Three New Cresties

At the Ottawa show I picked up three crested geckos. Currently they are pretty small and the breeder told me to let them grow in the thing he sold them to me in before I introduced them to eachother in the 59 gallon.

I was just curious at how long do you believe I should keep them seperated to let them grow?

*Ill post pics later if you would like to see*

 

What was the thing he sold them to you in?

 

Sorry, guess that was a little vague on information.

 

You probably shouldnt put them together until you know their sex.

 

I thought when they where young it doenst matter?

 

I house my hatchlings together to let them "grow" and they do quite fine together. I haven't seen the size of your cresties that you bought but if they are that small, I would of bought a 10 gallon tank, lined it with paper towel and added a few plants/that rack shack house you bought from me and I would put all three together.
When they grow and get bigger you can move them to your bigger tank. Keep in mind that you obviously bought unsexed so when they start to show male or female, you need to separate the male(s) from the female(s) or else they could mate and you could have a big problem on your hands.
Betty

 

I have two of my unsexed ones together, but I have to keep a closer eye on them to make sure they're both getting enough to eat. It's always a safer bet just to keep them separated, although personally I wouldn't keep them in such a tiny enclosure until they grow up. That's just me though, I like give them as much space as I can.

I put my new crested that I just got from a show into a 10g and stood it up on end. It seems like enough room for now, but I'll put him into a 20g when he gets bigger. So for now you could just put one in your big tank, and pick up a couple of 10gs for the other two. I got mine from petsmart and it cost around $20.

 

The reason I picked crested gecko's was so I could get something that could live happily in the tank I have. Do you think if I just divided the tank into a smaller area and increased the space as they grew that would be ok?

 

I saw those guys! They are all pretty small, they could be housed togther but you would have to watch them. If the tank is easily divided, then you could make it smaller for them till they get bigger.

Do keep in mind that these are all unsexed. I know you bought them b/c you wanted them all to live togther, but the only way that that will happen is if they all turn out female, and I doubt that is going to happen. If you have even one male, you need to seperate him from the rest. If they all go male, then you need to seperate them all. Males must be housed alone, but females can often be housed togther. This is the problem with buying them unsexed. If you put them together, you will need to watch for them turning male before anybody gets hurt (I think the bi-colour super red was showing male already wasn't it?). Anyways, just a heads up.

 

Yup, ill be watching. This vendor actually said he had housed males together before, but i dont think I am going to take the risk. I have no problem seperating them, I hope two are female though . Positive side is they are not related to eachother so if something happens the outcome should be healthy.

I must admit, main reason I bought them was price. He sold the three for $300 and included a bunch of some kind of diet. Now about the diet, he told me that as long as I fed the diet and crickets I wouldnt have to feed babyfood?

 

It sounds like he threw in "cgd" crested gecko diet. It is a complete meal so you don't have to add anything but water to mix it up. I would suggest you feed the cgd one night, dusted crickets the next, cgd the next and crickets the next. If the cresties are very small (however for one to be showing male maybe............ it sounds like it is around 4 months old?) so really, they should be around the 10 to 20 gram size. Did this breeder say how old they are?? If you feed these little ones nightly with this regiment, you should be getting them to gain pretty steadily. For crickets, buy 3/8 inch as pinheads are too small and 1/2 are too big.
Good luck, but really get them on paper towel and not substrate. They can ingest it while getting a cricket. Ecoearh is okay if the crestie is around the 6 months of age and older but I wouldn't risk it with younger cresties.
Betty

 

They were pretty small, I doubt that they were 4 months (I was surprized when he told me it was already showing male, but there might have been two super reds) but then again I was looking for a red male so...lol. Anyways, as for keeping them togther, keep in mind that if one does go male, you cannot house them togther year round. They can be togther for breeding (if this is a step you want to take) and then you have to seperate them. Also, if you are to breed, you need to wait until the females are at least a year old and 30-35g. For this reason you are prob going to need a second cage anyways. If you buy a rubbermaid or a 20g, you can keep them in there for now, and then use it to house the male (hopefully you only get one male) later.

This is the problem with buying unsexed babies. You can get a super price (which you did!) but you are then stuck with the risk of 3 males. Buying them at an older age when the pattern and sex are more defined does cost more.

