Custom Hood

ARod

ARod

AC Members
Jun 30, 2007
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40
St. Louis, MO
I bought a 26 Gal. bow front All-Glass Aquarium to house my two crested geckos in. However, the hood provided with the tank is insufficient and would allow them to escape quite easily since they are excellent climbers. I tired a plexiglass hood with holes drilled in for ventilation, but it was a bit flimsy and the humidity was difficult to control. I broke my hood while trying to put some screen over the hole for the incandescent lamps. I was afraid that the heat from the lamps would melt/bow the plexiglass.

I do have enough plexiglass to try again, but I didn't want to waste my time if I didn't have to. I would just buy a screen top, but the odd shape of my tank makes this challenging unless I'm not looking in the right place.

:help:

Any thoughts on the matter?
 
Why do you have heat lamps? Crested geckos do not need heat as long as it is around 75ish in the room. I do not heat my crested, instead the room temperature fluctuates from 73-78. Anything over 80 can kill them over time.

On the other hand you can custom make a screen top possibly. Why use an AGA tank? How tall is it? They aren't that tall, and technically you need a 2 foot high aquarium to house a crested in. I purchased one of the exo-terra terrariums. Right now I have an 18x18x18" one, which I picked up used from a store for $60. My crested is only about 5 months old, so he/she is still very tiny and does not need all the room yet. I plan to upgrade to the 18x18x24" one later, but right now this is fine.

I hope you have vines, leaves and everything else in there, plus maintaining humidity correctly. Monitor your temps, if you stay using that lamp. It just isn't worth the risk. Check out some reptile forums for more help, rather than a fish forum. thegeckospot.com was partially helpful for me, but I also have my own personal forum as well, thereptilefile.com, and have had some great responses and help from people.
If you need any help with something let me know. I do a lot with the reptile trade and would take them over my fish anyday. I might only house leopard geckos and a crested right now, but my knowledge is far beyond that.
 
Dim. of tank:
20" Tall x 24" Wide x 10-14" Deep

There are plenty of vines for them and several wood elements. I did a custom background with a few perches for them to hide and climb on. I also planted a few plants one is good for them to climb on, while the other has large leaves for them to hide in/under. I also ordered some moss and miniature plants from Black Jungle to plant on the background. I believe that the background provides more vertical room for them to climb on. As stated: I have three vines intertwined with the background and the ground as well as three wood elements connected to the ground and background.

As for lighting:
I am using a 18", 15 Watt UVB 8.0 fluorescent tube and a twin incandescent bulb housing with a 40 Watt Slimline Frost Natural Spectrum bulb and a 60 Watt night bulb. The bulbs do get a bit warm, as noted for my concern with the plexiglass' durability.

This tank is my first attempt at this, so any and all insight is much appreciated.:)
 
I'd almost lose the lights. Whats the temps in the tank getting with them? If it is too high then just ditch them and not worry about them. For winter months I have a small clamp lamp I lay on top my tank, it's adjustable so I put it on very low just to make sure the tank doesn't drop too low. I use a red light in it as well, as to not disturb him at night. I never use any daylight, other than room lights, and he knows its day and sleeps, then at night he's out and about doing his thing (he's next to the bed so you hear him jumping all around).

Whats the guess on age of yours?
 
I really don't know their age. I work at PetCo and we see a lot of animals come through that people cant take care of. I was planning on buying a pair of our hatchlings, but as luck would have it, a woman brought in a pair of supposed male crested geckos. I had to have them, so I took them home. One of them will have to go especially when I get a female. But they both have great personalities and they are fairly large in size. The bigger of the two had lost its tail before I had acquired it. Like I said, I really don't know how old they are, but I am almost positive that they are both breeding age.

I will have to check the temps for you, as the geckos are not in their currently and thus I do not have the twin bulb hood on the tank. I will put it on there shortly and record some temps for you.
 
Yea, just make sure to monitor those temps if you keep using the lights. I know the Petco here keeps the hatclings at 85-90, and I already made a complaint. I worked for Petsmart before and tried to monitor things when I could, but you can't always fix problems with the way the setups are.

You have 2 males together? Are you certain they are both males? You should only have 1 male to a tank, as they can and will often fight. They might get along one day and not the next.
 
Yes, I believe they are both males. They do attempt to fight at night, but they will go their separate ways. I will have to let go of one of them soon.

Here are a few shots of them. Maybe you can estimate how old they are.:)









 
Yea that might have been how the one lost his tail as well. They are nice looking cresties. Mine is still tiny and can sit on your finger. They are at least a year if not older most likely. The lifespan isn't known still for these guys, but it is assumed to be 15-20 years like other gecko species. They were only refound again in 1996, so not as much is known.

Good luck with them and hopefully you can find a home for one of them. If you plan to breed later make sure you monitor weight, especially for the female as to keep her up to weight. Breeding is very stressful, and sometimes separation is needed. Once you get into this, pick a forum with a lot of information and just start asking questions. I found this was more helpful then researching everything on my own.
I've bred leopard geckos in the past, but not crested yet, I do plan to once I am able to sex mine. You can attend a reptile expo and see if you can find an older female once you find a home for one of the males. This is the best way to get a reptile from breeders.
 
I am planning on attending a Reptile Expo on the 29th in the St. Louis area. I heard through the grapevine that there will be several crested breeders there that should have breeding sized females for sale. My tank will be completed by then; one male and one female will inhabit it. I will monitor the temps and ensure that all is well before placing them in.

Temp and humidity reading 1: After one hour with fluorescent tube and 40Watt day bulb.
Temp: 92 F
Humidity: 60%

Will try the night bulb now as well. I'm sure that it will be just as hot if not hotter.

I would like to keep the fluorescent tube on there to help simulate sunlight for both the plants an animals. What would you suggest I do? Just do away with the twin bulb fixture all together? How would I view them when they are most active, at night? I'm still a beginner when it comes to crested geckos and I have a lot to learn. Please help me in any way that you see fit.
 
Temp and humidity reading 2: After a few minutes with only night bulb.
Temp: 94 F and rising
Humidity: 58%

It seems my choice in lighting was terrible. :)
 
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