Latin name: Rhacodactylus Ciliatus
General:
This gecko was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1994 after a storm on the island of New-Caledonia.
The crested gecko thanks its name to the crests on its eyes which go towards the neck and sometimes further.
They are nocturnal, so they sleep during the day and are active during the night. They have a prehensile tail like monkeys have and they are very good jumpers. They jump like frogs! The tail can be dropped when the gecko is stressed, scared or threatened. In the wild, this is a defense mechanism against predators. This makes that there are as good as no cresteds with a tail in the wild. Unlike with other geckos, a dropped tail will NOT grow back with cresteds.
Thanks to lamellae underneath their paws, they can walk up to any surface, even glass!
Crested geckos 'change' their color depending on temperature, mood and time of the day. They can be very light at one moment and the other very dark. They have their dark (fired up) colors mostly in the evening/at night and after spraying water or during eating. They are mostly fired down (light colors) during the day or when they are in a relaxed mood. Their estimated age is about 20 tot maybe even 30 years.
Food:
A powder was produced especially for this kind of gecko: Crested Gecko Diet or just CGD. This powder contains all the needed vitamins, calcium etc for a crested gecko and in the right proportions. All you have to do is to mix it with water until it becomes thick like a milkshake. A bottle cap is enough for 2 nights. Refresh the CGD every 2 nights because it gets bad after that and also because you don't want mould to grow in your pets food bowl.
Ciliatus like some fruit now and then too. You can give them soft fruit like banana, mango, peach etc. Mash the fruit and mix it with some calcium powder. In my experience, I can say that they really love banana. And that is what I hear most of other keepers and breeders. Fruit can be offered once a week. It is more like a trait. Also you can give them some crickets once a week, but it is not needed when you feed CGD. Crickets can be a nice treat for them too next to fruit and should always be dusted with calcium powder. These geckos are sensitive to a lack of calcium, that is why. Insects stimulate their growth. Another thing they like are waxmothlarvae, but they are a bomb of fat, so feed only 1 a month or so, surely don't feed them every week as they have no real nutritional value. Note: Never give them citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and such. Citrus fruits contain substances that they cannot digest and that are harmful for cresteds. I do not think they would eat it anyway as it is too bitter/sour for them in first place.
Spray the terrarium every evening with lukewarm water to get the humidity up during the night. Cresties need a humidity of 70 to 80 % at night. This helps them with shedding and they drink from the drops on the plants. Although they drink drops from spraying, I recommend adding a water bowl as well. That way they can choose to drink from that anyway when they feel like it or when they are thirsty while the water on the plants has already dried up. I have caught my oldest female Raj already several times drinking from her water bowl, mostly right before she goes to sleep at about 06:00 in the morning.
Very important:
Never give them babyfood! Some people say/write that it is a good and cheap way to raise a gecko, but that is certainly not true. Babyfood only has the flavor of fruit and only contains sugar. Geckos like this very much, but that is all. There is nothing nutritional in babyfood and if you give it to your geckos, they will develop Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), which is a severe bone disease due to a lack of calcium and vitamins. In worst case, they will eventually die. I can only say again that CGD should be their main food and that it is better to give them real fruit mixed with calcium powder now and then.
Housing:
An ideal terrarium is high instead of long. Rhacodactylus are climbers, so they love and need a high terrarium. They don't use the bottom very much, so they don't need a long terra. An Exo Terra of 45 x 45 x 60 CM (length, width, height) is recommended for 1 to 2 adults. That is 18x18x24 inches. For a trio it is better to buy a terra that is 50 x 50 x 70 CM, but like for all reptiles, the bigger, the better of course. About temperature: Ciliatus are perfectly to keep at room temperature, so you don't need heating lamps. Just make sure the temperature is about 21 to 28 degrees Celcius (70 – 82 F) during summer and 16 to 20 (54 – 62 F) during winter. A UVB-lamp is not needed either because ciliatus are nocturnal and will hide during the day, so the UV would be useless. When it is too warm in summer, try to ventilate regularly or spray cold water during the day to get the temperature down. Cresties don't like temps above 28 degrees C (82 F). As decoration I prefer to use fake plants because they are easy to maintain and because the geckos will not eat from them. I also notice that they like these Exo Terra vines to climb and sit on. I recommend adding a branch and some bamboo or anything where they can climb on. A cave is a good hiding spot. I use paper towels as substrate because it is very easy to clean up and replace and because it seems to keep the humidity up for some time too. My oldest female Raj always sleeps under her paper towel. They can be very funny and crazy, haha. It's not a bad thing, it is just what they prefer. If you want a more natural substrate, I can recommend using Repti-Bark, which are small pieces of wood. Do not use sand! Crested geckos are not desert reptiles like bearded dragons. They will choke on sand, get impacted and will die from it. Also they can't walk on sand, their feet are sticky and sand would be terrible for them. There is no sand on New-Caledonia.
Never give them babyfood! Some people say/write that it is a good and cheap way to raise a gecko, but that is certainly not true. Babyfood only has the flavor of fruit and only contains sugar. Geckos like this very much, but that is all. There is nothing nutritional in babyfood and if you give it to your geckos, they will develop Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), which is a severe bone disease due to a lack of calcium and vitamins. In worst case, they will eventually die. I can only say again that CGD should be their main food and that it is better to give them real fruit mixed with calcium powder now and then.
Housing:
An ideal terrarium is high instead of long. Rhacodactylus are climbers, so they love and need a high terrarium. They don't use the bottom very much, so they don't need a long terra. An Exo Terra of 45 x 45 x 60 CM (length, width, height) is recommended for 1 to 2 adults. That is 18x18x24 inches. For a trio it is better to buy a terra that is 50 x 50 x 70 CM, but like for all reptiles, the bigger, the better of course. About temperature: Ciliatus are perfectly to keep at room temperature, so you don't need heating lamps. Just make sure the temperature is about 21 to 28 degrees Celcius (70 – 82 F) during summer and 16 to 20 (54 – 62 F) during winter. A UVB-lamp is not needed either because ciliatus are nocturnal and will hide during the day, so the UV would be useless. When it is too warm in summer, try to ventilate regularly or spray cold water during the day to get the temperature down. Cresties don't like temps above 28 degrees C (82 F). As decoration I prefer to use fake plants because they are easy to maintain and because the geckos will not eat from them. I also notice that they like these Exo Terra vines to climb and sit on. I recommend adding a branch and some bamboo or anything where they can climb on. A cave is a good hiding spot. I use paper towels as substrate because it is very easy to clean up and replace and because it seems to keep the humidity up for some time too. My oldest female Raj always sleeps under her paper towel. They can be very funny and crazy, haha. It's not a bad thing, it is just what they prefer. If you want a more natural substrate, I can recommend using Repti-Bark, which are small pieces of wood. Do not use sand! Crested geckos are not desert reptiles like bearded dragons. They will choke on sand, get impacted and will die from it. Also they can't walk on sand, their feet are sticky and sand would be terrible for them. There is no sand on New-Caledonia.