Maybe a stupid question

[Burium]

Ok, so yes I am blonde, but is it advisable to get one cresty at a time? Or all at once if you can be assured that they all came from diff. parents? We would eventually like a 1:3 ratio, but don't know if we should get them all at once or one at a time. Also, after the quarentine period can you put all of them together in one enclosure or do they have to be a certain age before you can do this? How do you know age? I know it's by size, but what are the ranges? Okay, thanks. I just like to know EVERYTHING about an animal before hand. That way there are no surprises.

Kelly
:o

[dj_honeycuts]

Better to be the proverbial "blonde" who asks a ton of questions beforehand, then to be the one who everyone rolls their eyes at and thinks "what an idiot" when they panic because they had no idea how to take care of their new "pet"! :D

If you were sure that they came from separate bloodlines, I would go ahead and get them all at the same time so that they all reached sexual maturity together. Getting them at different intervals would only be helpful if the breeder was offering sexable juvies. You'd have to talk to the breeder and find out if he/she would be willing to do this. Be forwarned though, if you get 4 unsexed juvies, there are no guarantees that you will end up with the ratio you are looking for. The temps for TSD in cresteds seem to be quite vague depending on the source. It really depends on how anxious you are to get a breeding project going. There are definitely no problems with keeping 1.3 in an appropriately sized cage. I keep all my breeders separate in the off-season, then keep them 1.1 during the breeding season. I've had some really negative experiences with raising Phelsuma and Lygodactylus hatchlings together, so I always raise juvies in seperate cages to offset pressures from competition. As for the size to introduce them...this also varies form source to source. The males gonads "drop" at around 5-6 months of age, pretty much overnight. Eventhough the males may be ready to breed, females definitely aren't at this age. I wouldn't suggest introducing a female until she is well over a year. Cresteds don't store reserves like other geckos, so you want to be sure that she has "topped" out in body size before trying to breed her. I made this mistake when I got my first pair 5 years ago. Bred her way to early and the first clutch took a huge toll on her. They do lose weight in the tail, but the most noticeable difference will be the weight lost around the hips. The breeder should be able to tell you a hatch date.
Wow is this long!
Hope it helps!
James

[Burium]

Yes it does. Another question is in what sized conatiners/terrariums would be good for a juvie (in cms)? We are looking into building our own 40cmx40cmx80cm to house the juvies until full grown. Then they will go into our "deluxe" terrarium that is 64x64x133. Are these good sizes? I guess I don't know how big they are when you first get them. Is there a standard age/size that most are sold at? Or is it up to the breeder? Okay so maybe it was more than one question. ;)

[ChokeOnSmoke]

Yeah that should be plenty of room
Get them all they are great

[AnthonyC]

Just a note. Unless they're inbred for 3-4 generations, you aren't going to see any problems, and it's very likely that whoever you're buying them from isn't going to sell you 3 or 4 siblings...unless you ask.

[dj_honeycuts]

Had to go grab a measuring tape to figure out those dimensions. Rather ironic considering in Canada we're taught the metric system, but I can only visualize dimensions in inches.
Wow!
Those are some nice sized tanks you have planned! The "deluxe" sounds very deluxe! Definitely a very good size to make an awesome display cage in! You'll have to post pics when you have it done.
The only other thing you may want to consider is that the smaller tanks might be a little on the large size depending on the age of the juvies. They hatch out at about 6 to 8 cm total length, which might make finding food a problem for them if they are that small in that large of a tank. The size and age a breeder lets them go at really varies from breeder to breeder. I'm not trying to discourage you from giving them a very comfortable home, but just take their size into consideration before you start building the smaller tanks. You may want to even consider just using plastic "critter cages" or small rubbermaid "shoeboxes" if they are really young. Then move them to something larger in a month or two.
Hope that answers your question...s :D
James

[Burium]

James-
Thanks. I can only visualize in inches as well. They use metric for everything here, so when we moved it was very hard for me, especially cooking. Not to mention the lang.! Any way, since we have not made the smaller enclosures yet, would 30x30x40 be better? Or even better 20x20x40? Maybe I'm just stuck on having the "correct" size enclosure, but I've read that having too big of one can actually hold back thier growth. I want to make them as happy and healthy as I can from day one. OKay thanks again.

Kelly

[Burium]

Oh and the cost of supplies to make four of the 30x30x40 enclosures is about the same as one "critter cage". That's why we are looking at the build option. ;)

Kelly