Group Editor: John F. Taylor (The Herp Father) Managing Editor: Dr. Robert G. Sprackland Exec. Director & Design: Rebecca Billard-Taylor

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2 Group Editor: John F. Taylor (The Herp Father) Managing Editor: Dr. Robert G. Sprackland Exec. Director & Design: Rebecca Billard-Taylor This ezine article is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ezine article may not be resold or given away to other people for free. If you would like to share this ezine article with another person, please buy an additional copy for each person. If you re reading this magazine & did not buy it, or it was not bought for your use only, then please return to herphousemag.com & buy your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors. Herpetoculture House Magazine 2014 All content ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This magazine contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written consent from the author / publisher.

3 The purpose of the information in this magazine article is to offer an account of methods, techniques, housing and protocols used by professional and private keepers. Any content displayed is NOT an instruction manual, and due to the wide variety of sources of this information, neither this magazine nor its contributors can guarantee its content s accuracy despite thorough peer review and editing. The Reptile Apartment Group, its staff and contributors involved in the production of such articles and information hold no liability for damages, injuries, ailments or death resulting directly or indirectly from information contained herein. This information is for use as reference material, and a balance of viewpoints should be considered at all times. The entire risk as to the results and the performance of the information is assumed by the user, and in no event shall The Reptile Apartment Group or its subsidiaries be held liable for any consequential, incidental or direct damages suffered in the course of using the information in any material produced by The Reptile Apartment Group.

4 The Incredible Crested Gecko By Lillie Nyte It is nearly impossible to look at a crested gecko and not think of the word cute even to people who are not naturally drawn to reptilian pets. Since the 1990s crested geckos have risen in popularity in leaps and bounds due to their endearing appearance, good temperaments, easy captive care, and the invention of a readily obtained artificial food source. Description Crested geckos are an arboreal gecko species that are able to stick to smooth surfaces like glass. They have very unique crests over their eyes and extending down their backs which gives them their common name. They come in a variety of color and pattern combinations and can even fire up their colors becoming even brighter or darker depending on the individual. Crested geckos are measured in terms of snoutto-vent length (SVL) but weight is usually what keepers refer to when asking about the relative size of a gecko. An adult crested gecko is usually between 4 to 4.7 inches SVL and about 8 inches including the tail. The average weight of an adult crested gecko is around grams although there have been individuals as large as 60 grams. Crested geckos can, and in the wild commonly do, drop their tails due to stress or predation and the tails do not grow back, lack of a tail does not hamper them in the least. Crested geckos are mainly frugivores with some insectivorous tendencies, meaning they eat mostly fruit and some insects. A well cared for crested gecko can live for up to years in captivity. Natural History Crested geckos were first described by the French naturalist Alphone Guichenet in 1866 but were thought to be extinct in their natural habitat in New Caledonia (a string of islands off the coast of Australia) since 1967 until they were rediscovered on the Isle of Pines in 1994 by Robert Seipp and Wilhelm Henkel on an expedition following a reported sighting of one after a hurricane hit New Caledonia. A few months later Philippe de Vosjoli and Frank Fast successfully collected living specimens and brought them back to the United States. Since then crested geckos have been found on other islands in New Caledonia, including the main island of Grand Terre in the southern forests and on the island of Kotomo. Crested geckos are listed as a vulnerable species according to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) a global conservation network involved with conserving biodiversity. In their natural environment, crested geckos are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and the introduction of the invasive little fire ant (Wassmania auropunctata) to New Caledonia. Taxonomy Currently, crested geckos are classified taxonomically as Rhacodactylus ciliatus. However, on July 31, 2012, in the taxonomist journal Zootaxa, a paper by Aaron Bauer and his colleagues was published proposing splitting Rhacodactylus into three separate genera Rhacodactylus, Correlophus, and Mniarogekko. Crested geckos would no longer be listed under R. ciliatus but would now be Correlophus ciliatus along with their sister species Correlophus sarasinorum. This proposal is based on genetic research into these species

