#new caledonian crested gecko

[neechiegeckos]

Baby Crested Geckos come out FURIOUS

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

S'mores wants you to know that they are just very small

[ID: S'mores the orange and cream crested gecko sitting on someone's fingers]

[crepuscularray]

New year, new skin!

[cryptidcrew]

He’s so perfect

[lammergeierr]

I realized I have yet to post the most perfect image on my phone here, nor have I introduced my favorite little fella.

This is Zeppelin, she is my almost 4 year old crested gecko. She is named after the German aircraft, not Led Zeppelin. It is a very important distinction, I assure you.

I was fairly certain she was a male for awhile until I realized she just has a bizarre amount of balls for a female. The correct way to compliment her is handsome girl, she must maintain that she is a big man, because she is a big beautiful man with big beautiful women balls.

[replicantgrl]

Everyone look at my cheeto daughter

[dougdimmadodo]

Crested Gecko (Correlophus ciliatus)

Family: Australasian Gecko Family (Diplodactylidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Like many lizards, the Crested Gecko is capable of detaching its tail when threatened in order to distract predators and buy itself time to escape. Unlike many lizards with this ability, however, its tail never grows back, and as such most adult Crested Geckos in the wild (including the individual pictured above) lack the long, slender tails with which they are born. Endemic to the unique humid pine forests in the southern regions of the New Caledonia archipelago, this species is arboreal and nocturnal - it spends the day sleeping while clinging onto sheltered branches, and awakens at night to feed on insects, fruit and nectar. Tiny hair-like structures on its toes and (where present) the tip of its tail allow a Crested Gecko to cling to most surfaces, and when travelling between branches its powerful hind legs allow it to leap considerable distances in a manner comparable to tree frogs (which it has been suggested this species may exhibit a degree of convergent evolution with, as in the absence of any frog species in New Caledonia several geckos have developed frog-like anatomy.) Little is known about the life cycle of wild Crested Geckos, but it has been found that in captivity females are capable of producing clutches of around 2 eggs every 4-6 weeks for up to 10 months after mating only once. Feared to have gone extinct in the late 1800s, this species went unreported for nearly a century before being rediscovered in 1994. It remains threatened by unsustainable collection to meet the demand for Crested Geckos as exotic pets, forest fires caused by human activity and competition or predation from invasive species (particularly the Little Fire Ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, a small but extremely aggressive species of ant capable of consuming Crested Geckos by swarming them in enormous numbers.)

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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/200209-Correlophus-ciliatus

[sbnkalny]

At the ruins, He grasps tightly his bloody fist a night of Solitude, so lonely memories deep with sins, The desires he can’t resist release to the heavens

age-empath

[fridgefanatic]

Srax and Ves celebrate Earth Day! These guys are crested geckos from a comic about New Caledonian ecology that I'm developing.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Hi this is the uromastyx anon with the insect phobia from a while back, do you think a gargoyle gecko would be good for me? I had it suggested to me recently

Gargoyle geckos could be a fantastic choice for you!

Like other New Caledonian geckos, gargoyle geckos can thrive on powdered crested gecko food. You'll want to provide a variety of flavors and make sure you're giving them lots of insect protein and fruit blends, but it's 100% doable. I recommend sticking to Pangea and Repashy blends.

(Other New Caledonian geckos, such as crested geckos and even leachianus geckos, are great choices for you - they all do great on that powdered food so you'll never have to deal with actual insects.)

[animal-plant-or-rock-wumf]

Crested Gecko Care

Welcome to our first animal care segment! Today’s critter is the Eyelash Crested Gecko, or New Caledonian Crested Gecko. They’re one of my favorite reptiles, and they can make for really great pets. They’re usually what I’d recommend to a budding herp enthusiast. 

Cresties are on the smaller side, reaching about 8-10 inches when fully grown, but they’re big enough to safely handle without worrying that they’ll get lost in the couch cushions if they fall.

They’re light brown to orange in color and have a lot of beautiful morphs to choose from. For the reptile casuals out there, “morphs” are basically the different colors that a reptile species can have. “Wild type” reptiles have the natural coloring found in the wild, while other morphs were bred for the aesthetic in captivity.

