Should i get A crestie???Or a fire salamander(please reply)

[PDDM]

K Heres What You need to know:
1)Im only 14
2)I Have 2 Tanks,A Ten Gallon and A 26 flatback which has the dimensions of:30inx12inx16in
3)The crested Can Be Breeder Bought for 85$
4)The Fire salamander Would Have to be store bought at 89.99$ and thats without tax
5)My Leo is curently living In The 26 gal,Id probably move Her to The Ten Gal and Put the crested in the 26 gal,If I Got the salamander I Would Put it In The ten gal and leave my leo in her Big Tank
Info:
Now Im stuck...I Want A Crested Gecko,But Im Also looking into the idea of getting a fire salamander,I can only get One,I Know a breeder In The area That can Sell me 1 for 85$,whereas the Fire salamander will be bought From A Pet Store And Will Cost 89.99$ Plus Tax...Any Suggestions?Has anyone here Dealed With Salamanders and cresties???Also if anyone can Name any Pros On Cresties Thatd Be Great...Oh One last thing,About The big tank Its 30x12x16,If i got the crestie Would it be better to Turn the tank On Its Side Making It Really tall?If its absolutely Nescesary Id Guess Id Do that...

[VooDooMafia]

Well teh crested caged dont need to be tall persay they just need to have lots of climing space as mentioned in other threads with the egg cartons.

As for what to get well thats really a choice you should make on your own as you should get the one you think you would have more interest in.

I have see it were ppl have asked and gone with the vote of the ppl and then not been happy after a bit.

When buying a reptile you should always go for what you like and can maintain over a long period of time not whats cheaper or a better deal.

Would you rather have the gecko or the salimander? thats the real question.

[PDDM]

The Gecko Probably The Aboreal thinggy Is real cool In my eyes...and i may be getting the Crested Off A Guy On this Board Who Lives in my area(Wyzza) And The salamander issue with it "Leakin" toxics on me...If the crested(hatchling-juvie) can live in A ten Gallon,Im going For sure With the Crested Gecko..the salamander that i saw at the pet store was fat,but it had no water in its water dish so i dunno,pet stores,well most of them are evil...
Id like To Hear Some Good Points about Cresties to close the deal.

[Bartman]

I had a fire salamander. They dont leak anything, although they can, mine didnt see the need to waste so much energy :)

To tell you the truth it was one of my first reptiles and boy was it BORing lol. Not really a great pet unless your interested in them...personally i dont really enjoy keeping any amphibians, but that ultimatly is up to you.

Cresteds though are Amazing and just a blast to play with and watch jump around. Their really fun to keep, and can survive on special formula and baby food!

Anyways like i said its up to you, but ive had pretty good experience with both and cresties are probably 3 thousand times better :D

[manville]

cresties look really good and cute...you can house a crestie in a 10 gallon tank.

[PDDM]

Lol you make it pretty much obvious :D,But can anyone confirm that a crestie can live in a 10 gallon at least for while???How active are they???Which time do they come out at at night???Do they move alot???Or Just stay in One place???Big eaters???I actualy prefer To raise Carnivores though..But maybe id look into omniVores...herbivores really arent my thing :(but i hear stuff about cresties choking on stuff on the floor...Here mayb be my idea
Assuming They Eat Worms:
Id Stick Some Sort Of Little container against The Wall Of the tank Securely,Being that The Gecko Could Climb in the Container,Id Put a A type of minie defider creating a ledge like about half as wide as the container and mealies in it so the crestie can eat off the ground,i cant post it i made a quick diagram on paint but its way too big(file size)

[PDDM]

k so i can have a crestie in a 10 gallon,i mayb put it in the bigger tank though since all the leo does is move on the ground and only go in 2 caves

[VooDooMafia]

You can have the crested in a bigger tank yea.

As for the food they will eat baby food and crickets. They are nocturnal geckos and will be most active at night. You are gonna want alot of srface space for it to crawl on (add lots of cage furniture).

If you do a search for a care sheet you will get all teh info needed about housing/feeding and even breeding if you decide to in the future.