5 keepers generally have no issues keeping temperatures warm enough but they may have issues with keeping their crested geckos cool enough in the summer time. Room air conditioning is of course the best way to go about it but in a pinch keepers have resorted to using swamp coolers and frozen water bottles as temporary solutions in cases such as a power outage. Crested geckos also need a relatively high level of humidity for good hydration and to shed properly. I find that the best way to maintain humidity is to mist the enclosure twice daily in the morning and evening, this allows the humidity to rise to around 75% and then to gradually decrease to around 40-45% before another misting is required. Humidity should not be consistently too high or too low. If humidity levels are too high better ventilation in the enclosure may be required and more frequent misting may be required if the humidity is too low. Crested geckos will typically drink water droplets after a misting. Using a substrate that holds humidity well may also prove helpful, my preferred bedding is eco-earth which holds humidity well, is easy to clean, and gives the enclosure a more natural look. Housing I recommend keeping and raising crested geckos singly, other than for breeding purposes, which will prevent aggression between animals leading to nips and tail loss between individuals. Neonate and juvenile crested geckos can be housed in simple plastic housing on paper towel substrate with a hide and a bit of artificial leafy vine to climb on and hide in. The important thing with small crested geckos is that they are not housed in an enclosure that is too large as they may have difficulty finding their food. Once they reach a size of about grams they will need a larger enclosure and can be moved into an approximately 20 gallon tall enclosure or around the measurements of 12'' wide by 12'' long by 18'' high at the minimum. Many keepers prefer using enclosures made by Exo Terra or R-Zilla, acrylic or glass enclosures work best to keep in humidity. This size enclosure will be appropriate for a single adult crested gecko. If keeping mature breeding pairs or trios (consisting of 1 male and 2 females) a minimum 30 gallon size enclosure would be appropriate, however an eye should be kept on the animals to watch for aggression, as even females have been observed to bully each other. Decorating crested gecko enclosures can be a very fun and rewarding experience for both the keeper and the gecko. A nicely furnished enclosure is not only pleasing to the eye of the keeper but the gecko will have a safe and enriching environment in which to live. Feeding Thanks to the continued efforts of Allen Repashy, crested geckos can be fed Crested Gecko Diet MRP (meal replacement powder) which is now in it's third version as it is constantly being improved upon for the health and well-being of these creatures. Please DO NOT FEED crested geckos baby food, even though older books and articles may refer to that practice. The problem is that baby food was not developed with crested geckos in mind and does not have the proper vitamins and minerals necessary for their growth and overall health. The problem with adding your own supplements to baby food is that the general keeper does not know the correct balance of vitamin supplements to add. Baby food also tends to have added sweeteners and once started on baby food, geckos may be reluctant to eat anything else. Some keepers may be concerned that they do not see their crested geckos eat and may try to entice their geckos by feeding something that is not intended to be a part of their diet or hand feeding them. I highly recommend against these practices as crested geckos will not starve themselves to death and will eventually eat so long as they can find their food. Crested geckos will take little licks of their food until they are satisfied so leaving a shallow film of food in a condiment cup or bottle cap is a sufficient way to see if they have eaten as you will actually see that some of their food is gone, otherwise you may not see evidence that they have eaten. Checking for feces is also a good way to ensure that they are eating, if you find the presence of feces then surely they are eating something. Crested geckos are typically fed a few times a week, food should be left in the enclosure overnight and then removed the next day or the day after, so long as the food has not dried out or become moldy. After a day without food in the enclosure, a fresh dish of food should be left for them. I find that crested geckos may not eat every time food is introduced into their enclosures but other times they can be observed eating immediately. They can also be fed crickets or dubia roaches once a week if desired. If fed insects they will tend to grow faster and breeding females will be more

6 which both sexes have) but juveniles may be sexed by looking for pores through a jeweler's loupe. Juvenile males have pre-anal pores on their ventral scales just above the vent although the pores may be extremely hard to see for even the most experienced gecko keeper on an animal under 6 grams. Female crested geckos should be at least 35 grams and no less than a year old in order to breed and the male should be at least 9 months old and of comparable size. If they are not being kept together in the same terrarium the male may be introduced into the female's enclosure. Copulation may not occur immediately but if neither animal appears too aggressive or stressed they can be left to their own devices. It is not always possible to observe the mating as it often happens at night but the typical scenario involves the male grabbing the female by her head or neck with his mouth and then positioning his hemipenes to reach her vent. If the mating is successful the female will lay her eggs in about days. Provide her with a lay box, usually a plastic container with a hole big enough for the female to leave and enter cut into the top and filled with about 3-4 inches of moist peat moss, organic soil, or a mixture of both. When the female is ready to lay she will enter the box and dig herself a suitable hole to lay her eggs. The typical size of a single clutch is no more than 2 eggs however female crested geckos may continue to lay 2 eggs every days for several months due to sperm retention even if they have not copulated with a male. Once the eggs are laid they can be removed and placed into a separate airtight container filled with 2-3 inches of moist perlite or vermiculite (2 parts perlite or vermiculite to 1 part water by weight) for incubation. The container should be opened once a week for a few seconds to allow for some ventilation. As long as room temperatures are around degrees, crested gecko eggs do not need to be placed inside an incubator, they will hatch just fine at these temperatures usually between days although it can take as little as 55 days if kept on the warmer end of the spectrum or as long as 120 days at cooler temperatures. When it comes time for hatching, crested geckos will use a pair of egg teeth to slit open the egg from the inside and start to emerge snout first. It can take from several minutes up to an hour for a hatchling to fully emerge but always be patient and let the babies emerge on their own. Crested gecko eggs from the same clutch usually hatch within hours or days of each other but it is not unknown for eggs to hatch more than a week a part, so do not be too concerned if only one egg hatches. Crested gecko hatchlings typically weigh in at 1.3 to 1.8 grams with a snout-to-vent length of approximately 1.6 inches although there have been runts that have hatched out at 1 gram or less. Once fully emerged from the egg a hatchling should be placed into an appropriate enclosure with a basic neonate set up.

7 Breeding crested geckos are typically allowed a cooling period of 2-4 months during the winter when temperatures are allowed to dip into the degree range allowing females to stop laying eggs and recover from the rigorous breeding season. In warmer temperatures even virgin females have been known to lay infertile eggs. A cooling period will ensure further reproductive success and allow females to rebuild their calcium reserves. Conclusion Crested geckos are a very rewarding species to work with especially for the beginning hobbyist. They come in a wide variety of color and pattern morphs so that no two are truly alike and make hardy captives that are extremely easy to care for. Their cute appearance make them great animal ambassadors to those who are uninterested or afraid of reptiles.

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