 

He didnt tell me anything about them being male, however he did have quite a few. I dont know how young they are, mabye someone can tell from these pics:





Thats two of the three, but they are all the same size.

Also they are really jumpy right now, how old should they be before I start trying to handle them?

Also, by moving them onto paper towels what do I do about the live plants?

 

You can always place the plant in a little jar with some dirt and place it in the tank with the cresties. I was more concerned if you feed the cresties crickets paper towel is the best for substrate.
Betty

 

Ok, so to sum this up everyone agree's I should put them together or divide at that size and put paper towel as the substrate, except live plants which can be potted?

Also, how do you guys control how many crickets each gecko gets when they are housed together. The one gecko just runs around like a maniac eating everything he can, missing alot of the time. The other will stalk for a long time then slowly approach and then pounce, always getting the cricket. These two different ways of hunting may effect if i feed them together?

 

Well seperate is of course always best, for the very reason you stated above. When they are housed individually, you can monitor who is eating what. I am still torn over housing my hatchlings together or individually. It is a hard call. IMO, I would buy three rubbermaids and house them all seperately. However, another option is to put them togther in a 20g (which can later be used to house a male), but you do need to watch them carefully if you house togther. It takes more observation if you want to house them togther. In addition, if you house them togther, you have to seperate them as soon as any males start showing, both to stop multiple males from fighting, and to prevent them mating at a young age, which can result in health issues. Keep in mind that even females can dislike one another and eventually have to be seperated.

You really should get them off the eco-earth though, that is for sure. Impaction risks are high at that age, and believe me, paper towel is much easier to maintain. You also have to get them out of those critter keepers. Those are not really high enough. Also, you need more leaves and such for them to hide in and feel secure. Those little plants the breeder provided you with are fine for one day shows, but they need more hiding spots than that to live happily. You can pot the plants and then get lots of cheap folliage at the dollar store. I use rubbermaid bins with lots of holes drilled in them for my breeders, and I find that you can easily attach folliage to the top by stringing a twist tie through the holes and around the leaves.

Let us know what you do

 

Alright, I will have to wait till the weekend though.

I noticed that one of them (The 2nd picture with the dots) looks as if he is always breathing heavily. Like his "neck" area and stomach seem to be moving quiet a bit, is something wrong with him?

Also, how long should I wait before handling?

 

Another question, you said "you are torn over housing hatchlings together".

I plan on housing them together at some point, I will probably just seperate them for the crickets. But do you believe they are currently to young for that?


UPDATE: The heavy breathing stopped, it only happened for a short time. Mabye he woke up and saw me and was a bit nervous?

 

It depends. Many breeders house hatchlings together from brith. I have two eggs that are right about to hatch, but I am not sure if I will house them together or not. It is harder to know who is eating what when they are togther, especially at that age when they don't weigh very much. Big breeders usually house hatchlings together because they don't have the space not to, but when housed individually, you can make sure they are eating, and you avoid aggression issues. I am not sure about introducing babies that have never lived together before, especially if the breeder told you not too? If you do put them together, watch them very closely for aggression or other issues. Seperate as soon as the sexes start to show. When you feed, observe them closely to make sure they are all getting some. I have 3 of my females together right now, and I weigh them every week to make sure they are all ok.

It is hard to get them to eat outside of their tank. I doubt that removing three cresties (catching them all is hard enough) is going to work. If you house them together, your best best is prob feeding them together and monitoring the situation.

As for handling, babies are very very skittish! It can take months to get them to "calm down" as many people here can attest to. Give them a few days to settle in once you figure out their enclosure. Keep in mind that they have been moved around a lot at this point, and they will need some time to adjust. At that point you can start putting your hand in the cage and trying the "walk from one hand to the other" trick. It may take a few months for them to settle down. I have never really had any problems with handling b/c I have always bought from geckobrothel, and all of Betty's cresties are older and tamer (from my experience). There are lots of other posts in this forum though with info about handling skittish cresties.

Good luck

 

The advice the breeder gave me was to leave them in what he sold them to me in for two months.

He didnt really say anything else. Anyone have any pros/cons with housing hatchlings together?