Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings Everyone,

Last week I bought a single baby Red Flame Crested Gecko. I have read that it's important for Rhacodactylus geckos to have a tall enclosure. Smeagol, my Crested Gecko currently lives in a glass enclosure that is 24”x12”x16”. I was planning on getting a larger enclosure when s/he gets a little larger. I have seen enclosures that are 30”, 36” and 48” tall. From what I have read in books and online a 24” tall enclosure is good for two or three geckos. Would something over 24” be a bad thing for just one? What would be a good heifht for a single gecko?

Thanks,

k0ma

If the enclosure is too big, they will have difficulty finding food. Even the cage you have now seems a little big for a baby. U might want to consider a smaller cage for the time being (like a Kritter Keeper)......good luck with him/her.

John

In my experience (maintaing personal collection, plus animals in a retail setting), cresteds do well in habitats of varying size and complexity.

I house my personal collection of cresteds in glass tanks inclduing tanks that are 2.5, 10, 29 and 56 gallons (30x18x24tall). The 56 gallon tank is heavily planted and currently contains one crested (approximately 12 months old). I feed calcium/vitamin dusted crickets and baby food and he has no problem locating the food (Read this as: his weight and health are excellent and he leaves no baby food uneaten and I rarely find any extra crickets running about the enclosure).

I prefer smaller, less elaborate enclosures for younger animals to allow for easy monitoring of food intake and cleaning purposes, but adult cresteds usually do fine in naturalistic vivaria even if they are larger (I usually don't even have to feed my naturalistic tanks any heavier then I feed my non-naturalistic setups.) The key to any habitat is finding what works for you and your animal and making sure that you meet all of their needs. If feeding is a concern there's always the option of feeding in a separate container. Good luck!

Chris

4.5.5 Crested Geckos
0.0.1 Sudan Plated Lizard
1.0.0 Dumpy Tree Frog