Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the process of building a cage for cresties more than likely, it is a 28 gallon bow front tank. I was wondering if it would be better to have two males or two females, I originally was going to do a male and female, but is it true the female can die from excessive egg laying if they are housed together permenantly? Also part of the reason I was looking at cresteds is that I have been told that prepared diets cut down alot on live cricket feeding. True? Is the 28 too small for three (I think it probly is but it never hurts to ask)? People with foggers, how long do you run them to keep from turning the cage into a swamp? I was thinking hour on two hours off or hour on hour off. Will the tannins from fresh dritwood hurt the geckos if they drink the water from the waterfall that runs down some malaysian driftwood? Is pool concrete good to use for building a fake rock wall, how about the concrete coloring to turn it brown(this will be mostly dry except for humidity)? What is you favorite calcium-D3 additive for thier babyfood?
K thats all...for now....
Didn't proof read either, it keeps over typing, how do you change that setting?

It won't be a good ideal to have two males in that size of an enclosure, as they will fight and injure, even kill eachother. Two females would be best in that setup, or if you do want to breed, then two females to one male will be fine. However, females can be over bred, even calcium crash (when too much calcium is used up in egg laying and not enough replaced in the body). H owever breeding can be stopped if the cage is 'cooled' for several months of the year. Or if the male is taking out for 2-4 months during the winter.

I really don't think a fogger is needed at all, still don't see any benefit from a fogger at all. A misting system is good, to keep the humidity up but too high can be bad as well, causing bactria and fungus/mold growth which can be bad. Not sure if tannins are bad for crested geckos to drink so can't answer that question. To be on the safe side, throughoutly rinse the wood to wash out all the tannins first, will make sure there are no problems. If y ou are hoping to construct a natural biosphere type vivarium, where good bacteria is cultivated to break down wastes by turning over the soil etc...as described in the Rhac book and other sources, the waterfall may be beneficial to help facilitate such soil activity. However, breeding in such a setup makes it difficult to find eggs, as the geckos may lay them anywhere in the setup, risking eggs to be lost due to improper heat or humidity. Not to m ention the chance the adults will canabolize the offspring if they find them before you do.

Pool cement should be fine for the rock wall, as long as it's sealed properly. Mold may grow on it, or algae if the humidity is too high though. REgular scrapping may be needed to keep it clean.