Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a male crested gecko today. He's beautiful. He's a little pale, and I'm not sure if that's him getting used to his surroundings or something the pet store did that I bought him from. But I want to get him into eating crested gecko diet and baby food, when all they fed him at the pet store I bought him from was crickets. Is this a bad idea?

Also, his tale goes up a little bit right at the base closest to his body. Is it supposed to?

One more thing (sorry for so many questions.. I don't want to mess this up)..Can someone read this and let me know if his tank's set up okay, please? I have a big piece of bark I bought at the pet store, a few small trees for hiding, a food dish with crested gecko diet & baby food mixed in, a water bowl to help keep the humidity higher, a thermometer and a rock hide. Oh and I have paper towels as a substrate. I put him in the tank, put food in his bowl and misted it with warm water. It was still cool when I did that so I shined a fluorescent lamp over the top of the tank, and now it's at 80 degrees F. Is this all okay, or is there something I need or did I do something wrong? Thanks for the help!

I recommend just using straight crested gecko diet (mixed with water of course). Just put a tiny amount, an eighth to quarter teaspoon (for geckos under 8 months old). If you have a fairly young gecko (3-5 inches total length) this should be enough food, if offered every evening (just after sun down). Don't panic if he doesn't seem to be eating any for the first couple days.

The advantage of a really small amount is you can more easily tell if some is eaten. If too much, you can't tell if they eat and also you are wasting the diet. They don't have big stomachs when small.

You can still offer some crickets just as long as they are no bigger than the space between the geckos eyes. Also make sure the crickets are well gut loaded (fresh greens, crushed cat or dog food, fish flakes, even slice orange or some of the mixed CGD will work. Or you can buy a pre-made cricket gut load at the store.)

For the cage:

What are the actual dimensions of the cage? When you say 'tree' do you mean branches of fake plants or do you have actual trees in his cage (assuming small trees, or small fake trees). Basically you want to provide plenty of cover and climbing space without the cage being over crowded.

Crested geckos do best when kept in temperatures that fall within 70-80F. Having your cage at 80F at one end is ok...but if your entire cage is that temperature with the light...don't use the light. OR lower the wattage.

I never provided additional heat for my crested or gargoyle geckos as my room temperature is pretty consistent, staying between 73-78F year around (tends more towards the cool end in the winter, the warmer end in the summer). If the temperature of the room you have your gecko cage stays in an acceptable range day and night, you don't need extra heat either. Young geckos can quickly succumb to heat stroke if cage temperatures get over 80F even for short periods of time so its best to keep most of the cage under 80F so there is always a place for your gecko to retreat too (usually ground level or a lower hide)
-----
PHLdyPayne