[PDDM]

I Have...the only thing im worried about is geetting the right temps...it shouldnt be too hardthough...other then that i basicaly have everything good,thats what excites me when i get all the Vines and Fake plants in Itll look Nice :D,I Still dunno what to use for substrate(ill be feeding crix sometimes and i donnot want want it to get impacted/choke)Theres also this new thing from exo-terra i may buy..its 75 canadian though,i may get it formy b-day its a screen set up...but it folds up so im not to sure ill get a good look at it first.

[VooDooMafia]

Use crushed coconut (get it from a garden center, it will be in commpressed bricks), its cheap and perfect to use.

As for heat I just keep mine at room temp with no extra lighting.

They are one of the easiest geckos to keep and the fact that they eat baby food is great cause you never have to worry about running out of crickets.

plus they breed like crazy lol

[PDDM]

do youd think theyd go down to the ground to eat mealies out of a bowel?

[manville]

obviously yes! that is how they hunt for food. go down to the ground

[VooDooMafia]

I cant see why not mine go down to eat crickets and any other bugs I might toss in (wax worms mostly once every 2 weeks)

[CDN-Cresties]

My guys go for mealies in a bowl but I find crix to better. The movement of the prey really excites cresties to strike. My cresties are more agressive towads crix than any worm. Its up to you but I always read about how mealies shouldnt be used as a staple but there's tons of different opinions on this subject. Best of luck with the crestie if you get one.

[PDDM]

I probably getting one :D,i cant WaitSince Your Name CND cresties whats a Good Price For One(in CND money)Also How active are they???I just dont see hoe they can hunt...Theye must put those huge eyes to use to be able to find crix in all that real/fake vegetation,how do the cresties hunt exactly i mean will they walk the sticks and just sneak up???Ive seen my leo strike but thats on solid ground,not a foot of the ground,id also like to know how they move...on branches and against the wall,thats what im really interested in,seeing there movement.

[VooDooMafia]

They will come out and chase the insects when they see/hear them moving.

They do stick to walls and stuff but are not as fast as other geckos like day geckos. They are really cool geckos.

They are the leopards of the aborial world.

[CDN-Cresties]

Depends on pattern/colour really but you cant go wrong with $85. They nocturnal and they are very active at night. When I had my cresties in groups they were very vocal and I always heard my cresties crashing around as they hunt their prey, crix arent too smart and dont consider cresties as any danger until its too late :D

[PDDM]

they sound so awsome cant wait to get mine :D,maybe ill buy a second one in december and theyll both live in the 26 gallon...also like i said the tank is 30x12x16 Should i turn it on the side making it 30 inches tall??

[PDDM]

Oh,Lets Just make sure i know which supplment to buy...I here Ppl saying Gargoyle gecko Diet Is Better The Crested Geck Diet For Cresties...I dont Get this...though:"Eliminates the use of feeder insects "...What does that mean i just feed it this stuff???

Here Are the two Which ones better:

http://www.t-rexproducts.com/images/83292.jpg


OR


http://www.t-rexproducts.com/images/83322.jpg

[VooDooMafia]

Dont use any of them

Feed live crickets and dust them with rep-cal calcium once or twice a week. You can also mix it in with the baby food if you like.

IMO I think those listed above are just to get your money

[CDN-Cresties]

Cresties do eat CGD and GGD but I have found that cresties experience faster growth rate on crix. I usually offer CDG every other day.

[Burium]

We are feeding ours strictly on babyfood mixed with CGD and other vits and mins. Our juvies are growing quite rapidly. We use a paper towls substrate for our juvies, and moist coconut peat and peat mix for our adults. Cresties can live very well at room temp (68-80). No heating or bulbs are needed. As for CGD vs. GGD, some people use the GGD because it has a higher protien level. Some feel that this helps counter act the high amounts of sugar in the baby food. I have a BIG bug and worm adversion so for me cresties being fed on CGD are perfect.


