I'm hoping to buy a baby cresed gecko, but keep it in one size tank all its life. Is this possible? I was thinking a 20 gallon? I will most likely get a 20 gallon tank and stand in vertically because I know adults are better off in a 20 gallon. But would a baby crested be okay in a 20 gallon. Any suggestions? I was also wondering about how much money a 20 gallon glass aquarium would be, I live in Canada. Thanks in advance.
A 20 gallon will be ok, do you know that you can buy a 20 gallon extra tall tank? Go to your pet store and ask them if they have any, and if not see if they can order you one. The cost should be around $23 dollars USD, fish tanks barely have any markup because they are sold too stores for about the same price you buy them.
A hatchling in a 20 is fine. The minimal size of an adult is 20. It doesn't matter what size the hatchling is in, as long as there is lots of foliage, the food is easy to find and they feel secure. I have used both fish tanks and exoterras. I like them both. The fish tanks are more horizontal, but the exoterras look nicer. The 18x18x18" (25 gal) works and any size larger will work fine. The size down from it is only 11 gallons, so don't get that one for a crestie. (12x12x18) Depends where you are in Canada I guess will depend on the price - what store you get it from, if they are on sale, get a discount etc ect. Lets just say I didn't pay $30 for any of my aquariums.
I would go with a small kritter keeper for a hatchling though. They seem to do better in these, plus there only like 6 bucks. I wouldnt use coco fiber or any substrate other than paper towels for hatchlings either, makes the cage easier to clean. Good luck with your research! -Richard
Ya at about 4 months I moved mine into a 20 gallon and its doing great after 4 months you can start using the coco fiber make sure you pack it down and take out all the stringy bits so it doesnt chock on them when eating crix. I Might get a different tank in a year or so..
You should not have a crestie under 6 months on coco fibre because of the risk of impactation. They are still learning how to hunt efficiently up until 6 months of age which means they tend to get a lot of mouthfuls of the substrate unless it is paper towel or repti carpet.
They will still get mouthfuls of dirt at any age - But yes around 6 months would be best (better aim still than a hatchling). I watched my year old gecko miss a cricket infront of her twice, both getting a mouth full of dirt before finally getting the cricket. Paper towel in my opinion would be the best - easy to clean. I know you can use newspaper - not sure how the ink would stand up to moisture. Reptile carpet is great - except I don't like it because my geckos all got their teeth stuck in the carpet loops. Some people have never had a problem though - so I guess it depends what kind you use.
newspaper is bad, the inks can contain chemicals that are harmfull to your herps. I use newspaper for my babies, and cocofiber for my adult female, and paper towels for my adult male, (he likes to hide under them.) -Richard
Yeah Im a little confused there too, but I guess I was wrong aswell with my newspaper thing to. Heres what I found out: Newspaper (printed) Layers of newspaper have been used for years in animal keeping. It is relatively absorbent when several layers are used, and inexpensive to replace. However, colored inks are known to be harmful to animals, and there may also be problems with the plain black ink. (Cedar shavings were accepted as a safe bedding for years before it was discovered that the volatile oils caused skin, respiratory and reproductive system damage.) In an enclosed space, an animal who relies heavily on olfactory and tongue chemosensation may be overwhelmed by the pungent odors of the inks, even the new soy-based inks. from http://www.anapsid.org/substrates2.html So for hatchlings go with papertowel I would say
As I sit here with a piece of paper in my lap and realize the smell. It isn't too pleasant and us humans don't have that good of smell compared to most other animals. Paper towel is deffinantly the better way to go for hatchlings.
