Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Scott W]

Received this via email from someone being as there's a lot of good questions I thought I'd post it here


Now I know they don't need UV or extra heat or anything and my room is a pretty
steady temperature though it never gets too hot. I have a large geo tank (largest
available) which I planned to use for a baby, is this OK? The thing is about
15"(L)x12"(H)x8"(D), I can get custom made glass vivs done for quite cheap at a
place near me so I would buy something when the baby got a bit bigger.

Correct, UV is not required and a background temp of around 76-78 is fine, a little hotter in the summer months won't be a problem although may slow food intake. That size viv is fine for a baby but once over about 10 cms they would ideally need a much higher viv, 18" min, 24" is great.

I was planning on buying a baby to start with but wanted your opinion if this was
a good idea? Would I be better starting off with an adult though I really liked
the babies I saw in a shop?
I would go for one that's a min of 8cms (still young), these are less prone to dehydration and a bit more forgiving to learn with


For the substrate I have that compressed coconut fiber stuff or bark chips. I
imagine both hold humidity quite well but is there a better option between the
two?

Compressed coco fiber is fine if kept damp and well compacted, I have seen younger geckos choke on loose floor substrate like coco fiber, moss and peat (moss I stear clear of) the other two are fine if kept as above. Bark chips...NO...not a fan of those and wouldn't advise them for cresteds.


How much % of the diet consists of livefood and baby food? Someone said I should
put a little tea spoon full of baby food in every 2 days or so but how much live
foods should they get? I am maininly an invert keeper so have many types of
livefood on hand.

Is the sandfire Crested gecko pre prepared powder any good and should I maybe
consider using that too?

I use Crested Gecko Diet (t-rex) 3-4 times per week, this is mixed with just water and a tiny amount of baby food (less than 10%), with crickets used in the days inbetween. You can make an ice cube tray of the CGD and freeze it, then use half a piece per feed, brake it frozen and let it defrost in the cage (put it in a few hours before it goes dark).

For vitamin supplements I have Calipso calcium powder and Nutrobol, are they OK
and how often should I use them? I've been advised to get some Repton as well so
will buy that this week.

If you use CGD at least for 50% of it's diet then I would only dust one feed a week (of insects ), also when dusting it's best to mix all the ones you have named together and use the combination of them.


Feel free to ask any more questions and if any one else have any comments to add to them please post up
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Please DO NOT pm orders for reptiles, send email instead scott@captivebred.co.uk

[Peter Parrot]

Great post Scott. That will answer a lot of FAQ`s for a lot of people.
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[Crunchie]

Hi Scott, thanks for answering those questions of mine! Now just have to wait to see where I can get a little crestie from!

[Scott W]

no probs crunchie, I try to always answer via the CB forum so that many more people will gain from it
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Please DO NOT pm orders for reptiles, send email instead scott@captivebred.co.uk

[Darky]

Top Idea, Hows about a pinned FAQ like this in the rhac forum???

Regards james

[Goose]

Scott, did you get my msgs/emails re. buying a crestie? have not had any reply from you to several i have sent over the past few weeks.


Tom

[Scott W]

[zarozinia]

I supply my cresties with Uv as I believe they do get some in the wild. Mine actually choose to sleep near the UV light, with direct exposure.
I know we can give them calcium and vitamin D3 supplements but I feel this is only part of what they miss out on. UV is also responsible for a " feel good" factor. I just feel that we havent researched this subject enough to rule out its use. Yes, we can successfully raise and breed cresties without UV. But I just like to provide them with as much of what they would recieve in the wild as I can.

I must agree with the substrate issue, I much prefer a basic enclosure with paper substrate for all young cresties.
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[Cleef]