Santiago, my crested gecko

[Meg90]

Well, here is the thread I said I would make.

This is Santiago, and I've had him for almost a month now. He's still pretty shy, but such a sweet fellow. I call him Santi for short.

He's 18g right now, and about 3.5inches nose to base of tail.

Pics go in order from newest (taken tonight) to oldest...you can see that my skills were improving as I was able to reign in my excitement! lol

This last one is one of my favs....he's just so comical here!

Any questions?

 

[sendie]

What an interesting looking little fellow! In the first photo he looks kinda like a dragon to me and such lovely eyes.

 

[jorrow]

What a cool little guy.... I saw some at a show and really wanted one., but I know nothing about them. How hard is he to take care of? What kinda of set up do have to provide? Temp and humidity? How well do they tolerate handling? Oh one more, how big will he get? Sorry for all the questions.....

 

[Clementine_3]

He's great, I love cresties...they are just so dang cute. If I decide to get another type of gecko it will be a satanic leaf tail though, they are just awesome! For now though I'll stick with my four Leopard geckos.
Is he your only other reptilian friend?

 

[Meg90]

Ok, so to answer the questions:

He is VERY easy to take care of. they don't require heating, lighting etc. instead, are best at room temps between 65-75 (80s can be deadly) He really only likes it humid...

I have him in an exoterra (the glass ones) with eco earth bedding that I keep damp, and that coupled with misting keeps him between 80-90% at all times.

He eats a powder that I mix with water that is a total meal replacement (in the wild, the eat mainly rotted fruit) and I give him crickets occasionally (only about 5 or so every two weeks)

Cresties are pretty good about handling. He tamed down for me in about a week, and now, I can reach in, pull him out, and he's pretty calm about it. He does like to jump, but usually only to another part of me, not away onto the floor or anything.

I'll post a pic of his setup.....here's what I have him in (they like lots of cover)

And last but not least, my collection consists of my two ACFs, two ball pythons, Santi, my crested and my (soon to be) two Greek torts once my hatchling arrives in the next week or so.

The only other thing about cresties is that they have to be housed separately, or a male will constantly breed the female, or two males will fight. Occasionally, you can get away with housing two females together. Enclosure wise, taller is better as they love to climb, and are arboreal.

 

[jorrow]

Thanks for sharing and the Q & A I'm gonna have to look into these guys

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Well, I don't like other reptiles, but it's good to see you posting again, I have missed you...