Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Glass front-opening terrarium with a screen top for ventilation.
• Orientation: Arboreal (vertical). Height is far more important than width.
• Minimum for Adults: 18" x 18" x 24" for a single adult over 20 grams.
• Recommended for Adults: 18" x 18" x 36" (taller is always better).
• Minimum for Babies: A small 12" x 12" x 18" enclosure or a ventilated plastic tub (like a Kritter Keeper). Babies put in massive tanks often fail to find their food and starve.

Substrate

• Hatchlings/Quarantine: Paper towels are highly recommended to easily monitor bowel movements and prevent impaction if they miss a bug.
• Adults: Coconut fiber (Zoo Med Eco Earth), orchid bark, or a bioactive soil mix.
• Bioactive Option: Excellent choice. A mix of ABG soil, leaf litter, isopods, and springtails works wonderfully in the humid crested gecko environment.

Décor & Enrichment

• Climbing: Fill the tank! Crested geckos need horizontal and diagonal branches, cork bark tubes, and vines to jump and rest on. A bare tank causes stress and physical deformities (like Floppy Tail Syndrome).
• Hides: Hanging coconut hides, magnetic ledges, and dense foliage (live or fake plants like Pothos or fake vines).
• Feeding Ledge: A magnetic or suction-cup feeding ledge placed high up in the tank is essential, as they prefer to eat up high, not off the ground.

Temperature

CRITICAL WARNING: Crested geckos cannot tolerate heat! Temperatures over 82°F (28°C) can cause rapid heat stroke and death.

Heating

• Primary: Room temperature is usually perfect. If your house stays between 70-75°F, you do not need a heat lamp.
• Secondary: If your house drops below 65°F in winter, use a very low-wattage Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) or a small heat mat on the side of the glass, controlled by a thermostat set to 75°F.
• (cross-ref: Reptile/Amphibian Heating)

Humidity

• Target Range: 50–70% base, spiking to 80%+ when misted.
• How to Maintain: Mist the enclosure heavily every evening.
• The "Dry Out" Period: The enclosure MUST be allowed to dry out to around 50% during the day. If the tank is constantly soaking wet 24/7, the gecko will develop respiratory and bacterial skin infections.

Lighting

• Photoperiod: 12 hours on / 12 hours off (natural room light is often enough).
• UVB: Not strictly required, as their dietary needs are met via fortified powders. A low-output UVB lamp made for shade-dwelling geckos (such as Arcadia ShadeDweller) is an optional upgrade. Never a desert-strength bulb. Make sure it doesn't overheat the tank.

Diet & Nutrition

Primary Diet: Crested Gecko Diet (CGD)

• The staple diet is a commercial powdered mix that you mix with water to the consistency of ketchup or a smoothie.
• Brands We Recommend: Pangea, Repashy, or Zoo Med Crested Gecko Diet.
• Frequency: Offer fresh CGD every 1 to 2 nights, in the evening. Remove uneaten food after 24 hours to prevent mold.
• Serving Size: Just enough to cover the bottom of a small feeding cup. They have tiny stomachs!

Live Insects (Optional but Recommended)

• Offering live insects 1-2 times a week stimulates natural hunting behavior and promotes faster growth.
• Prey: Crickets or small Dubia roaches. (No mealworms or superworms—their hard exoskeletons can cause impaction).
• Size Rule: Insects should be no longer than the space between the gecko's eyes.
• Dusting: Dust insects with calcium every time. Use calcium with D3 (such as Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3) at most feedings, plus a multivitamin about once a week, and follow the label on the powder.

Water

• Geckos will mostly drink the water droplets off the glass and plant leaves after you mist the enclosure.
• Provide a small, shallow water dish on their feeding ledge, changed daily.

Health & Husbandry

Common Health Issues

1. Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) — Symptoms: Soft jaw, kinked/wavy tail, tremors, unable to stick to glass. / Cause: Feeding only baby food or fruit instead of complete CGD, or lack of calcium. / Prevention: Only feed Repashy/Pangea/ZooMed CGD and dust insects with calcium.
2. Stuck Shed — Symptoms: Retained skin on the toes (looks like little white socks) or tail tip. / Cause: Humidity too low. / Treatment: Do not pull dry skin. Raise the humidity at the next misting. If shed stays stuck on the toes or tail tip, see a vet who sees reptiles.
3. Floppy Tail Syndrome (FTS) — Symptoms: The tail flops over at a 90-degree angle when the gecko is resting head-down on the glass. / Cause: Lack of horizontal resting branches, causing them to sleep vertically on the glass. / Prevention: Clutter the tank with lots of horizontal/diagonal branches and cork bark.

