Crested Cages

[RaVeNo888o]

Hey, could people post some pics of their crested's cages if you have them, im interested to see how you all set them up.
I think i will be using paper towel, at least to start off. Id like to see how you provide climbing branches etc..thanks

[CDN-Cresties]

Ill try to borrow a digital camera and show you some pics, but i dont use paper towel, i use coconut substrate. It helps keep the humidity up. You can use pothos plant to provide climbing and hiding spots.

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

you use real plants in yours? how much does that hike up the dificulty lol

[CDN-Cresties]

I use a combo of real and fake plants, but real pants help keep up humidity. Once i aquire more cresties, i plan to use paper towel, i only use coconut subtrate now because it looks nice and my humidifier in my house is busted :(

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

ya, i use some bark stuff for my cal king because i like the look but with the cresties, i will have lots of branches and fake foilage so im not really concered with the look of the floor, just the safety.

[alan]

Pothos are great, snake plant is another good plant for cresties too I think. I am using both for my Giant Days. For the cresties I use very simple set ups, with fake branches or bamboo sticks with silk plants. I do have two tanks for my pair of cresties because I witnessed them fighting over food the other day and decided to seperate them. One got bit on the eye lid and responded by going after the other's tail. I was lucky that both are not injured.

If money is an issue, I think the cheapest way to go is to use paper towel as substrate, bamboo sticks for climbing and silk plants (from dollar shops) for hiding. Put a water dish in it and you are set. I like to use real plants too but I think you need a UVB light for them (correct me if I am wrong though) and that would add to the cost.

[RaVeNo888o]

thanks. I may go with the bamboo, unless i can find a really good branch with lots of segments that would be good. My pet store has fake plants but they can get costly. are the ones at the dollarstore pretty much the exact same? i might try out a craft store like white rose because thy have many types of fake plants.

oh ya, my tank should be a tall one right? i think ill get a 20g tall. Where do you guys have the door on your cage? i would think that it would be easier to have it on the front in this case so you could reach the bottom and the top. ive heard of people using regular tanks and standing them on their ends, is this good or bad, and what would be used as a 'lid' on the side.

[Rebecca]

Here's my cage. I'm not done it yet. I'm still going to add some more fake plants some vines. I'm also going to get a rubbermaid for the bottem and put soil in it and then put some real plants in it. I made it out of a old cupboard from our kitchen.

[Rebecca]

Here's a closer pic of the top.

[RaVeNo888o]

thats cool. I think ill look around my house and see if i maybe have something that i could convert to a cage.

[alan]

I think it's similar to the ones you get in the pet shop, but there's probably more in a pack from the pet shop than the ones you get in a dollar shop. I got mine from Dollarama and they carry Pothos sometimes. I think you need around three of them, which is $3, plus tax, in a 20 gallon cage and only one in a 5 gallon.
Plan ahead on what you are getting though. You will need a smaller cage if you are planning to get a baby or junvenille crest or else they will have trouble looking for food. Mine are 3 months old and they are housed in 5 gallon cages.
Using a regular tank is fine. Just put a feeding box in it so the crickets won't jump out whenever you open the cage.

[RaVeNo888o]

Originally posted by alan
Using a regular tank is fine

is it ok to put it on its end, so its tall? what would i use to cover the front

also, would it have trouble finding its food in a 20g if i was using the crested gecko diet?

[CDN-Cresties]

The screen lid can be used as the front part. A crestie might have some problems finding its food, start with a small enclosure and then work you way up.

-Steve-

[HeatherRose]

Here's my crestie enclosure, I know it's not that high but my gecko is gimpy :P :(

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1288crestieenclosure1.jpg

The big blue pot is a real pothos and the plant in the back is a fake one attatched with a suction cup, and my crestie spends most of her time in this plant...

[RaVeNo888o]

cool cage punkuponastar

Originally posted by crestie
The screen lid can be used as the front part. A crestie might have some problems finding its food, start with a small enclosure and then work you way up.

-Steve-

alright, i think at the store near here the prices are fairly low for the small tanks. should i go for a 10 or 15? how long around would it take for them to grow out of this one and into the 20?

about the fake plants. Most of the ones ive seen have the base that you put under the substrate. Some have the slate base that is pretty large so they would be fine, but for the ones that just have the bit of plastic on the bottom how would i use those with paper towel as my substrate

do they like the vines? it would cool to get one or two of teh ones that have suction cup. along with a few peices of wood.

do most of the fake plants hold up under the wieght of the gecko? ive they climb on the leaves do they usually bend signifiacantly under their weight?

[CDN-Cresties]

Nice setup :D

-Steve-

[HeatherRose]

thanks :)

It depends on how many cresties....1.2 can live in a 20 gal comfortably....

Mine is in a 10, and it's still a small gecko. It's getting some company next week, so I'll have 0.2 cresties.......when they are fully grown or I get another one (which ever comes first) I'll move them to a 20 gal :) ....hmm, then I'll have a spare 10 gal ;)

My old fake plants are attatched to a half- log thing that rests on top of substrate, shouldn't be too hard to find. When my crested was a baby she was fine on the leaves, but now she just climbs up in the fake wall-climby plant I have, and it's strong enough as long as the suction cup is securely attatched.

Vines are a cool idea too :) They come in a lot of sizes and widths too :D

[sara]

A 20 gal turned vertically is fine. I still have one kicking around here for juvies, it has a sliding clip-lock screen. If you decide on this option then make sure the lid you end up with stays inside the perimeter of the tank opening, otherwise you will have to tilt the the cage to get the lid off. (that could get really messy)

For plants I use vine cuttings from a "creeping jew" and just stick them in a wine bottle filled with tap water. They will establish themselves in no time and the only maitenence required is keeping the bottle full. The vines/leaves can easily support adult cresteds, and the opening in the bottle is small enough that it doesn't pose a threat to little guys.
If any of you guys in T.O. want a few pieces to get started let me know, I can definitely hook you up with some. :)

[alan]

I don't know if this works or not because I never tried it. If you want to save money and buy only one tank, get a 20 gallon and buy a tank seperator to change the size of your tank accordingly. I think they are around $10 and should work fine if you are not using any lightings.

[little_dragon_]

I used fake plants when I first got mine. I now have 5 plants Potho's, Joesphs Coat, An Umbrella Tree, A Silk Palm and some plant with a really thick trunk and two sets of leaves sticking out the side. The plants have really helped to rise the humidity levels, and help circulate the air. I bought an inexpensive 25inch fluorescent plant light strip at Canadian Tire for 20 bucks.

[J-Man]

Rav, if you want really cheap fake plants... you can go to Wal-Mart and get fake vines EXTREMELY cheap... I think I got like either 6 or 9 feet for 3 dollars. It's crazy. I don't know if they have stationary PLANTS though instead of vines.

[matt_winter]

I too am interested in getting some crested geckos but that tank that i have is only about a foot high, about 4 feet long, and about 1 foot wide. Will that be ok for 2 or 3 crested geckos?