Cresties got their name from a spiky crest that runs down the sides of their head and back. The spikes over their eyes look like eyelashes!

They are not, however, because cresties don’t have eyelids! They lick their eyes to keep them moist, leading to a lot of derpy pictures.

In terms of housing, they’re pretty easy to set up. They require a glass 20-gallon or equivalent vertical enclosure once they reach one year. Juveniles can be started in a 10-gallon, but I find it easier to just set an animal up in the enclosure they’ll need at full size. It’s cheaper, and less work in the long run. You should also have a thermometer and a hygrometer, to measure humidity. Their tank should be kept at around 75 degrees and at about 60-70% humidity, which you can maintain by occasionally misting it with a spray bottle. Though it’s not typically necessary, if you can’t maintain their heating requirements, you can get a heating lamp. They don’t need a UVB lamp, but it wouldn’t hurt them to have if you want to splurge on one. So long as they’re in a room with natural light, you shouldn’t have to get a day lamp. They’re nocturnal, so it’s not like you’ll get to look at them moving around during the day anyway.

They’re not very picky with their substrate, you can use soil or paper towels. Whatever you decide, it should be something that is easy to clean and doesn’t affect humidity. Coconut fiber bedding is a great choice. 

They also need pretty dense cover so they can hide and climb around. You can go for reptile enclosure decorations from a pet store, but you can also make a biointeractive enclosure, with real plants. That’s my preference, but you should go with what’s easier for you, especially if you’re just starting out.

While they can be cohabitated, they’re typically solitary animals. Your best bet, if you want to try that, would be two females. Males fight each other, and housing a male and female together can lead to more lizards. Or more fighting. If you’re attempting to cohabitate, pay attention to how they interact, and spring for a 25 or 30-gallon instead, so they have space to get away from each other. They do make croaking, chirpy vocalizations to you and any roommates they may have, but it’s not particularly loud or irritating.

They are illegal to export from New Caledonia, so any crestie you get will be captive bred. This is good because captive-bred animals tend to be easier to tame down and get used to handling. Cresties in general are pretty good at being handled, provided you go about it the right way. I would recommend going to a reptile expo for one rather than a pet store. Not only is it easier to ensure the health and history of the animal, but there are also so many more options for morphs.

Never squish or grab them by the tail. They will drop it when scared, and they do not grow it back. It’s not the end of the world, but you do want your gecko to be the healthiest it can be. It’s mostly an aesthetic issue, and your gecko will quickly adjust to the lack of weight in their caboose. If they rear up and start hissing, back off. They’re scared, and posturing to make you go away.

Cresties are omnivorous, eating bugs and overripe fruits. They tend to prefer roaches and crickets, which should be given once every few weeks. The bug in question should be coated in calcium and vitamin D3 powder, which can be found in most pet shops. Calcium deficiency can cause health problems.  Uneaten fruit should be removed once per week. They should be fed later in the day after the sun goes down. Some good fruits to give them are bananas, peaches, or apricot, and you could also give them mixed mashed fruits. 

They also sell crested gecko food which comes as a powder. When mixed with water, it makes a nutritionally complete meal, though you should mix it their meal plan up with occasional fruits and bugs. They should always have a shallow bowl of water available to them, which should be cleaned and replaced regularly.

Crested geckos are a beautiful, fascinating species, and they can make for excellent companions. Always do your own research before getting any animal, but I hope this little guide can help you get an idea of what they’re like and what they need.

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

Our first pics of Sarsaparilla from the breeder we bought him from! He was so tiny

[ID: two pictures of Sarsaparilla the brown and orange crested gecko sat on a tattooed hand]

[the-last-outpost]

New Caledonian Crested Gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmrpVorPTQe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dante-the-gecko]

The struggle is real.

[digitalta]

Wrinkly baby

(Quick doodle because I really don’t like homework)

[scalygems]

I cannot get over the fact that my ART is on WASHI TAPE 😭💗 And the foil stars are so good!! Brb going to decorate all of my reptile enclosures 🥲🙌

All three are available at thewashistation.com!