Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello! I have a small crestie and an adult crestie and a leopard gecko adult. They are together in the same cage, and seem to be doing fine, the little one hides in his hide box and pops out for crickets and seems to enjoy them more than the CGD, while the adult crestie enjoys the CGD and ignores the crickets. The Leopard Gecko likes live food, but never has bothered the cresteds, nor have they bothered him in their large habitat. They all like to be misted. Is it OK to keep them together? My other question is about Air Plants. I live in Florida, and there are air plants growing on palms and bushes, and I use them in my reptile and crab habitats and was wondering if they are OK for Crested Geckos also? All the reptiles seem to like them to hide in, crickets are easier to find, and are good for climbing, and I wash them off first. Plus, unlike moss, they dont get those fruit flies. I have used them for years, but want to make sure they are good for cresteds too. Thanks for any replys!!

people have brought up the mixing question before about cresteds and leos, and for the most part the consensus is not to do it. leo's are dry-habitat, warm geckos, and cresteds are humidity requiring, relatively cool geckos. people have said that they can set up enough of a heat gradient in their tanks to suffice for both, but i honestly think you would still have the problem of humidity, because if its kept too dry you'll eventually see some effects on your cresties. and if you one crested gecko is really that small, i dont see why your leo couldnt snatch him up when they're often fond of small feeders like pinkies. who knows.

as far as the epiphytes....id just be careful with them. make sure theres no tiny organisms hitchhiking along. i would get a mite spray and try that on them before using them. otherwise, theres nothing about the plants in particular that should threaten your animals.

There should be no discussion on this issue. It is one thing to mix reptiles from the same region or from the same habitat type, but it is IRRESPONSIBLE to mix an ARID, DESERT reptile with a SUB-TROPICAL, TROPICAL reptile. There is not a habitat produced by any commercial operation or by a private individual that can possibly meet the needs of both Cresteds and Leopards at the same time. Your Leopard should not be heavily misted, he should be provided with a moist hide box. The temperature requirements for these two species are vastly dissimilar. Your young Crested is at serious risk from the Leopard, regardless of whether anything has happend yet or not. I have both Cresteds and a Leopard; in SEPARATE, APPROPRIATE HABITATS. Never shall the two species mix.

Just because it has worked (and by has worked I mean hasn't gone horribly wrong yet) doesn't mean it is appropriate or good for the animals. For example, Goldfish can live in a bowl for a bit until they suffer and die (Average captive mortality for goldfish is approx. 1 year; they can live anywhere from 10 to 40 years if provided with appropriate living conditions, space and quality foods).

Keep the dry, heat loving reptiles away from the wet, cool-warm loving reptiles.

Alright, I'll hop off my soapbox.

Christopher