waste right over water (expecially water dishes). so if you're willing to put in a whole lot of effort, im sure its doable. as for the compatibility with other geckos, that can get tricky. you never know how your animals will fare in the end. there are suggestions of other species of insects/animals that can tolerate sharing living space with crested geckos printed in the rhacodactylus book. like so many others, i suggest you pick up a copy. one of the main things to make sure of is that they all require the same habitats as well as conditions (temp humidity). good luck.

meretseger Sep 03, 2004 02:08 PM

Putting a cresty with a dart frog is the most entertaining way to have $80 last 5 seconds. And at the best the cresty would get indigestion.
I'd go with an anabantid fish (dwarf gourami or betta) because they have little to no dissovled oxygen requirements. Guppies would work too, since they are just really hard to kill. Also, I think the crested would drown if you're not careful.
This sounds very similar to my dream of a matamata/yellow andaconda split set up.... wouldn't that be cool? Yeah! Heck, maybe I'll toss some dart frogs and Brazillian black tarantulas in there too... sweet...
But so far my best cresty idea is to convert an old TV into a cage, and when I get off my *** I'll finish it and post pictures.
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