Update on all of my Crested Geckos

[Meg90]

I decided to do a post on all of my geckos. I have quite a few more than the last time I did a thread on them, so here goes.

The boys:

This is Santi, he was my first gecko ever

MadEye Moody, a rescue boy that has an attitude that matches his name.

Vampire Bill, the handsome man that will be housed with Faye and Tonks for the 2010 breeding season.

The girls:
FayeFaye, my first lady

Tonks, a girl I got from a friend of mine

and Sookie, a girl I handpicked at an expo

These are the kids,

Trouble, my dalmatian baby.

Fiddlesticks a nice orange flame (pic from right after he hatched, I need some new ones I guess)

and Wicket, my first ever hatchling (picture is from when he was only a few days old)

Then we have the newest two, these babies hatched a few weeks ago.

Nausicaä

and one more Unnamed as of yet

I also have two Gargoyle geckos, cousins to the cresteds. This is my future pair:
Cowboy (male)

And Bebop (female)
(first pic is a goofy Halloween one)

All and all I have 11 crested geckos, and 2 gargoyle geckos. But I have a couple more crestie eggs incubating, so I'm sure my count will rise a bit more before the end.

 

[alfiethetortoise]

I especially like the HP style names! Perhaps the unnamed can be luna?!

 

[Isa]

They are beautiful Meg, you have an amazing collection . I love the names you find for your little friends, they are originals and cute

 

[Kayti]

They are so awesome! I especially love the dalmatian one. What are crested temperaments like? Do they enjoy being held?

How can I convince my boyfriend to let me get some?

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Wow. What a colorful and charismatic collection! Those eyes are positively eerie, but cool.

Cowboy has such striking coloring, almost like (I hesitate to say it) a snakeskin cowboy boot!

You should enter that Halloween picture in a calendar contest!

Why do some of the geckos have tails and others not? Do they like to be held? Do they bite?

 

[BethyB1022]

They are so awesome! I especially love the dalmatian one. What are crested temperaments like? Do they enjoy being held?

How can I convince my boyfriend to let me get some?

Kayti- Lol, I had the exact same thoughts! (especially about convincing my boyfriend to let me get some)

Meg- Are there any online or book references on crested geckos that you would recommend?

Thanks and great pics!

 

[Meg90]

Crested geckos are one of the easiest species to keep. They don't require any lighting, heating or UVB. They do best at room temp between 70 and 80F. Higher temps can stress them out.

They are frugivores, which means in the wild their diet would consist mainly of soft ripe fruit and nectars. In captivity, a meal replacement powder has been formulated which simulates their wild diet. It comes in a variety of fruit flavors and they do really well on it. All you do is mix it with a little room temp water and serve. The powder is kept in the fridge until its time to use. I buy mine in large quantities, a pound at a time. But I do have quite the collection. They are an arboreal species, preferring to have more vertical space than horizontal. They need lots of foliage and things to climb on. A shallow dish of water, and some moist eco earth bedding and you are in business. I will post a setup picture in a bit...might take some new ones for ya'll.

They are easily handleable and do not get overly stressed from gentle interaction. They are a "sticky" gecko and can climb most smooth surfaces. I love mine. They feel like cool velvet, very soft to the touch.

The reason some have tails and some don't is because Cresteds are one of the only species that never regenerate their tails if they lose them. Its nothing but cosmetic after they get used to it not being there (their tales are somewhat prehensile) but alot of people don't like the look so tailless (frogbutts) are usually a pinch cheaper.

I'll post some care sheets when I get back. Going out for some late dinner. Will be back soon!

 

[Floof]

Gorgeous geckos, Meg! Lol, I didn't even notice the HP-themed names (MadEye aside)... Here, I was zoned in on "Cowboy" and "Bebop." I love that anime... =)

I reeaally can't wait to get my own cresties.. And then... Gargs... Maybe someday, Chahouas and/or Leachies... Ah. Geckos. My second love, and I don't even have any yet. xD

 

[Meg90]

I want a chewie SOOOO BAD. Its not even funny. I keep having to tell myself that I am broke.

The gargs are pretty cool. Mine poop on me everytime I handle them though. Cowboy runs up to my elbow and lets loose so it goes all down my arm. He loves me so much. I love Cowboy Bebop too. That's where I got FayeFaye and I have a bp named Spike. Maybe I will name the unnamed baby radical Edward.

---

Here's a week old video of me handling Vampire Bill if ya'll are interested! I'm a total geek. I have a reptile channel on youtube w/ over 100 subscribers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYwx6k6wlM0

 

[Stephanie Logan]

So when you say he's "fired up" or "fired down", does that mean he changes colors when he's excited?

