Correlophus ciliatus (Crested Gecko) Caresheet

Background/Introduction:

    Crested Geckos (Correlophus ciliatus) are native to southern New Caledonia, an island chain east of Australia. They are named after the small projections which adorn their head (as well as the top of their eyes, which has also earned them the name Eyelash Geckos).

This species was thought to be extinct in the wild until they were rediscovered in 1994. Crested Geckos have since become unavailable for export, but this hardy and rewarding species has become so successful in captivity that they are one of the most widely kept geckos today.

Housing:

    Hatchling--10g - 6 qt shoebox or equivalent

10g-adult - 12x12x18 to 18x18x24 enclosure

As this is an arboreal species, vertical space is more important than horizontal. They spend most of their time climbing and like to hide in the leaves of decorative plants. Very few will climb and hunt when awake, but go to the bottom and bury themselves in the substrate during the day to sleep. We have only seen 2 do this regularly out of well over 100 that we have kept. There are several options for substrate. For simple maintenance purposes, paper towels will let you monitor for poop, reptile carpet is more attractive and easily cleaned. For a more naturalistic look, a peat-moss-based soil mix that doesn’t contain perlite will work well. coconut fiber mixed 50 percent with soil is a good choice for growing live plants. Coconut fiber such as Eco Earth has a good look and is good at retaining water for humidity purposes.

There are a variety of options for decorations as well. Fake plants are easy and look decent, as well as cork bark and various fake vines. If you’re interested in a bio-active setup, there are many resources online that can help you bring a bit of the forest into your home.

Humidity:

    Humidity is very important for these geckos to be able to shed properly. Their enclosure should be misted at least once per day to raise the humidity to between 80 and 95% and allowed to dry to between 40 and 60%. A dry period each day will help prevent mold, mildew, infections, and over hydration. Most commonly they will lick water droplets off the walls or decorations in their enclosures. Another way to help them with their sheds is to include a humid hide in the enclosure. If you received your animal in a deli cup, you can cut a small doorway in the side (making sure to remove any sharp edges) and place damp sphagnum moss inside the cup. If your gecko seems to have loose, pinched skin, or the tail is starting to look wavy, these can be signs of dehydration.

Temperature:

Unlike many other reptiles, these geckos thrive at normal room temperatures. Between 68F and 80F regularly is acceptable with dips as low as 65F at night. We keep our facility at 72F and have heat tape under our babies and in-season females to raise the temperature to 76F. The slightly higher temperatures help to stimulate the appetites and simulate spring/summer breeding conditions. Several months out of the year we remove our females from the heated shelves and let them “cool down” to allow them to rest and recover any lost weight and calcium reserves lost while laying eggs.

Feeding:

1. Meal Replacement Powder (MRP) Only:

    The easiest and most convenient method of feeding Crested Geckos is to use a diet that has been designed specifically for these geckos.  We feed our animals a mix of Pangea Breeder formula and Fig and insect flavor. These diets have been formulated to contain all of the essential fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins that New Caledonian geckos need.  These geckos can be maintained on this diet alone with no insects whatsoever.  Geckos that feed on these diets without insect supplementation grow slower on average than the geckos who do eat both.  They do grow to healthy adult weights, but it does tend to take a little longer for some individuals. 

     Mix the diet with 2-3 parts water to every one part dry diet to achieve the desired consistency. (ketchup)

2. Meal Replacement Powder and Insects:

Crested geckos can be fed the MRP along with supplemental insects. The best insects to feed are feeder Blaptica dubia roaches, crickets or both.  Mealworms are not recommended as they have been associated with increased risks of impaction. Offer your gecko insects no larger than the distance from the gecko’s nose to its eye. Always dust insects with calcium powder without D3 before offering them to your gecko. Whatever your insects eat, your gecko eats, so make sure they eat a diet that is good for your gecko too, this is called gut loading.  Because these geckos get much of their moisture from their diet, feeding them dry or dehydrated food can cause issues with digestion. Only feed them live insects, not freeze dried or dehydrated.
 
