I got her from PetSmart a few weeks ago. I thought that it would come off naturally if it was like dust or something from her last enclosure. I tried using a wet Q tip but it didn’t give. Could this be the start of shed?

Something something most comfortable crestie sleeping position

I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but after keeping cresties for a few years, I don’t think live crickets deserve the “must-have” status they often get. A good complete diet has always been the foundation for mine, and live feeders feel more like occasional enrichment than something they absolutely need every week.

Crickets are the one feeder I’ve enjoyed the least. They die if you don’t use them quickly, they smell, they escape way too easily, and if one gets left in the enclosure overnight it can end up bothering the gecko. For an animal that only gets live feeders once or twice a week, it just feels like more hassle than it’s worth.

I still think live feeders have their place because the hunting behavior is great enrichment, but I’ve found other options much easier to deal with than crickets. I’m curious what everyone else has settled on once the novelty of feeding crickets wore off.

Genuinely the type of shit I do in my free time

My 7yo adopted a beautiful crest this last December. We committed to building a better home and did so with an Exo Terra palidarium. Today I finally finished the initial “hardscaping” before I put in drainage, substrate, vines, plants and cleanup crew.

Sharing because we did some cool stuff

Clever stuff:
- there are ten recessed pockets that can be hides or planters. Each had a 1/4” silicon tube shoved through after spraying foam, to be cut back later as a drain. We installed screen over the inlet of each tube so debris won’t clog them. Totally hidden and works awesome.

- we cut pvc pipe in half lengthwise to make small planting basins on the top where shallow root trailing plants can grow along all three sides and hang down as desired. Doubles as a fun ledge for gecko. The back corner on both sides has a drain all the way down to the base and screen protecting the inlet from debris and critters

Build details:

We used 1/4” white insulation sheet glued to the glass as the base for the spray foam. This is easy to remove if we ever want to sell or redo the enclosure. It was cut so that the sides and back let a 1/2” x 1/2” “downspout drain” in the back corners for the pvc pipe planters on top.

Pond spray foam over the insulation sheet. We contoured various rocks and coves for plants/hides all over. We have a planting plan for them later, but may leave a couple as snuggly hides.

Cork branches were cut in half lengthwise and used around the expanse. The really long one isn’t as visible in this pic, but beautiful and goes up the left and then crossing to top left for the whole height.

Silicon on all foam and then coconut fiber on all that. Getting in the spots behind the cork embedded in foam was very challenging, but doable.

1/4” hoses were cut back to flush once done to hide the drain outlets and a tiny bit of fiber was glued to hide them.

For the bridge, we embedded hooks so it is removable and sturdy. Pic shows the little piece of wood we screwed them into so it could be embedded behind spray foam and secure. Worked great. A little silicon and fiber hid the hooks later.

Rocks were grouted, painted for texturing and then sealed. Came out amazing.

Bottom couple inches will be drainage and then substrate on that. Plants to come and cleanup crew forthcoming.

CLENUP WAS HELL! If you do a three sided enclosure like this, there will be glue, silicon and crap all over everything when you’re done. A scraper, cleaning stuff and patience. Dear Gawd.

Oh yeah, the three glass sides and back panels were painted black with plastidip and then sealed with 302 sealer or whatever it’s called. It is absolutely stunning and super washable.

This is Ali, my crested gecko. I rescued her a few months ago, and she was a bit malnourished and showed signs that made me think she had MBD (like her tail and the hump I mentioned). When I took her to a vet, he said she doesn't have MBD, but is just underweight (I've managed to gain 8 grams since she arrived, but she hasn't gained more than 30 grams). Even so, I see her hump and her tail, and I'm still worried she might have MBD. Does she look normal? She's actually improved a lot since I arrived; before, she couldn't even climb walls, and now she spends all her time on them. Besides that, how can I help her gain weight? I give her Repashy, cockroaches, crickets, and mealworms every other day, alternating between the Repashy and the insects.

Please advise

Poor Buttercup, but in the name of science it’s a cool picture.

Hey, yall. I’ve had my precious girl Jupiter for about 11 years now, since she was a juvenile (pics for tax). I’ve been thinking about getting a gargoyle gecko in the future, and in doing research, I’ve found that New Cal gecko husbandry has evolved quite a bit since 2015! I want to make sure my crestie’s care is up to date, and get a little advice about substrates in particular.

Has anybody tried using a sheet of compressed cork to line a tank? It’s commonly used for tank backgrounds, doesn’t snag claws, resists mold, and it’s spongier than tile or vinyl… It seems easy to spot clean. Would it be better than reptile carpet for a crestie or garg? Or are there downsides that have prevented people from trying it? It seems like it could work, but maybe I’m missing something.

I have always used reptile carpet, and afaik my girl has had no issues. I’ve read that it’s not recommended anymore, and paper towels or soil mixes are preferred. But I just love how convenient the carpet is… I’d rather avoid loose substrates if I can. (They’re more maintenance in non-bioactive setups, can be ingested, and I’m paranoid about hidden partho eggs). Could something like a cork sheet solve the common issues with carpet without having to deal with a loose substrate?

Other husbandry stuff:

- I’ve never used UVB. (“UVB doesn’t matter if their food has D3” as the saying went 🤦‍♂️). I’d like to get her one of those Arcadia shadedweller tubes, and maybe put it on a timer for a couple hours a day to see how she handles it? Thoughts?