Kelly

[PDDM]

well i mostly want to feed insects so should i buy the supplements or instead just add baby food to the mix with insects???Right no I Use This thing,2:0 Calcium/ No Phosphorus for my leo...would this be ok for a crested???Heres The Ingrediants:

Calcium carbonate, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A acetate, Cholecalciferol (source of Vit D3), and Stabilizers. Guaranteed Analysis: Calcium (max): 38.5% Calcium (min): 34.5% Vitamin A: 144,400IU Vitamin D3: 14,400IU Vitamin C: 941mg

[PDDM]

No One Has an Answer for the Last question???Well Im Happy Now :D, The Breeder Told Me A Normal Hatched Today And Should be ready In 15 days,I Might Not get it till 20 days but im still HAPPY!

[manville]

Good for you! You will be glad when you have it! They are really awesome to have in any collection.

[PDDM]

Its gonna Be my 2nd reptile :D,This is what Im thinking For the lil guy/girl's setup...Ten gallon for a while,egg carton,maybe one branch in it,maybe a 15 wat bulb...but i dont know what to do for substrate maybe paper towels,and mist it(tank) once or twice a day(wich one should i do???) also if i mist the paper towels and etc,how will i know when it all becomes too humid???

[Burium]

I mist once a day, usually at night since it is their active period. Mist the sides of the enclosure and any foliage you my have in there. They will lick the water off. They need a period of the time when it is dry, therefore I only mist once and it seems to be working great. Hope that helps.

Kelly

[CDN-Cresties]

Buy a hydrometer to measure the humidity. I keep my cresties between 65-75%.

[PDDM]

K,I can Get A hydro meter easily,Also the breeder Told me to bring my 10 gallon and hed give me a Natural look :D,I dunno if he ment hed give me the stuff for free,but i guess i would pay a extra money for a natural enclosure(fake foliage is big $$$ money around here) Im pretty sure he said hed be giving me soil mix thing...He said this: "I'll give you some soil mix for the bottom, a piece of bark for climbing
and a little piece of plant to add some color :) It will give you a good
start." very nice of him to offer too:D!But i'm just asking whats the risk the Crestie can Get impacted???It probably Wont though,I Dont think itll Go to the ground too often...By the Way The Breeder Is Wyz From This site :D

[CDN-Cresties]

I seen one of my guys choke on loose substrate so I switched over to paper towel immediatly. Its up to you though.

[dj_honeycuts]

If it is going to be less then a month old you might want to consider putting it in a smaller cage to make it easier to find it's prey. I keep all of my hatchlings in large critter keepers. The furnishings in the cage sound good, but unless your house temp dips below 70 during the day I wouldn't worry about putting a heat source over the cage. You would run the risk of overheating the gecko, and this can be more detrimental with hatchlings then with the adults. As for misting, if the tank and substrate aren't dry between mistings you might run into a problem with mold, and then the humidity levels could be considered too high. I mist my hatchlings twice a day as I find they take the majority of their water this way.
As for your earlier question...
I think your 2:0 calcium/phosphorus supplement is by T-Rex, and I've always found that it doesn't stick as well as other supplements to the crickets. It also contains other vitamins, which shouldn't be necassary if you have a vitamin supplement that you are using as well. Vitamin A acetate is a fat soluable vitamin that is stored in the liver and can be easily overdosed on, so I try to avoid any supplement that contains it. I've never read much about this being a cause of fatalities in geckos, but there is quite a bit of info floating around about it's affect on bearded dragons, so I just try to limit the amount as much as possible. Most people recomend feeding the hatchlings daily, so when you think about the amount that they could potentially ingest, it kinda adds up. Especially if you also supplement the diet with the CGD or GGD. I use both of these products, and I mix them in combination with various fruit baby foods, so I feel the diet is varied enough that I would't want to risk too much more vitamin A in the diet.
Really long post!! :D
Hope this helps you a little. Good luck! When you do get him/her post pics for us to see!

[PDDM]

Yay I love long posts!

