Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just wandering if the money and time put into these guys is worth it? Just general opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

I found this a interesting question.

Each person can answer the question only for themselves.

I foolishly once said at a reptile expo that I was surprized that people were bothering to breed just plain buckskin crested geckos .And a woman looked right at me squarely and asked why do the colored ones do something different than the buckskin ones? Lesson learned : Beauty is skin deep .

For me I have found the little lizards fascinating and have a affection for them that goes beyond reason.When a baby fails to make it out of the egg I feel terrible. When I put the wrong top on a critter keeper and a baby escaped I felt twice as bad and when it was found dead.... well I was just plain misrable.

We in America are lucky enough to enjoy lives that go beyond the basics , we go on trips ,buy sportscars and buy CD's of movies we probally will watch once and then put on a shelf to ''have''.Are any of these things ''worth it''? If the enjoyment level is there ..its certainly worth it .

They are easy to care for compared to a great many pets .They dont require a great deal of heat outside the norm ,they dont require live prey animals and cleaning is fairly easy. This makes up for any intial expense a crested might have.

Are cresteds worth it? Only you know for you ...For me they sure are !

What a well thought-out response. My first thought on reading the preceeding post was "It depends upon what you expect to get out of it!" If you are in it simply for the money, even that depends on many factors: How good you are at breeding, promoting, marketing, and selling. Some of us keep cresteds for the sheer love of the breed, enjoying just watching them live their lives in (in my case, at least) the biggest, best enclosures, intricately designed with cork logs, vines, branches and as many interesting "props" as I can come up with; even the babies get a complete little ecosystem. I have actually found selling them to be problematic-not finding buyers, but letting them go to questionable homes. I feel a sense of responsibility for bringing these little creatures into the world and by selling them, possibly allowing them to be subjected to substandard conditions.
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Terri
4:8:5 crested geckos: Popcorn, Goldfish, Harley, Bear, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Blackie, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Tony, Kermit, WildFire, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare & Randi(y)

Great answers, thanks.

Are they very hadleable?

not really handleable till they get a lil older. its generally not recommend to handle hatchlings and juvies much, but older adult are fine. ive also heard that the older they get, they tend to get a bit tamer as well, although im sure with most its gonna take some work to get them used to being handled. once handled a female at a show though that sat very peacefully in my hands. i wish mine were naturally like that, but my oldest is like a lil less than 2 years and i dont bother to handle them too much. i like to let most of mine to themselves. but they are definitely very hardy geckos, and my friends and roommates like my cresteds more than my leaf tails because of their colors.

Honestly, they are very rewarding, but only if you truly enjoy them. Otherwise, I think they'd be a lot of trouble.

When I'm in the reptile room, I have fun with my animals. If I didn't, that would make for some long, miserable hours.

I will go as far as to take my time when I can, just because I enjoy looking at my Rhacs and watching them do some of the goofy things they do. I think that's key for me.

A little while ago, I got out one of my hold-back ciliatus babies from last spring, let her jump around a while and then I let her hang out on my shoulder while I cleaned her cage. To me, that was pretty cool...especially knowing what a mean little turd she was as a baby.

Another good example is the other night when I went down with a flashlight, which I highly recommend. I caught an adult pair eating their gecko diet together, which I thought was pretty awesome. When the light hit them, they both stopped eating and looked up at me and after a few seconds, the female looked over and licked a bit of excess food off of the corner of the male's mouth. Then they both started eating again. That one nearly made me want to go buy more Cresties...like a hundred or so isn't enough.

Last but not least, I love when baby geckos try to catch insects in the critter keeper next to theirs. They just don't understand how clear plastic works. No matter how many times I hear that little thump or see a baby gecko bounce of the side of its cage, I still laugh.

Oh yeah, up until a couple years ago, I was a hardcore python guy who innocently asked a friend about "those" Crested Geckos. Little did I know, I'd become thoroughly obsessed with them.

If that kind of thing sounds like it would excite you, I say try a couple and see how you like them. Then if you decide they're for you, start a colony.

-Anthony

>>I was just wandering if the money and time put into these guys is worth it? Just general opinions would be appreciated.
>>
>>Thanks
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

is that Cresteds are extremely addictive. If you fall head-over-heels in love with them like some of us have, you will not be able to get enough of them!
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Terri
4:8:5 crested geckos: Popcorn, Goldfish, Harley, Bear, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Blackie, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Tony, Kermit, WildFire, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare & Randi(y)