Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey there. I've been lurking in the shadows for a while, trying to learn about reptiles in general, and which I may be interested in. Looks like Cresties are in the lead, over AFT or leos, based on the fact that insects aren't there only diet.
Anyway, I have a 20 gal tall available that I would like to put 1 (possibly 2 females) cresties in.

Can any one recommend an online source for healthy geckos of a reasonable price? Morph isn't really an important factor for me being that this is my first and all... The local pet stores are all big chains, and I refure to shop there just on general principle!

Second, does any one keep cats and geckos? I have a cat that shows a fair amount of interest in my fish tank, occasionally jumping to try and "Catch" a fish. Would this stress a gecko out to the point where it would drop it's tail, or make it generally unhappy? Just providing lots of hiding spaces okay?

Anyway, love the forum and I've been getting lots of questions answered just from reading. Thanks!

well, as far as the cat goes... i would try to put the crested gecko cage in an area where the cat cannot get, not only for stress purposes, but in case some how a gecko were to escape.
it will be very difficult/expensive to get just 1 or 2 females for your enclosure. what i would suggest doing is getting 2 or 3 well started juveniles ( 3-5 months) that way you're starting off with a larger crested than a hatchling, but will be moderately cheaper.
finally, i would just check the classifieds on kingsnake, while most people just post their higher end animals for higher prices, most of those people also have some very nice cheaper cresteds that may fit the price range you're looking to spend. i've personally done business with anthony caponetto and been very happy, and i've also purchased a lot of geckos from privite breeders as well. just make sure to look around and find the animals that fit your interest and cost range.

Since geckos aren't all that active, especially after they've settled in a while, your cat might not be that interested in them. Maybe you could set up the tank in advance of purchasing the animal(s). With luck the cat may decide the empty tank is boring, and won't notice the difference when you get your geckos. It depends a lot on the cat, of course.

Hi,

Just wanted to mention my horrible experience with cats and cresteds. My female Bengal cat somehow turned the latch on my gecko cage, crawled inside a 4" x 6" door, and ATE my large male red crested. I was horrified to find out why the little girl cat was not hungry the next morning like usual...she had had gecko as a midnight snack. All that was left was his tail....I cried for days. The terror the gecko must have gone thorugh....and on top of this I had spent $700 to save this gecko from MBD a year earlier....vets visits/injections and hand feeding for close to 3 months....he had finally been eating on his own for about 6 months, put on weight and seemed to have little ill effects from the MBD (I was going to find him a girlfriend). Then to lose his life to my cat....uggg. So believe me, cats can be VERY determined. I have my current cresteds at work because I live in a small place where I can not keep the cresteds in a seperate room (because there is not one) from the Bengals (I have a boy and a girl Bengal)

So just an fyi that cats can and do eat geckos...even ones you think should be safe
That's what I get for having incredibly smart cats who are also very predatory....could not blame her for doing what came naturally.
Tammy

i also have cats and cresteds. All three of my cats love sitting and watching my cresteds come out at night. I fortunately have secure lids that cats can't open. The presence of my cats doesn't seem to stop the crested from doing what they want, they will eat their fruit right infront of my cats, then go and chill out in the open on one of their branches. Depending on the lid and the crested, i'd watch for screen lids as cat can easily tear screening, and with wire lids if the cat swatted the crested throught the bars claws out, there could be some damage done. i don't find that cresteds like to cling to the wire lids, but i still keep all my cats claws clipped nice and short just to be careful.
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- Melanie

2.1.0 cats
3.3.5 crested geckos
0.0.4 giant day geckos
0.0.1 whites tree frog
5.0.0 dwarf hamsters
1.0.0 Bernese mountain dog
1.1.1 red ear sliders
0.0.1 emperor scorpion
0.0.1 chilean rose tarantula
1 planted tank with dwarf cichlids and platies

Hey, thanks for the input from everyone. Sorry for the delay, but with the holidays and all...
I think I'll do some more research into equipment and make sure I get a very secure lid for my tank. And for added security, I can lock the cat up when I open the tank for feeding or maintenance.
Tammy, sorry for the loss, but thanks for sharing and letting me learn from it.