Well... Um... Poop!

[babysweet]

I'm assuming that it's due to the fact that cresties are fruit-eating critters, that their poo... well... STINKS!

I've never kept geckos before (cats, dogs, birds, fish, ferrets, rabbits, snakes, turtles, rodents, etc... but no lizards other than anoles)... do they all smell like this?

A few days ago I wondered if it was just something not right with our enclosure. That night we brought home a new baby cresty (promptly named "Mad Max" for his perpetually angry little face) who had a little poo in his transport container. The smell was unbelieveable!

We spot clean our enclosure on the leaves and walls, and have so far been trying out Rapashy's method of stirring the substrate up once a week (I'm sure it makes great fertilizer) but the smell is pretty strong. It's not permeating the room or anything, but it's unmistakable when you lean over the enclosure (we've got four 2-3.5 month old cresties in a 4' x 1.5' x 2' tank).

Peee-yew!

Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this, and why I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere before! :)

Kim

[peterm15]

well ive been finding that with my baby beardie... wow it smells... enough to stink up my whole room...

but my leos name is mad max... lol

[Lrptls]

i have no problem with my leo or my water dragon, i think the stinkiest poos are from snakes (i'm talking reptiles, out of all my pets the ferrets are #1 no doubt) my anaconda would be the worse.

[DragnDrop]

Right now, I've got 21 fruit eating Rhacs of all sizes in my livingroom, within a few feet of this computer. There are also another couple dozen throughout the house. I don't notice anything disagreeable about the cages, but if there were, I surely would have smelled it by now ;)

Poop smells, no matter who produces it. Leos and fatties can produce some pretty strong smells too. The trouble seems to start if the poop doesn't dry out in a reasonably short time, allowing ammonia to form. With cresties needing slightly elevated humidity, it takes a while for the deposits to dry out. If the substrate is damp enough, it might never dry out before it's stirred in or removed. If it gets wet from misting, same deal.

Letting the enclosure dry out for a few hours during the day helps. They should have high humidity during the night, but daytime humidity can be lower (equivalent to the sun drying things out during the day). I mist mine lightly in the morning, and late afternoon or early evening they get a good heavy misting. As long as the branches, leaves top layer of the substrate can dry out during the day it should help remove some of the odour.

[babysweet]

21?! Soooo Jealous.. ;)

That's a great point about the moisture. I have been keeping it more on the damp side and not really giving it time to dry out very well. I was of the impression that this was working well, as the plants look fantastic (there's some concern about them outgrowing the tank FAR to quickly... lol...) and we had our first (observed) gecko shed last night that went off without a hitch. The shed practically fell off of him.

I worry about the humidity getting too low, as our first herp (our ball python) had retained eye covers her first shed... not fun at all. Her second and third shed required me to hand-peel her. Also not fun. Although I am now a pro at removing dried reptile sheds... still not something I want to go through with a squirmy gecko. Especially after listening to all the retained toe skin stories, and the lost toes!

I'll go easy on the mister for the next couple days and see how it goes

[knight45]

I know this is a crested post however...
i just want to tell you if you spray your BP with warm water twice a day during his/her shed, maybe a few more times when the eyes clear up right before sheding time. You will have perfect results everytime.

[DragnDrop]

I don't know if you've ever read Emerson Sy's CRESTED GECKO INTERNATIONAL (http://www.geocities.com/crestedgecko/index.html) website, but it's really worth checking out. He has weather info for New Caledonia which might interest you.

On Page 3 - Housing (http://www.geocities.com/crestedgecko/3.html) he states:

HUMIDITY

In the wild, R. ciliatus experiences relatively high humidities averaging from 73% to 83% throughout the year. To replicate this in captivity, mist the enclosure once or twice a day. Ideally, heavily mist at night, which will also be a source of drinking water for geckos.

It is imperative to provide a hide box or nest box with moist moss. Crested geckos will retreat into the cooler hide box when temperature gets warmer than the optimal temperature range. A moist hide box will also help prevent difficulty in skin shedding (dysecdysis).

Enclosures should have good air ventilation to avoid stagnant air and wet conditions at all times. This can have a detrimental and sometimes fatal effect to crested geckos especially hatchlings and juveniles.

I find they do use a hidebox if it's available, but they'll also hide under something on the ground, like a piece of bark if the humidity is higer under there. In my leachianus enclosure, I've got a small rubbermaid tote suspended near the top. There's moist coco-fibre in it, which simulates the cavities in tree trunks that leachies love to live in. By supplying a humid place to hide in during shedding and if the general summer temperature is higher than they like, you can let the enclosure humidity dry out for a while during the day and they won't suffer any. Wind and sun would dry out the excess humidity in the wild, but enclosures don't usually have that much air circulation, so we have to fudge it a bit. :) Once the substrate gets a bit drier, the poop smell should subside a bit too - less humidity/moisture will decrease the ammonia production and odour.

