Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My crested didn't seem to like the ficus tree I put in, so I put a fake broad leafed plant in today and gave him a bark peice to climb on as well. Surprisingly, he has no trouble finding crickets in the jungle; I only found 4 loose ones in the tank.

-----
1 crested gecko
1 RES
1 leucistic texas ratsnake
3 bullfrogs
1 dusky conure
4 australian shepherds
3 cats

I keep a single crested in a heavily planted 56 gallon column tank. . . he manages to track down every last insect and eats all his baby food. My geckos in other heavily planted tanks also manage to eat and gain weight. Reports of crested's inability to find food in a naturalistic enclosure are highly over-rated. These animals do originally come from. . . dum dum dum . . . OUTSIDE! There're plenty of trees, plants, etc. in their natural habitat. I doubt that captive breeding has reduced their ability to hunt effectively. Just my two cents. Nice setup, have a good one!

Chris

the setup looks very nice.

the issue with heavily decorated tanks like that isnt so much about them eating, its more about cleaning. in a heavily decorated tank it will obviously take a long time to take it apart and clean it so it is assumed that because of this it will not be cleaned as often. granted, this is different from hobbyist to hobbyist, but you have to agree that some people will setup a tank like that, and see how much work and time it took, and be less inclined to take it apart and clean it.

keeping cresteds is a labor of love, im sure youll agree. i dont mind spending the extra 15-20min every couple of days to clean my enclosures. the way i see it, we are responsible for the upkeep of the animals. its only fair we treat them right.

about the enclosure, it looks great. where'd you get that plant?

The plant is from the East Bay Vivarium
-----
1 crested gecko
1 RES
1 leucistic texas ratsnake
3 bullfrogs
1 dusky conure
4 australian shepherds
3 cats

I spend more time cleaning my non-naturalistic setups then I do my heavily planted tank. I have to take out all the repti-carpet, wash it, let it dry and then replace it. Glass surfaces must be wiped down. In my planted tanks, I don't regularly change the substrate since it's an active environment. Appropriate drainage allows for water to pull waste down to the root level where it is broken down and utilized by the plants. The only real maintenance is wiping down the viewing panels and keeping plants trimmed back. Compared to my 6 basic setups, my 3 planted tanks are a snap . But you're right, it's different for everyone.

Have a good one and thanks for the discussion!

Chris

looks great!