    Geckos fed insects do grow faster, not because of a lack of nutrition otherwise, but because they tend to eat more and hunting stimulates them.

     Dubias, or Discoids in places where Dubias are illegal, are preferred over crickets because they don't smell, don't make noise, don't climb, don't fly, don't jump, live much longer (2 years), are easier to digest, are more nutritious, are unable to breed without hotspots of 90-95F (can't infest a house if escaped), and readily breed producing a near-endless supply of feeders.  It took a lot for me to get them, but they can't escape a good roach bin, and if accidentally flicked out of a feeding cup, it cannot infest a home and will likely die quickly without proper humidity.

Continue to feed your gecko MRP 2-3 times per week and 5-6 appropriately sized insects weekly-biweekly.

The First Few Weeks

It may take a new gecko as long as 2 weeks to settle into their new home. During that time, continue to offer them food as described above and limit handling to only when necessary. You may not be able to tell if the gecko is eating the food you have left in their enclosure because they have small stomachs (especially babies). Start them off on paper towels, this will make it easier to tell if they are pooping. if it’s pooping, it’s eating.

Handling Geckos as Pets:

    Make sure that you have put away other pets before handling your gecko. Even a gentle stray swat from a cat can cause damage to an animal this small. Always use hand sanitizer or wash your hands before and after handling. This protects the animal from anything that may be on your hands as well as the person handling from anything that may be on the gecko.

Be gentle. Do not restrain them unless absolutely necessary. If they are jumpy, walk them from one hand to the other until they calm down. They have mouths and small teeth so they can bite. Very rarely will they bite without being threatened, and even if they do it is usually just a slight pinch. Nothing to be afraid of, just be careful not to drop or toss them if it does happen.

These geckos do jump. Do not be surprised if they decide to fling themselves in any random direction for no apparent reason. Do not grab for them, just put your hand in front of them and let them grab onto you. Often you can get them to jump from one hand to another by holding them horizontally and placing your other hand in front of them vertically. They want to get to a higher elevation and will jump to this new perceived height. They also love to climb arms to perch on shoulders.

Watch their head, they will go in the direction they are facing.

Gecko Color Changes

    Crested Geckos change color throughout their life and, for various reasons, from moment to moment. When you see their color change from dull to bright over a few moments, this is considered being fired up, vs fired down. This can happen for several reasons, most commonly, when they are misted, hunting, or stressed. A dull or gray color can also indicate that the animal is about to shed. When they do shed, do no be surprised if you do not see it happen. It can be fairly quick and they eat their shed as they pull it off.

As they grow from hatchling, to juvenile, to adult, their colors and patterns can change. The closer they are to full grown, the more likely that what you are seeing are their adult colors and patterns. After they are 3 months old you can get a pretty good idea of what they will look like as an adult.

Sex Determination

    Determining the sex of Crested geckos is easiest on geckos that are over 6 months old.  Male geckos, generally between 15-25 grams (approximately 10-15 months on average)  will develop a very noticeable hemipenal bulge at the base of their tail.  Sexing a juvenile gecko is considerably more difficult. Using a 30-60x or better jeweler’s loupe or magnifying glass, you can look for evidence of pore development in the region just anterior to the vent.  Pore development is generally seen on males at 5-10+ grams but sometimes the pores do not develop until later. In one instance, a gecko we were sure was female at 20 grams, developed a hemipenal bulge at 32 grams.

Quarantine

     Whenever introducing a new animal into your reptile collection, it is very important to quarantine in a room separate from your other animals for a minimum of 30 days (60 recommended).  Keep everything simple (paper towel, hide, corkbark slab, plastic hanging plant, food dish), so you can assess health, watch for mites, and monitor defecation.  It may be good to get a fecal exam into your vet to check for internal parasites if you have any concerns.  Weight monitoring is the best way to watch and assess how an animal is doing.  Get a good gram scale that can weigh to the tenth, weigh the gecko upon receipt, and weigh as needed (every 2 weeks, if no issues).  Keep track of the weight, write it down!  Be sure to keep your gecko hydrated.  If after the quarantine period every thing passes, they may then be moved into their new home and introduced into your current collection.