Cute little guy, and lots of energy!

 

[terryo]

Wow Meg! Great video, and your Geckos are beautiful. That lil Wicket is so cut. There little heads are bigger than their bodies.

 

[Madortoise]

Bill is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

 

[sammi]

I loooove them =] And so does my boyfriend =P A couple questions: How do they lose their tails? Do you keep a screen on top of their enclosures to keep them from getting out? The powder for their diet..you simply mix it with water and thats all they need? No actual "solid" foods? I would love to see pictures of your enclosures =]

 

[Meg90]

I had one male drop his tail the night I brought him home. He was in a deli cup for a couple of hours and really stressed out. When I opened the cup to put him in his habitat, he shout out like a bat out of hell and went running. When I tried to catch him, he wiggled his tail like mad and "dropped" it, hoping to distract the big scary predator (me) and get away with his life.

Another gecko can cause them to drop it, a rough cagemate when they are little, or a overzealous breeder during the season can cause them too once they are adults. During a thunderstorm, fireworks, or a heatwave they can be under so much stress that their first instinct is to drop their tails.

If your temps are stable, and your housing is right, and they are in a room that doesn't get too loud, or rowdy, you should be fine. Only Madeye (knock on wood) has ever lost his tail while WITH me. I have some others that did come to me without tails.

This houses one male crested

Top enclosure is for a hatchie, bottom is for a lone male

Here's my pride and joy, tank wise. Its a 18x18x24 Exo terra. It houses two female crested geckos

Looks so pretty when the lighting is nice

I also use bins for my geckos (cheaper, lighter, take up less space) I put ventilation holes in with a wood burner.

Here are two videos that show setups my setups:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvlKOdPtkmk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Duf3IW0xG4


My geckos eat the Repashy Crested Gecko diet two part base and nectar system. I have used cherry, papaya and mango, and at present, I tried Fig and they went NUTS for it. I would recommend the fig flavor. You mix the CGD with warm water until its like the consistency of a runny milkshake, and serve. Occasionally my geckos get Ca dusted gut loaded crickets. But I like to limit that, because often live prey will turn them off of the diet, and a live prey diet is lacking in a ton of nutrition, so the geckos become unhealthy. Crickets are a treat only for my crew.

 

[Meg90]

Lighting was nice today, so I snapped some pictures.

This is my first trio, I'm hoping to get creamsicles, yellow pins, and nice harleys.

This is Faye, she's an orange tiger clocking it at 38g tailless (Half fired) She also hates posing for pictures. The majority of shots I got of her were blurry because she was "running". Redheads.

Tonks is a yellow and cream flame with lots o spots (unfired in pics). She's at 39g on empty, and my sweetest gecko.

Vampire Bill is a blonde harlequin with a high percentage of pinning. He's at 27g right now, so I'm working on getting him up to size in the next three months for a season starting in late March/Early April

Now, not to confuse you, lol since I put these two right next to each other, but this is Sookie. She's only 16g right now, a nice dark harley with high percentage pinning. I doubt she'll be ready for the 2010 season, but she will be paired with Bill in 2011 for sure.

I plan on breeding Gargs next year as well, if I can get my pair up to weight. It might not happen, but this is my planned pair.
Cowboy (looking remarkably as unfired as I've ever seen him), 30g black and white reticulated who poos on me every time I handle him. I like to think its how he says hello. IE that aint water on my thumb

And this is Bebop, 16g orange/red reticulated. She's getting more and more color by the shed, I swear. I love the contrast with her blue eyes.

And, just for fun, one of my older kids, Trouble. He's unfired here, gets a nice red/orange when completely done up.

Here's my two newest hatchies as well.

And that's the majority of my crew. Not pictured are the rest of my hatchlings (5 at this point) and two male cresteds that are pets only. (rescues basically)

Who doesn't love a ton and a half of pictures right??

 

[egyptiandan]

They all look great Meg You just need a Jett and an Einstein.

Danny

 

[Meg90]

For sure! You a Bebop fan Danny?

Did you see my other thread on the girls? They are doing GREAT.

 

[egyptiandan]

I'm an Anime fan You don't want to know how many I have. Yup I loved Cowboy Bebop as well as many others.

I did and yes they are

Danny

 

[ChiKat]

You're killing me with all these pictures! My mother would KILL me if I got another pet...I guess I'll have to wait until I move out to get my crestie
They are so gorgeous!! And the babies are way way too cute...

 

[Isa]

They are beautiful Meg
I really love their enclosures!