Crested Geckos are members of the Rhacodactylus family of geckos, and originate form New Caledonia. They are classed as a medium sized gecko, and are both arboreal and nocturnal. Adults usually attain a total length of around eight inches. It is estimated that these geckos can live for 15 years or possibly more if housed in optimal conditions from hatchlings.

The most noticeable features of these little characters are their ‘sticky’ feet and prehensile tail which also has a ‘sticky’ tip, although they are not actually sticky. The structure of their feet and tail tip is made up of lamellae which are basically tiny grooves with microscopic hairs that appear to stick to surfaces on which they climb and their crests that run from just behind their eyes down the length of their dorsal. They also have no eyelids, and close their pupils during the day to shut out light. They are extremely good jumpers and often exhibit energetic bouts of running and jumping, never be fool by the cute little crestie that is sitting happily on your hand as they take off at any second. The best way to handle a crestie is to hand walk them, by placing one hand in front of the other. Though they tolerate handling young babies should be handled as infrequently as possible and even adults will generally only be happy to be your clutches for about 15 minutes.

They are easy to care for and make both amusing and gentle pets, and can be housed in groups, but each group should only contain 1 male to 4 or 5 females. Juvenile males should be housed separately from females and from each other, and if housing in groups it is important to make sure that there is adequate food constantly available to avoid the more dominant members of the group bullying the smaller members. Like most species that are kept in groups it is important to house similarly sized individuals together as the smaller ones will be bullied and hatchlings are best housed singly. I am currently keeping 7 young cresties together in a large Exo-Terra Terrarium 60x45x60, until they are old enough to be sexed which is usually at around 9 months of age or around 3.2 inches body length, as yet I have had no issues with squabbling, but as soon as males are identified they will be moved into separate enclosures as they become sexually mature before females and early breeding is not desirable for the health and safety of the females. A good substrate is Eco Earth as it holds humidity well, and they should be provided with plenty if foliage branches and hollows to climb and hide in. A new project for me in early 2008 will be to set up a Naturalistic Vivaria for the cresties, which will contain live plants and bugs it will become its own eco system, and the waste products from the cresties will be cleaned without the need for constant stripping out of the enclosure. I am hoping that when they become mature and ready to breed this will be a beneficial feature for them. They are generally housed at room temperature, although my terrariums have light hoods that produce both light and additional heat, a good temperature seems to be 74-84 °F, but that can drop to the high 60’s at night.

To see a crested gecko in it’s true colours you have to wait until after dark, when they ‘fire up’ and this is when they are most active, they really are most amusing to watch, and my husband has often described them as ‘clockwork geckos’ because of the way they will run up your arm.

I am currently feeding them on Crested Gecko Diet (C.G.D.) and I keep a constant supply of this in the terrarium at all times, they are also fed on gut loaded mini meal worms several times a week, and these are lightly dusted with either calcium or multi vitamins. I use Calypso Calcium Powder and Nutrobal Vitamins for all my supplemented species.

For an exceptional book on the Rhacodactylus species ‘Rhacodactylus The Complete Guide to their Selection and Care’ is well worth every penny, and contains some amazing photography.

Breeding planned for 2009.

Crested Gecko Gallery