Hi, I'm JB! Thanks for dropping by my crested gecko website. If you've looked through this site (don't miss the navigation buttons at the top!) and can't find an answer to your questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Nothing makes me happier than helping you help your sticky-footed buddies. While I may not be able to answer everything, I will try my best to point you to someone who can. I can be reached via e-mail at jb@jbscresties.com, and sometimes I am on AIM under the name JBsCresties.
Hopefully you're here to learn more about these
fantastic animals. Well, that's why I'm here, too - these little creatures have only been in captivity
for a handful of years, so information on their recommended care is always changing. I've made this page
available as a guideline only, to help you get a feel for what extent of care these animals will require.
Before purchasing any kind of animal, it is in your - and the animal's - best interest that you do
many hours of research from many different sources so you can make your new companion as comfortable
as possible!
The crested gecko, (Rhacodactylus ciliatus), also referred to as "eyelash gecko" or "crestie," is a small, prehensile-tailed gecko which originates in New Caledonia, a group of islands nearly 750 miles off the east coast of Australia. The climate there is moderate enough to make this gecko a fairly easy first-timer gecko, in any way that keeping a reptile can be considered "easy." Often requiring no external heating, housing for these animals can be fairly simple to set up. Their soft feet and "eyelashes" along with the beautiful patterning current breeders are experimenting with make these geckos an eye-catching addition to any beginner's home or hobbyist's collection.
Rhacodactylus, loosely translated, means "spine-toes," as these geckos' toes look as though they bend
backward and up as they walk across flat surfaces. Ciliatus means "eyelash," a name given for obvious
reasons.
The crested gecko has not been in captivity for very long, in comparison to many other reptiles. In 1994,
they were rediscovered in the wild after having been thought extinct. Therefore, we do not have
an exact lifespan for these animals, but it is thought to be between 15 and 20 years.
An adult gecko will weigh on average 40 grams with a tail, though many can get a fair bit larger than this, up into the 60-70 gram range. An average length for an adult from snout to tail tip is about 8 inches (20.3 cm).
Crested geckos are nocturnal, and will sleep most of the day.
In the wild, it is believed by some that these geckos come in mostly drab colors like greys and browns that would help them blend in with their surroundings. However, after much selective breeding, captive crested geckos have proven many different morphs (color and pattern variations), and more are being brought forward every year. These geckos also have the ability to change their colors (or the intensity of their colors) to some extent. Generally, during the day while they sleep, they stay a light or muted color, and during the night when they are active, their colors become more bold (also known as being "fired up"). I have noticed that mine especially become stunning when I mist their enclosures at night.
Their toes have "sticky" lamellae which allow them to adhere to many surfaces.
They do not have eyelids, but clean their eyes with their tongues.
As a crested gecko grows, it will shed its skin. When a crested gecko sheds, if humidity allows, the gecko will peel its skin off by licking the loose skin away from the snout area, and then chew it or rub it back off of the rest of the body. You will not often find skin in the enclosure after a shed, as the gecko will normally eat the entire thing.
A crestie can use its tail to wrap around branches (or your fingers) to slow its descent or help it balance
itself. The tip of the crested gecko's tail has small ridges, much like a smaller version of its toe ridges, to help
further slow itself should it be moving downward on a branch. This useful tail, however, is not always a permanent
fixture on the gecko. If it is bitten by a predator or another gecko, or it is just startled by its handler,
the gecko can drop its tail. The tail will continue wiggling for some time after it is dropped. Unlike some
other lizards, the crested gecko will never grow its tail back. Unfortunately, some people believe that this
lowers the value of a gecko, but I have several tailless fellows that I find quite endearing as they are. The
lack of a tail does not change their personalities, only their appearance!
Crested geckos are mainly arboreal, meaning, they like to be able to climb. They are also fairly good at jumping,
which means when you handle one, you should always hold it in a safe place where it will not have far to fall
(ie, don't stand over your hard kitchen floor with your gecko sitting on your shoulder). After a while, you
may get used to the stance a gecko will take before it leaps, but they don't always give you that warning!
Many crested geckos tolerate handling fairly well. I've found the best way to get one into my hand is to lay a hand flat down in front of one, and gently touch its back or rear legs with my other hand to encourage it to move forward. A gecko might be less frightened by this than seeing a giant "claw" coming down and trying to pick it off its branch. Once a gecko is in your hand, you can allow it to walk from one hand to another if it wishes. I handle my geckos for a couple of minutes perhaps once every two or three days; in that time, I check their eyes, nose, grip, and vent to make sure they appear healthy. Keep in mind that while a gecko may tolerate handling, that doesn't mean that he "likes" it, and it still may be somewhat traumatic for him, so I do not recommend handling for much longer than ten to fifteen minutes at a time.
Note: Anything written on this site, unless otherwise stated, is from my own research and from what I have
learned from various sources. New information on these geckos is coming to light every year, so
I encourage you to do your own research outside of this website. My main sources for information, and good
springboards to further your own education, are:
Rhacodactylus: The Complete Guide to their Selection and Care by de Vosjoli, Fast, and Repashy,
ISBN 0-9742971-0-0
The Pangea Forums and accompanying website, run by Matthew Parks (find me as Jaybee there!)
Repashy Reptiles Forums, run by Allen Repashy
All photographs and drawings on this website are of my own creation unless otherwise marked; please do not redistribute them.
I am also selling some colorful prints of geckos - if you're interested, please click the banner above!