crestie questions

reptile boi · 07-03-04, 10:18 PM

Hey everyone,

I am thinking bout getting a crestie sometime soon and i had a few questions. I was reading some care sheets bout these guys a few days ago and most of em say u must keep em in the 70's, this seems waaaay too cool for a gecko, what temps do u gise keep urs at? Also, i was at the calgary zoo on monday and in the nocturnal house they had a crestie set up with GREEN lighting. Is green light a night or day color?

Thanks,
Ben

CDN-Cresties · 07-03-04, 10:21 PM

My house temps range from 70-78 degrees and my cresties are doing great. Im not to sure about the green lighting thing, maybe they just had it so people could see the geckos.

CHRISANDBOIDS14 · 07-03-04, 10:40 PM

I have a green light, and im not sure if I can use it for any of my herps or not? Thanks.

C.

reptile boi · 07-03-04, 10:43 PM

well, the green lights they had werent the bright ones, they actually were emitting a "shadowy lime" color.

Thanks,
Ben

HeatherRose · 07-04-04, 11:32 AM

Mid 70s is perfect for cresties, they don't usually need any heat or lighting, unlike other geckos. I've never really seen green light before, maybe it was just for effect?

damzookeeper · 07-04-04, 02:54 PM

Believe me you dont want to go over 80 with these guys for a long period of time, I know from experience. I lost my first baby to to much heat. I know keep my cresties in the basement because our main floor get in the mid to high 80's in the summer. I haven't had a problem with them down there and the temps range from 73-78 on really hot days. I even got 6 eggs from them last month.

They love lots of misting and lots of hiding places. My guys have a fern at the bottom of their cage and fake plants at the top. My adults are housed in a larger cage measuring 4 feet high and 1.5 feet square. The babies will be housed in deli cups as this is how a breeder told me to house for best results.

I mist them heavily 2x a day and a light mist in the middle of the two heavy ones. These guys are awesome, I love their eyes!!

DragnDrop · 07-04-04, 04:06 PM

Cresties come from New Caledonia. The string of islands is cooler than you'd expect a tropical island to be, partly because of the Antacrtic Currents which provide a cooling effect. They stress out over 85 F, and really don't like it much over 80 at all. In the wild they're active, eating and mating even in the mid to low 60's.
Your assumption that geckos need heat isn't very accurate. There are a lot of 'cool loving' gecko species. Uroplatus like it even cooler than cresties, and there are several other species the prefer cool weather. The New Zealand Naultinus species are even seen out and about walking on snow covered plantlife.

reptile boi · 07-04-04, 07:18 PM

oh, ic, what temps do you gise incubate these guys eggs in? Also, do they need to eat as much as leos?

Thanks,
Ben

CDN-Cresties · 07-04-04, 07:30 PM

I incubate my eggs at room temperature.

reptile boi · 07-05-04, 03:05 PM

hmm, so if i just left them sitting in a container with moist vermiculite in my bedroom (75F ish) they would hatch?

Thanks,
Ben

CDN-Cresties · 07-05-04, 03:30 PM

Yeah they should, as long as they are fertile and dont mold.

reptile boi · 07-05-04, 06:56 PM

does their sex depend on the temp?

Thanks,
Ben

dj_honeycuts · 07-06-04, 01:38 AM

There seems to be a consensus amongst most breeders that if you incubate at fluctuating temps between the high 60s to low 70s you will get mostly females. Fluctuating temps in the low to high 70s will get a 50/50 spread, and when you get to 79 and up you get mostly males. In the higher temps though you risk getting weak hatchlings due to a faster maturation rate in the egg.

Damzookeeper- I think you may want to rethink the hatchlings in deli cups idea, unless they are very large deli cups. I do agree that you get a better success rate with smaller enclosures, but a deli cup might be a little on the extremely small side for an arboreal species of gecko. I start my hatchlings out in medium sized critter keepers set up the exact same as the adults, and bump them up in size as they grow. Eventhough they are so small, they still bounce around the cage as much as the adults.

Burium · 07-06-04, 02:04 AM

Is there a humidity level you need for hatching eggs? What about using damp humus in place of the perlite or vermicilite(sp)? How damp should it be and how do you add more water?

Kelly

SteveG · 07-09-04, 09:56 AM

i actually kepted my creasted in a low temp... they were always around 68-72, and they were fine infact i still have them!!