Tail Dropping (Autotomy)

• Crested geckos can drop their tails if they are terrified, grabbed by the tail, or highly stressed.
• Unlike leopard geckos, crested geckos DO NOT grow their tails back. They heal perfectly fine and live normal, happy lives as "frog butts." It is purely a cosmetic loss.

Veterinary Needs

• Crested geckos are incredibly hardy when fed properly. Seek an exotic vet if you notice severe weight loss, lethargy, or signs of MBD.

Morphs & Varieties

Crested geckos are highly variable. Most patterns are "polygenic," meaning they are selectively bred for a look rather than a single predictable gene.

Common Patterns / Traits

• Patternless: Solid color (red, olive, yellow, dark brown) with no patterning.
• Flame: A base color with a contrasting, brighter color running only down the back (the dorsal).
• Harlequin: Similar to a Flame, but the contrasting color heavily creeps up the sides and legs.
• Pinstripe: Cream-colored raised scales forming two distinct, solid lines down the edges of the back.
• Dalmatian: Black or red ink-like spots scattered across the body. Can occur on any base morph.
• Lilly White: A true genetic morph. Features striking, bright white sides, belly, and dorsal.

Handling Guidelines

• "The Hand Treadmill": Crested geckos move by walking and jumping. Hold one hand in front of the other and let them walk forward.
• Jumping: They are excellent jumpers. Keep them close to the floor, over a bed, or over a table when handling to prevent long falls.
• Flighty Babies: Hatchlings and juveniles are extremely fast and skittish. Keep handling short until they grow and calm down.
• The Tail Rule: NEVER grab or pinch the tail.

Compatibility

• Cohabitation: Strictly solitary. Males will fight to the death. Females often bully each other for food and the best hiding spots. Keep them housed individually to ensure a stress-free life.

Oregon & Local Keeping Notes

• Oregon: Questions about permits or the law? Ask a store manager.
• General: Widely captive-bred. Though they were once thought to be extinct in the wild (rediscovered in 1994), they are now one of the most heavily captive-bred reptiles in the world.

What We Stock & Use in Our Stores

These are products we carry and recommend for this species. Ask any associate for help finding them in-store.

Last updated: 2026-08-04

How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply

• Beating Dry Oregon Furnace Air (and Summer Heat Spikes): Across the Willamette Valley and Portland Metro, running the house furnace all winter drops indoor humidity to 25–35%, which quickly causes stuck sheds and dehydration in screen-top tanks. To hold 50-80% reliably for Crested Gecko, our crew mists heavily every evening and lets the enclosure dry out to around 50% during the day, with a moisture-holding substrate and partial screen cover when needed.
• Thermostat & Linear UVB Standard: Every heating element in our Newberg and Gresham reptile rooms runs on a thermostat. Our Crested Geckos get no basking lamp. We keep their room at 72–78°F and always under 80°F.
• Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, thermostats, UVB lighting, bioactive supplies, springtails, isopods and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.

Common Questions (FAQ)

What size tank does an adult Crested Gecko actually need?

An adult Crested Gecko needs at least 18x18x24 inches (18x18x36 preferred) with lots of branches and cover. They don't need a basking spot. Keep the room at 72–78°F and always under 80°F.

How do I keep Crested Gecko humidity at 50-80% during dry Oregon winters?

Oregon winter furnace heat dries the air out fast. Mist heavily every evening, use a moisture-holding substrate such as coconut fiber, and cover part of an open screen top if humidity drops too low. Let the enclosure dry out to around 50% during the day.

What is the best bioactive clean-up crew for a Crested Gecko?

Pair springtails with one isopod kind matched to your tank's humidity in a 3–5 inch bioactive soil and leaf-litter bed. We'll help you pick an isopod kind that suits your tank's climate, and pick one isopod kind per build. Our 1-Page or Tri-Fold Bioactive Substrate Recipe Guide covers the rest.

Where can I get Crested Gecko setup supplies, live feeders, and thermostats in Oregon?

Ask us what we have in store today at Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).