Crested Gecko CARE SHEET
If you are new to reptiles and cold-blooded animals Crested Geckos, or eyelash geckos, are the PERFECT starter pet and happen to be the ultimate reptile for kids. They are extremely hardy which makes them easy to keep and handle.
They are a crepuscular species which means they are active at sunrise and sunset and sleep the rest of the day and night away. When awake, they are very active and will entertain you with their jumping skills and eyeball licking antics. Do be careful of their tails. When they experience extreme stress they can pop their tails off as a defense mechanism. If this happens or they break their tails, it will not regenerate like other species such as the leopard gecko. Your Crested Gecko will be fine and affectionately known as a "frog-butt".
Crested Geckos are very easy to care for. They require no special heating or lighting requirements and do well in average room temperatures of 75-80 during the day and 68-75 degrees at night. They do not need any special UVB lighting because they sleep during the day, but benefit from a 10-12 hour day/night cycle so an enclosure in a windowed room, like a bedroom or family room is perfect! Remember to not house males together as they will fight.
Another bonus is their diet. If you or someone in your family is squeamish about insects, Crested Geckos will do fine WITHOUT them! Feed them a reputable commercial Crested Gecko food from brands like Repashy or Pangea and they will do great! However, feeding your crestie small crickets, silkworms, etc. is not only very beneficial but incredibly fun to watch!! Be sure to provide clean water on a daily basis.
There are wonderful examples of Crested Gecko enclosures online. Some things to keep in mind is that you want the enclosure to be tall so they have room to climb. Some great enclosures are converted 10-20 gallon fish tanks stood on end and finished with a relatively inexpensive conversion kit front with a door and air holes like the one pictured here. You can also check out our favorite Amazon Crested Gecko products for easy to order products we trust from Amazon.
We know you will love your Crested Gecko as much as we love ours. If you have any questions, please let us know!