Correlophus ciliatus - The Crested Gecko
BackgroundCrested geckos (Correlophus ciliatus) are native to a small chain of islands off the cost of Australia called New Caledonia. These geckos are nocturnal, spending the majority of their time during the day asleep inside hollows, and beneath foliage. As an arboreal species, they are usually found higher up in trees and shrubs but do occasionally venture towards the ground to find more appropriate hiding areas during daylight hours. They posses "sticky feet" meaning they can adhere to almost any surface thanks to the lamellae on their feet. These lamellae split down to setae and then spatulae structures so small that the gecko bonds to the surface via Van Der Waals forces.
Heating/Lighting
These geckos do best at temperatures of between 70 and 80F (21 - 26C) and can be kept at room temperature in a warm house, however for individual enclosures its advised that you try to create a thermal gradient for you gecko. Like all reptiles they benefit from a thermal gradient to enable them to properly thermoregulate. The best way to achieve this is with a ceramic heater in a holder on a pulse stat set to 80F - this should be placed over one corner of the enclosure to create a basking area (bulbs may be used, though recent research has shown that reptiles may be able to see the red light given out by some of these - potentially leading to disturbance during the night) This will enable your gecko to move between the warmer and colder areas of the enclosure to maintain its preferred body temperature. In terms of lighting, these geckos are nocturnal so supplemental lighting is not 100% necessary - however it is thought to be beneficial to provide low levels of UV. This can be provided by way of a low level (2-5%) tube or compact bulb, set to be on for between 10-12 hours. Humidity Crested gecko humidity requirements are fairly moderate - requiring between 60-80% humidity for most of the day. Higher periods of humidity - between 80-100% will be required once or twice daily and can be achieved by liberally spraying the vivarium. InsectsThough the meal replacement powders are nutritionally complete, many breeders (ourselves included) opt to feed dusted insects once a week/once every 2 weeks. This not only provides extra protein for the geckos, but also gives them feeding enrichment by enabling them to hunt.
Cresties will basically eat any insect of an appropriate size (no bigger than the width of the widest part of their head as a general guide) - most readily taken by our collection are Dubia cockroaches, black and brown crickets and hoppers/locusts. Any insect should be gut loaded for 24-48 hrs prior to feeding and should be dusted with a quality calcium only powder. Water Cresties will drink water as it's sprayed into the vivarium - often from the sides of the vivarium. Water bowls can be provided, though shallow bowls only to avoid drowning. Hatchling careBaby or hatchling crested geckos should be cared for in much the same way as adults - though a few minor changes are advised.
Loose substrate is best replaces by something like kitchen role. Not only does this prevent impaction, but it also enables you to see if the baby is defecating normally and regularly. Hatchlings should also be kept in much smaller enclosures - something along the lines of a plastic geo/terrarium. We use egg carton as climbing structures/hides for our hatchlings, along with small branches and silk foliage. Hatchlings also have a nasty habit of walking through their food. This often sticks and dries to their delicate feet. (this can happen to adults too!) this leads to problems whilst shedding their skin and with climbing. Should your gecko walk through its food, the best way to remove it is to place some kitchen role into a livefood tub and liberally mist it with luke walk water. Place the gecko in the tub with the wet paper and leave (but supervise!) for 15 minutes. This will loosen the food and in some cases the gecko walking around on the moist paper will remove it. For the remaining food use a small soft paintbrush and gently wipe it away. (this will also work for any unshed skin) |
HousingAs mentioned, these geckos are arboreal - so ideally need a vivarium that is taller than it is wide to enable them to climb. An adult trio can be housed in an enclosure measuring 60x45x45 (hxwxd), though as with many animals the more space you can provide the better. It's often a good idea to opt for an enclosure made of either glass or perspex, as the humidity requirements of this species will often ruin a melamine/wooden vivarium fairly quickly.
In terms of decor, it can be as elaborate or as simple as you like as long as it meets the following requirements; * Several hiding places across the width and depth of the vivarium * Retains humidity fairly well * Provides vertical and horizontal climbing structures * (if breeding) Provides an egg deposition area of suitable substrate. Generally for our adults we use eco-earth as a substrate - this holds humidity well and also provides an egg laying medium for our females. We provide a range of different size cork rounds, flats and cork branches and arrange these to make the most of both the vertical and horizontal space and provide a variety of hiding spaces at various levels throughout the enclosure. To this we add silk foliage- this increases hiding areas and creates a more natural look. We also hold/tie branches etc in place with artificial vines should it be required. Live plants can be used within vivariums and planted directly into the eco-earth - they are beneficial for humidity as well as cycling through any gecko waste in the soil. Be sure to use non-toxic species however. Most commonly used are Bromeliads, Ficus, Pothos, Schefflera or Dracaena (a list of toxic plants can be found here) FeedingIn their natural habitat these geckos feed primarily on over ripe fruit and insects - in captivity the best way to provide them with a balanced diet is via a nutritionally complete powdered food - or meal replacement powder. There are now several on the market - not all of them available in the UK yet. All work on the same premise -mix 1 part diet to 2 parts water and feed!
Repashy superfoods - this food has been in production the longest, and has been through several versions to reach the current version 3.0. it comes in original (tropical), mango and peach flavour. We have had great success feeding our geckos on this and they all eat it readily. It's readily available in the UK in several different sizes to suit all needs. It's a nutritionally complete diet, meaning the geckos can be fed this food alone and will obtain all the nutrients they require to grow and remain healthy. Clarks diet - This diet is fairly popular with UK hobbyists (probably because it was available in the UK before many other diets and is different to repashy). It comes in 4 different flavours - banana, fig, papaya and guava. We tried this diet early on with our collection and they did seem to like it. it smells very fruity, but wasn't as cost effective for us as we were feeding a large amount of geckos and at the time only small packs were available. Again this is said to be nutritionally complete and geckos can be fed this diet alone. Big Fat Geckos Smoothie - This diet is relatively new to the market and is now available in the UK. It only comes in one flavour and small quantities over here. We have tried it with our collection and had a mixed response. 50% of our geckos ate it or at least tried it the other 50% refused to touch it. It doesn't smell sweet at all (more spicy) and is a completely different colour to most other diets (dark green). Again its nutritionally complete so can be fed stand alone if desired - some breeders in the US have had good results with this food, Leapin Leachies being one. Pangea fruit mix complete - Again a fairly new diet, and not yet available in the UK (though you can order it online to be delivered to the UK). It comes in one flavour, watermelon and mango, and is available in a variety of different sized packs. we'll be trying this food with our collection next month, so far reviews from US keepers are good. It smells sweet and their geckos seem to clean their bowls at each feed so looks promising. again this is another complete food - though Pangea also make a fruit mix which is not complete and can be mixed with other brands to encourage feeding. Crested Geckos should be fed 3 times a week (we feed ours Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays) and the food should be taken from the enclosure after 48 hours. The food can be provided in simple bowls such as milk bottle caps (washed first!) or deli cups. Disposable bowls work better as the food does sometimes dry on and can be a pain to remove from elaborate textured bowls. Sexing your geckoMature crested geckos are fairly easy to sex. Males have a well developed hemi-penile bulge and femoral pore region - females do not. Juvenile males can be determined via the development of the femoral pore region from 5g on wards, however it is usually advised that geckos not showing development of pores remain unsexed until a size of around 20g
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