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Whats everyones opinion on putting a baby in a planted vivarium long story short i just built a planted vivarium for my girlfriend and i ahev a 5 month old that she wants to put in it, right now im keeping him, like i keep all my other babies in 5 gallons wiht paper towel, the vivrium is laoded with plants, plus obviously it ahd dirt in it which is my main concern for the baby.

Any thoughts, should i just ahve her hold off until hes fullg rown then ut him in it or has anyone done this befor wiht otu problems

Sean
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A ton of Crested Geckos
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
Nosy Be Panther Chame (GEE)
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I would hold off, in heavily planted tanks it can be difficult for them to find food at times because its easy for the crickets to hide.

i used to have planted viv's but to be honest i got tired of them, they are a lot more upkeep then they are made out to be and I just switched all my geckos out to easier setups that are easy to clean and maintain.
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i dont think planted vivaria are too bad of an idea, as long as you keep a good eye on your animals. i actually kept my first crested gecko in a 30 gal planted tank when he was still pretty small, but he grew up active and healthy. cant say that finding food was ever a problem for him, but i also cant say that everyone will have the same experience. from what ive dealt with, i would say the biggest factor in having a small crested gecko in a vivarium is substrate in the mouth when diving for crickets. geckos new to a natural enclosure will often dive bomb crickets and sometimes get more dirt in their mouths than cricket. but after a while of getting used to their new home (and the nasty taste of peat moss), they'll be more precise in their attacks and seem more careful not to get substrate in their mouths. one easy way to take sare of the substrate/mouth problem in a naturalistic enclosure is to put some sort of dried moss on the bottom, which i find they can easily pull out of their mouths themselves. the downside to that is the crickets will often burrow down into the moss and can basically disappear. so even that could be taken care of by using a small plastic cup to place the crix in for feedings.

something i learned about treefrogs, which can be applied to cresteds too, is that they can climb glass and crickets cannot. i know i know thats not a secret, but if your cresties are having a problem finding thier food try putting the crix in a glass container that is too tall for them to get out of. the cresties can climb down in and feast and then climb back out. just make sure there is enough room for them to get in and turn around. a mason jar may be too small for this, but you get the idea. once they have eaten take the container out, and continue enjoying your heavily planted tank
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1.1 Gargoyle geckos
1.1 leucistic leopard gecko
0.0.1 asian golden tree frog
1.0 oriental firebelly toad
0.1 european firebelly toad
1.0 albino betta
1.0 orange tabby
0.0.1 asian painted frog
1.0 broad headed skink
0.0.1 fowlers toad
1.1 red eyed tree frog
1.1 red eared sliders
476.769.47 feeder crickets

I have it setup up with a lot of plants its not a large vivarium its a 20 by 20 by 18 screen cage and i installed glass on the bottom so i could put dirt in it...

Its laoded with plants but i need lighting for them well i ahev an 18in plants bulb thqat i use to grow plants in ym house it gives off little to no heat so that isn't a problem... I also have it on a timer for a 10 hour day/14hour night cycle.

Normaly i keep my Rhacs in a dark room period rarely exposed to light, has nayone kept them with thsi kind of lighting im just worried about stress issues.

Also does anyone know if i should put earthworms in the soil to help break down waiste or any other type of worm

Thanks
Sean
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1 Black roughneck Monitor (Slick Rick)
A ton of Crested Geckos
1 Vieled Cham (Tony Montana)
Nosy Be Panther Chame (GEE)
1 Leo (Nikki)
1 Uro Yoshi
60 Gallon Hex African Cichlid Tank
26 Gallon Bowfront Marine Tank
1 Blue Quaker Parrot Kenny Blankenchip
My Email