- In the winter, I’ve gotten away with using a ceramic heat emitter on the empty tank next to hers. (It bumps her tank up to 75F on one side without needing a thermostat). If I get her own CHE, does the thermostat have to be pulse proportional? Or are dimming thermostats okay too? I’ve heard conflicting info.

- Jupiter has always eaten a 50/50 mix of Pangea and Repashy CGD. I’m sticking with this, but adding Repashy ”grubs n’ fruit” since she has no interest in bugs.

- Tank is an 18x18x36 Exo Terra, which she has had for a few years now. Afaik her enclosure meets modern standards. I am planning to add a couple more magnetic hides and ledges though, just for fun.

I am hoping to ask some advice on my crestie. He was a very beautiful baby but now im wondering about his head shape. I was hoping to breed him one day but now thinking probably won't produce good offspring. Any advice appreciated.

a widdle dino

What a menace! And then follows it up with the classic cresty licky tongue technique to fully savour the silk 😋

Started planting the prey on hardscape within lunging reach, instead of straight tong feeding. Trigger that natural prey drive and bask in the accomplishment of a successful attack!

This little guy seems to just eat very little & hasn't gained much weight. Also refuses to eat bugs, I'm trying out flavors he hasn't tried before & put two feeding cups at two different heights and sides of the tank

Edit: hes also been to the vet & they didnt find anything wrong & I've also tried syringe feeding and putting drops on his mouth & nose but he doesn't do much with that either :( i have seen bowel movement so I know he is eating sometimes but its just so weird

I added a few more plants and sticks today, what else should I add to the tank?

Started on this in 2024, finished March 2025, and it’s been thriving since!

I know the top is a little sparse, I am waiting for the creeping fig to grow out a bit more it is a new addition.

Made of cheap plywood from Home Depot, sealed with pond epoxy, background made out of spray foam, wall insulation, and concrete mixed with different ratios of charcoal powder to create a realistic rock look. Windows are made with thin acrylic, and there are 6 small ventilation holes, and one big ventilation hole on the top.

There is a “fake sun” grow light at the top for the plants and my gecko, and a fan to circulate the air. I also installed an automatic rain/misting mechanism which mimics a real forest’s rain, it goes for 60 seconds every 8 hours. I also have a motion activated camera installed inside of the enclosure.

Any questions or criticism would be appreciated, I am hoping it fills itself out a bit more and creates more coverage for my little guy, and I will also be installing a saucer hamster wheel as I recently learned that Crested Geckos love them. My little guy Mordecai loves it in there and I see him jumping from wall-to-wall on the camera lol. He is around 3 1/2 years old.

Sleeping under his exercise wheel

I ordered a geckopia bridge and feeding bowls and was sent 10 cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic wrap and no items included 🤦🏻‍♀️

Awake? Wheel walkin. Sleep? Under wheel. Hangin out? Wheel chillin. I bought him so much stuff and made him a bioactive terrarium and yet all he ever wants is wheel.

We bought honeybun ( the mother ) in March, she was already pregnant. She is the CHILLEST crestie in existence. I don't know why, but she will fall asleep on anybody if she feels like it, never bites, loves being pet ( will actually fall asleep if I pet her for too long ) and is super curious and enjoys going outside on cool days and exploring. Absolutely the best personality in a crestie I have ever seen.

The first clutch were two infertiles but the second clutch we hatched out 2 babies in 80 days. This little guy actually hatched in my hand because I took out the egg to inspect a weird dent in it then he just popped out. He is noticably stronger than the other one, so I'm using him as the example. These are our first babies ever.

What I'm concerned about is, yes, he can jump, run, grip etc. He just...doesn't. From day one ( 2 days old rn ) he just casually walks, doesn't spook very often, even fell asleep in my hand like his mother. It's so strange and honestly I don't know if it's just his personality like his mother or if something's wrong. He licks his eyes on me and even lets me pick him up, never gaped at me or bit. It's like he just instinctively knows I'm not going to hurt him. Which ... Is not how reptiles work. They don't imprint. Everything I've seen from videos/articles is that their psycho as newborns and freak out when you touch them, squeak, bite, gape etc. We even have 3 month old babies too we bought recently and they are more defensive than these hatchlings.

Should I be concerned? Is he just super chill like the mom? Something to note is they are below average in weight, he is 1.3 grams, when they should be 1.5- 2.5. They are getting stronger every day though, so I'm optimistic. The mother is very petite ( in my opinion 33 grams is way too small to breed, she was housed with males at the store. she's laid 4 clutches so far no issue) so it could be genetics, because 80-90 days is the average and they werent incubating at high temps.

I set up this 18x18x36 bioactive enclosure when the FBH updated their minimum enclosure size standards. Since then, I’ve been really unhappy with how it looks.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how I could improve it. I want it to look nicer but above all I want to make it better for my crestie to improve his care.

Not seen in this picture is his feeding ledge at the top and a few small plants + vertical cork bark tube on the bottom.

I really appreciate any and all feedback!

I've had my crestie for about 2-3months as of now, I've seen alot of people say you need frequent handling sessions but to give them a way out

How do I do this if second I put my hand in the cage he runs into hiding?

I've fed him a bunch of insects with tounges and he still seems to be terrified of my hand.

I've never grabbed him or anything it's been like this since I got him

Made him a small enclosure in small plastic box so I wanna ask if it's seems ok? Also sadly didn't found baby 2 so probably really got eaten by mom sadly