Crested Geckos, and other lizards questions
Discussion
My daughter is saving for some kind of lizard type creature and is hoping that come xmas she will have the funds. We were torn between green Anole and a Gecko of some sort. The plan was she saves for the lizard and mummy and daddy will sort out a house for it. so daddy is sorting a ouse!
Ive done some reading up and i think i know the basics and i think it will work. Daughter is very sensible, mature enough etc. and its time for her to learn the responsibility. plus a lizard in the house would be pretty cool in my book too. Ideally we want something she can handle from time to time although we are under no illusions of it sitting on her shoulder like pascal from tangled etc. Something relatively easy to look after, hardy, interesting and ideally we don't want to have too much to do with crickets etc.
I visited a very good reptile shop on my way home tonight and had a good chat with the owner. His recommendation was to stay well away from Anoles and go with a crested gecko. Showed me one, looks good etc. crickets occasionally but not every day. All ok by me, just need to persuade the little un. So first question is:
Is he right? she has her heart set currently on a green Anole but i think thats possibly because they are cheaper so she thinks she can get it sooner! and we did see one in a local shop and she seems besotted. Ive read so many varying opinions. Some say they are very friendly and can be handled ok, others say no way! are there any other good alternatives?
Im assuming crested gecko is the way to go so second question is its home. Guy had a set up tank with substrate, plastic plants etc and lighting for £170. i want larger size one as id prefer it to have more room that less and want it to be future proof so i know you can get cheaper, but I'm looking at the larger sizes Anyway this thing is basically everything we need according to him. This would come with an Exo Terra twin lamp light hood thingy which he mentioned could do UV lamp on one side perhaps heat on the other. OK
I have since found an EXO Terra crested Gecko starter kit which looks to be bigger than he was offering (its the large size and i think is taller than than the one he had for offer) for £100, no light but they do that for £26. Bulbs are £20 each! really? also theres lots of types. Whats the best type of bulb for a gecko?
My big issue is frankly the heating. Our house is Cold! its a very old wooden house with no insulation whatsoever. pretty much a shed really, so how do i keep cresty warm enough?
The heat bulbs Ive seen seem to give out light too? is that right? if so he will only have heating during the day which is no good eh. Also assuming you can get bulbs which are just heat not light, they seem to look like they need to be mounted vertically right? the exo lamp has horizontally mounted bulbs. i also don't know if they are independent, i.e. heat and light bulbs on in day, just heat on at night.
So what do we do?
Heat mat? if so which one for a 45 x 45 x60 cm tank?
Lastly, the £100 job comes with what is described as planting substrate but I have no idea what that means. Whats the best substrate and er whats it called and where is the best pace to get it? The shop guys tank had the kinds dark soil stuff looks like compost and he said its the best stuff, also mentioned you can throw some worms in to keep the soil rotating to cut down on cleaning etc. Again, I've gone and looked for this mystical stuff but i have no idea what I'm looking for or what to search for .
Any help gratefully received . Will post pics if when we get the little critter.
Ive done some reading up and i think i know the basics and i think it will work. Daughter is very sensible, mature enough etc. and its time for her to learn the responsibility. plus a lizard in the house would be pretty cool in my book too. Ideally we want something she can handle from time to time although we are under no illusions of it sitting on her shoulder like pascal from tangled etc. Something relatively easy to look after, hardy, interesting and ideally we don't want to have too much to do with crickets etc.
I visited a very good reptile shop on my way home tonight and had a good chat with the owner. His recommendation was to stay well away from Anoles and go with a crested gecko. Showed me one, looks good etc. crickets occasionally but not every day. All ok by me, just need to persuade the little un. So first question is:
Is he right? she has her heart set currently on a green Anole but i think thats possibly because they are cheaper so she thinks she can get it sooner! and we did see one in a local shop and she seems besotted. Ive read so many varying opinions. Some say they are very friendly and can be handled ok, others say no way! are there any other good alternatives?
Im assuming crested gecko is the way to go so second question is its home. Guy had a set up tank with substrate, plastic plants etc and lighting for £170. i want larger size one as id prefer it to have more room that less and want it to be future proof so i know you can get cheaper, but I'm looking at the larger sizes Anyway this thing is basically everything we need according to him. This would come with an Exo Terra twin lamp light hood thingy which he mentioned could do UV lamp on one side perhaps heat on the other. OK
I have since found an EXO Terra crested Gecko starter kit which looks to be bigger than he was offering (its the large size and i think is taller than than the one he had for offer) for £100, no light but they do that for £26. Bulbs are £20 each! really? also theres lots of types. Whats the best type of bulb for a gecko?
My big issue is frankly the heating. Our house is Cold! its a very old wooden house with no insulation whatsoever. pretty much a shed really, so how do i keep cresty warm enough?
The heat bulbs Ive seen seem to give out light too? is that right? if so he will only have heating during the day which is no good eh. Also assuming you can get bulbs which are just heat not light, they seem to look like they need to be mounted vertically right? the exo lamp has horizontally mounted bulbs. i also don't know if they are independent, i.e. heat and light bulbs on in day, just heat on at night.
So what do we do?
Heat mat? if so which one for a 45 x 45 x60 cm tank?
Lastly, the £100 job comes with what is described as planting substrate but I have no idea what that means. Whats the best substrate and er whats it called and where is the best pace to get it? The shop guys tank had the kinds dark soil stuff looks like compost and he said its the best stuff, also mentioned you can throw some worms in to keep the soil rotating to cut down on cleaning etc. Again, I've gone and looked for this mystical stuff but i have no idea what I'm looking for or what to search for .
Any help gratefully received . Will post pics if when we get the little critter.
Get the crested. You can feed it repashy and will tolerate handling. Anoles need live food and are skittish but great to look at.
A heat Matt on the side of the tank should do it. It's just above room temp in a cold house. Needs to be kept moist though.
Amphibians maybe another option.
A heat Matt on the side of the tank should do it. It's just above room temp in a cold house. Needs to be kept moist though.
Amphibians maybe another option.
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