Another thing I thought I'd mention is the actual misting procedure. I have no idea how you mist, but I've seen a lot of people misting the living daylights out of the plants and then soaking the substrate as well to keep the humidity up. It's not necessary to water the substrate, or not much. Most of the water on the leaves will drip down, chances are if you mist twice a day, even live plants will get enough moisture, or at most only need a bit of direct watering once in a while. By wetting the substrate daily, it ends up so moist, even the soil goes stagnant and any rotting organic matter will add to the odour. In any of my enclosure with live plants, I don't water the plants or soil, all the moisture comes from misting the leaves. I only use pothos, so there are bound to be some plants that need a bit more watering, but they won't need a heck of a lot more.

[little_dragon_]

Your first wiff of gecko poop was in a transport container no wonder it stunk bad! hee heee

[labomb]

I've only had a couple times with one of my crested enclosures that I noticed the odor, but cleaning poo off the glass cleared it up. otherwise I give my enclosures a thorough clean out every
7-10 days. I use carpet in the bottoms of my cresties habitats, they wash easy and rinse in my washing machine. maybe sometimes the poo smells worst than other times? just like humans? :eek:

[babysweet]

I am guilty of 'misting' the living hell out of the tank every evening upon my return from work. With my apartment having electric heat, it's VERY dry, and I worry about them drying out.

For the record, two of our cresties shed in the last few days, and both went off without any problems.

Also I should note that after the first few sheds, our ball python now sheds one complete, beautiful skin, every time without fail. For those of you who worried about her. :) But thanks for the tip! I think it had more to do with her condition when we got her (which was less than ideal) than anything else. And now if I manage to catch her in the misty eye stage I plop her in a rubbermaid and water for a half hour or so just to make sure all will go smoothly.

I did make a definite effort to mist less last night, and I did notice a slightly less pungent smell this morning. I suppose in a few days I'll know for sure.

We do water the plants in the vivarium twice a week (there's about 20-25 plants total) but there's a good two inches of gravel underneath for drainage, and we're very careful to ensure that the water does not sit on top of the substrate. They are watered directly at the base of the plant, and the water spout is pushed into the earth a bit to make sure it goes right down.

As usual, thanks for the information. Oh, and I know this is a crested thread... lol... but I had to tell you guys (especially Betty) two things. Firstly, Betty, you were right about Fat Tails. I saw one last night, and I gotta admit, he was pretty darn cute! We *almost* took him home, but my hubby fell in love with a pixie frog we've named Homer. <sigh> We really are turning into a zoo.

Let's see, that's 1.1 dogs, 2.0 cats, 0.1 ball pythons, 1.0 okatee corn snakes, 2.0 green anoles (which will be rectified this afternoon), 0.0.4 crested geckos, and 0.1 pixie frog. I know, doesn't seem like a whole ton compared to some of you... but we live in a one bedroom apartment, and we only got our first reptile... well a year ago this month!

[Betty Miskie]

I find with the new exo terra cages the ventilation is okay but not as much as what I was previously used to so, like Hilde suggested, lightly mist in the morning the glass and plants. In the evening I fine spray a bit more. The only time I mist the coconut fibre is if it is looking dry. I have a few enclosures (the hatchlings) that I use paper towel. Those enclosures really dry out quicker so I mist a little heavier as the paper towel and fake flowers really dry out quicker. I also have the hatchlings in a hagen cage(all screened area) so the ventilation is a lot more..........
Babysweet: This morning I have my first little fattie hatching right now. What a slow start I am getting off to this season!
Betty

[babysweet]

Congrats on the new baby Fat Tail, Betty! :D

I may be knocking on your door in the near future... lol

We've convinced ourselves that we're not going to buy anything living at this month's reptile show... NO MATTER WHAT! We have way too many! Although I do now need a male African Bullfrog for my presumed female... ;)

Hmmm... off to take a look at Betty's website to sneak a peek at her Fat Tails...

:p

[labomb]

this is definately an addiction, we started with a crestie a year ago and now have 2.2.1 cresties, 2.0 veiled chameleons, 1.1 leos (at last count) 1.1 red eye tree frogs, 0.1 tokay, and some other tree frog. I can't keep up with all Stevo has in his room, so I might be leaving some out.we are buying crickets by the 1000. started off buying a $1 worth.


Oh...and STAY AWAY from those shows if you seriously don't want to buy anymore! for those of us with the addiction, there is NO WAY to go and not buy! I have experienced this, that's like putting the liquer in front of the alcholic and telling him don't partake of. but there is no such thing as herpoholics anonymous, so we are on our own!

[Betty Miskie]

I am living proof that I can go to a reptile show and buy nothing.............. the last show I went and just bought crickets.......wait a minute, I also bought cages.........lots and lots of cages......and a little corkbark........... Actually that is all. That is the first one that I didn't come home with a gecko.
But then, I have discovered how to order geckos and have them shipped to me. That is another story!
Betty

[labomb]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE live reptile shows!

[DragnDrop]

I'm not very fond of dead reptiles shows myself. ;)