Seven more myths, some genuinely common and a few I have only heard once and could not leave out.
Video · 14 min watchWritten by Brian
This is a mix of real misconceptions that many people believe and a few of the more ridiculous rumours I have been told or overheard. Part 1 covers seven others.
1. They grow their tails back
They do not. Many lizard and gecko species regenerate their tails, so people new to the hobby often assume crested geckos do too. Some grow a tiny nub where the tail came off, about 6 mm (0.25 in) at most. I have a Confetti Line male who grew almost 2.5 cm (1 in), longer than anything else I have seen. He is one of a kind, and even that is not a regrown tail.
2. They are nocturnal
They are crepuscular, like many animals people think of as nocturnal: mostly active and feeding at dusk and dawn.
3. They can live on baby food or mashed fruit
This one is serious. In the wild they mainly eat fruit and insects, so baby food sounds close enough. It is not. Your home is not their natural environment, and fruit alone does not give them the vitamins and nutrients they need. Feed a complete diet. My go-to brands are Pangea and Repashy, and there are other complete diets too. A baby-food diet leads to serious health problems: metabolic bone disease, kinked spines, vitamin deficiencies and calcium crashes. Do your research.
4. Diet decides their pattern
A customer met someone who believed this. Feeding Pangea Watermelon will not turn your gecko pink. Pangea Fig and Insects will not give it fly-shaped spots, or turn it black because the diet contains black soldier fly larvae. Repashy Banana Cream Pie will not turn it into a banana, however much you feed.
5. They cannot eat mealworms
The claim is that the gecko's jaw cannot crush the worm, which then eats its way out of the stomach. I have looked and cannot find a single case of this in a crested gecko. The only story I have ever heard involved a fire-bellied toad, and I do not know if it is true. I have never seen a photo or video of it happening to any reptile. The two largest crested gecko producers in the world each hatch more than 30,000 a year, and both feed mealworms as their main insect from hatching. Mealworms are perfectly safe.
6. They do not need a day and night cycle
I think this is a twist on something true: crested geckos do not need special lighting. UVB is fairly well shown not to be necessary, though it is likely beneficial if you can provide it. But a day and night cycle is the one lighting requirement they do have. They do not need much light, direct light or a particular kind, only enough to tell day from night, so they have a routine for waking and foraging.
7. They are strictly arboreal
They do not spend their whole lives in the treetops. In New Caledonia they go wherever they find food, water and safety: a tight hollow under a rock at the base of a tree when the sun gets hot, the forest floor for fallen figs, the canopy for insects, the bushes for nectar and pollen. That includes a good amount of time on the ground.