Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I've got a few questions before getting my cresties...

1) Is it ok to house a 1.1 pair of cresties together if the enclosure is a sufficient size?

2) The cage will be placed upstairs where in the summer, the temps outside may reach up to 110. Will the cage overheat?

3) If they breed, can all the babies be placed in a sufficiently-sized cage for at least 4 months?

Thanks,

Carl
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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx

Its not recommended to keep crested geckos together all the time, though two females should be ok...with operative word being 'should'. Size of cage is good as well as plenty of leafy plants (live or fake) to break line of sight.

The temperature outside your house doesn't matter...what does matter is if the inside of the cage gets over 80F for any length of time. Temperatures of 85F can quickly kill crested geckos especially young crested geckos. Temps over 85F are deadly...and if your upstairs room gets to temps like 100F or more...your geckos are going to die very fast.

Crested geckos should be kept in temperatures around 72-76F for the most part.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks for the reply,

Is there any way to keep the cage temperature below 85F in the case that the room temperature rises above 85F?

Would you suggest that I don't use any lighting?

Thanks,

Carl
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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx

There are a few things you can do to help reduce cage temperature but do keep in mind if the room gets too hot, there is only so much you can do to ensure cage temperature doesn't stay above 85F for a long period of time (ok for an hour or two at 85F but temps above this for even an hour can be deadly)

Making sure any windows which have the sun hitting them for a long time are covered with a blind. Direct sunlight will heat a room fast through glass.

Good ventilation of the cage/room also helps allow heat to escape. Fans, etc. can produce good air flow.

Placing cages on the floor...especially if floor temperature is significantly lower than several feet higher (if the cage was on a table).

Cooling the room with an AC unit set to come on if the air temp goes over 80F (higher temperature makes the AC work less, than if it needed to cool the room to 70F so not has hard on power. A small room helps to.)

If your floor temperature is over 80F then only way to ensure your geckos don't over heat is to cool the room or move them downstairs for the hottest part of the summer.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks for the help,

I now understand better. For a pair, is it ok to keep them in a screen cage to allow greater ventilation?

In NC, even the winters are quite mild.

Do I need any lighting?

Is the information at ciliatus.com correct?

Thanks so much,

Carl
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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx

For my crested geckos I kept them in translucent to transparent plastic containers in a rack system with no additional heating at all. My apartment pretty much maintains a constant temperature between 73-78F with a few days reaching 80F if I don't have the AC on.

Crested geckos thrive quite well in a setup like this. You don't need any special lighting in the cages at all, just regular room lighting (ie light from windows or a low wattage lamp lighting up the room during the day if it has small windows or no windows and is dark otherwise during the day.) is sufficient. They need to be able to tell there is a distinct day/night cycle. Being only active during the night, they don't need UVB etc.

Low light during the night once in awhile so you can feed/check on them,handle them, is fine, I just think of it as a bright full moon...they don't live in caves afterall but in temperate forests.

The information on the website you mentioned is pretty accurate from what I can tell skimming over the care sheets. Crested geckos are pretty easy to care for which makes them great beginner lizards (better than leopard geckos in my view..as you don't need to 'heat' crested geckos at all, if room temp is between 70-78F )
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PHLdyPayne

Hey,

Thanks for the info,
I'll remember to contact you if I have any questions!

Carl
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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx

BTW, how many geckos do you keep in your (what size?) containers?
Do you put holes in the cover?

Thanks again,
Carl
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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx

I keep one adult per container, though I use the same containers when I breed, but I only keep the male in with the female for about 2-4 months then separate. by that time she has enough sperm to produce viable eggs the rest of the egg laying season.

Babies I keep in smaller containers, usually in pairs (clutch mates most often) till they are about 4" long then I move them into the adult size containers and keep them alone till they are fully grown. Occasionally I do house two females in a slightly bigger container (66qt) but depends on how wel the females get along. If I want to breed two females to the same male, this is the setup I use for 3 geckos.

I always have plenty of cover, provide two feeding dishes and a small dish of calcium (phosphorus free, no Vit. D3)powder for females, to ensure they have access to all the calcium they need when laying eggs. I tend to also have this dish of calcium with all my adult female geckos, whether I bred them or not. This is to keep them from suffering calcium crash after laying eggs or just before, when the eggs receive their 'shell' inside the mother.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks!

Carl
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1.0 Mali Uromastyx

Air conditioning.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

That's right!

However, at 100-110F in the summer here, I don't want to spend too much on air conditioning!

I'll be sure to check the temps in my room soon!

Carl
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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx