A lot of well-meant advice about crested geckos online is simply wrong. These are the ten I see most.
Video · 20 min watchWritten by Brian
Facebook groups, forums and care guides are full of misconceptions about crested geckos, most of them passed on by well-intentioned people. These are the ten I come across most.
1. They won't drink standing water
False. A few lizard species only drink moving water, and that gets applied to all geckos. I don't mist my geckos' cages: a large humidifier keeps my facility humid, and they get only a standing water dish. Most keepers should still spray for humidity so their geckos shed properly, but not for drinking.
2. You need to hand feed
Geckos are built to avoid predators, find food and water, and reproduce. I have never seen a gecko purposely refuse food until it starved. The exceptions are poor housing or illness, such as internal parasites. A sick gecko gets very skinny and lethargic. Take it to a vet: hand feeding is not the answer.
3. They get lonely
Crested geckos are solitary and only come together briefly to breed. Two geckos sleeping side by side have simply picked the best spot in the cage. You can house them together safely, but they tolerate company, they don't want it.
4. They enjoy your company
To a gecko you are a large animal that might eat it. With handling it learns you are not a threat, which is why they are docile. Short handling sessions are fine, but don't take them to the mall. They are happiest left mostly alone in their cage.
5. They are polymorphic
Crested gecko morphs follow Mendelian genetics, like every other reptile. The bigger issue is that they have no normal, or wild type. In other species you can breed a mixed animal to a normal and isolate each mutation over several generations. Without one, the genes are much harder to untangle, but many full-time breeders work them like any other reptile.
6. They are fruit eaters
In the wild, insects are their staple. They eat rotting fruit in season, and nectar or pollen when they find it. In captivity, fruit-based prepared diets are best, because captive-bred insects aren't as nutritious as wild ones.
7. They live high in the treetops
Wild crested geckos live between ground level and about 1.8 m (6 ft). They often sleep on the ground, anywhere small and enclosed, and forage there for fallen fruit, nectar and insects.
8. They have sticky feet
There is no glue. Their feet are covered in billions of microscopic hairs that create the grip. The tip of the prehensile tail has the same hairs, for extra grip when climbing.
9. They can eat baby food
Baby food lacks the calcium, vitamins and nutrients geckos need and leads to severe health problems. A few breeders make it work with added supplements and live insects, but the ratios are hard to get right. Feed a good-quality prepared diet.
10. They die above 27 °C (80 °F)
Keep your geckos between 21 and 26 °C (70 and 78 °F); hotter doesn't help them and can be dangerous. But a gecko won't die the instant it passes 27 °C. In my first apartment, mine sometimes got as warm as 29 °C (85 °F) with no problems. The rule: if you are comfortable, they are comfortable.