1)Steve,Ya I might switch To paper towels for a while,i don't know yet

2)Dj_Honeycuts,Thanks!I Loved The long Post :D

3)Everyone-Im not sure about The Tank...my smallest is a 10,i think itll work...if it has trouble finding food i may add a tiny bowl of baby mealies from my colony to see if i can get it to take mealies at a young age so i may get it used to taking mealies As an adult,ofcourse ill be giving it crix and baby food,but at least if it gets used to mealies and actualy eats them i wont have to WALK to the next town and get crix(15-20 minute walks im lazy).About The CGD and GGD suplements from t-rex i mayb buy GGD,or Both but most probably is GGD,I hear more Good things about it...But then I saw AnthonyC's Site And He Reccomends ICB For leos(t-rex) now i also recently read on the Leo forums that IBC may be ok for leos,but theres better choices,I think i recall someone mentioning It had Banana,Or something In it,And Crested Geckos like fruit Right?So I might Go With The ICB...I dunno Yet...But hears my supplies:

1)Gecko
2)Ten Gallon
3)Paper towels(if i chose To Use them)
4)Misting Bottle(cleaned out)
5)Soil Mix that ill Be getting
6)Fake Branches ill Be Getting(Piece of Bark probably)
7)Egg Cartons(Maybe,Depending On How many Branches I Get)
8)Bit of foliage
9)Thermometer(exo terra circle kind)
10)Hyrdo Meter(will probably be getting the exo terra Circle One)
12)light/heating source if needed
13)Ill be getting one of those suplements
14)Caresheets

I think thats Good,Did I miss Anything,Also Another question that i havent Read anywhere on caresheets but im thinking the answer is pretty obvious,but since ive been dealing with the terrestrial geck(leo) im just asking...Do The temps and amount of humidity Have to be The Grounds temp and humidity Or The Air temp and humidity of the cage,Now i figure it has to be the Air Temp since they spend most of there time of the ground but meh i like to be more safe then sorry,Also If it Has To be Air temps I guess id Tape the Ther/hydro meters half way up the tank.

Oops Seems as though my post Is Long too:rolleyes:

[VooDooMafia]

Well aboutt the temp question, to be honest its going to be hard to not have the 2 temps very close in a ten gallon tank.

In bigger tanks/cages yes but something like a ten gallon it will be almost the same.

[PDDM]

lol yeah i know but still,worth asking for later plans(bigger tank),also im asuming i need pinheads for the gecko,but well usualy stores would just give me abag of random crix,some pin-heads some adults.hmm i almost got all the info i need,i think lol,anybody got anything extra to add or anymore things i have to consider,I basicaly got everything figured out except for which supplement to use...oh yeah another thing,I saw somewhere that i cant give any babyfood with Citrus in it,Is This true???And why is that?

[PDDM]

I got a pic of The crested Gecko im getting :D,So cute so lil too!:D Unfortunately The File sieze is huge like can anyone resieze it for me???

[CDN-Cresties]

Yeah I can. Ill PM you with my email.

[PDDM]

Sweet Thanks steve,ill actualy add you to my msn tro go faster

[PDDM]

Yay!Thanks to Steve here Are the Pics

http://ssnakess.com/photopost/data/511/5360mycrested-med.jpg

The one in the middle is mine i get him In 13 days :D

http://ssnakess.com/photopost/data/511/5360mycrested2-med.jpg

Now in that last one i dunno which ones mine lol,Also heres the info on it so far: It hatched Either yesterday or the day b4,Also they havent shed yet,So they havent eaten yet,he'll be feeding tiny crix and appricot baby food to them.

[CDN-Cresties]

Now its time for the long wait until you get em' :D

[wyz]

I think I created a monster !!! :)

Wait 'till the 1st shed to choose Paul :) One of them might be blue, you never know :)

WYZ

[PDDM]

Lol,hehehe found the post eh?oiy so long to wait,cant wait,thx wyz again,with all of seen your like the only one with cresties in quebec,oh maybe ill be looking for mate of S/he later in december might you have one wyz(lol guess it depends on which gender the first one im getting is :)) Hehe ive been bouncin off the walls withy this crested ordeal,ive been e-mailing wyz and talking on the boards,but...oh no!!!!I have no more questions ack!Nooo!Lol 14-13 days will ake a while,oh well :) thx again wyz and steve and everyone else for the replies!