Rhacodactylus
Ciliatus
Common Name: Crested Gecko
 Size:
The
total length of a Crested with its tail is about
eight inches. The snout to vent length ranges
from 4 to 5 inches. While young adult Cresteds
with tails weigh between 28-33 grams with some large
adult females weighing as much as 60 grams.
Distribution:
Rhacodactylus ciliatus are
native to Southern Grand Terre, New Caledonia and at least
one small surrounding island (Isle of Pines).
Description:
The
Crested Gecko is undoubtedly the most kept member of
the Rhac family. And why not? These
medium sized Rhacs have all the best qualities one
could expect from a pet reptile. They are easy
to care for, docile, and come in a variety of colors
and patterns. They rank right up there with
leopard geckos, bearded dragons and corn snakes,
with the additional advantage of being even easier
to care for than all of these popular species.
Crested Geckos feed on both insects and fruits
and in most cases can be kept at room temperature.
This lovable little gecko gets
its name from the defined lateral crests that extend
from the "eyelash like" fringe of scales lining the
upper rim of the eyes, along the sides of the head
and neck and part way down the back. Other
features include a prehensile tail, clinging tail
tip pads, clinging toe pads and claws.
The Crested Gecko is probably the
most polychromatic lizard in the work, making
categorization by morphs difficult.
Captive breeding of more
than ten generations has produced a myriad of colors
and patterns that are rarely, if ever seen in wild
caught specimens.
 Sexing:
The sex of a mature
Crested is easily determined. Males have a
pronounced hemipenile bulge and enlarged cloacal
spurs. Cresteds are not reliably sexed until they
reach an approximate snout to vent length of 3
inches or greater. It is worth noting that in spite
of breeder's best efforts they have not been able to
significantly skew the near 50-50 sex ratio of this
species by manipulating temperature.
Habitat:
Crested Geckos are
semi-arboreal and found exclusively in primary
forest.
Longevity:
Many geckos are
relatively long-lived, and this includes Crested
Geckos and other member of the genus Rhacodactylus.
It is very likely that this species can live at
least fifteen, possibly twice as long if raised from
hatchlings.
Temperature:
This species can be maintained at 25-28°C (77-82°F) during the
day and 22-24°C (72-75°F) at night.
Food:
R. Ciliatus will thrive on the same dietary regime as other
Rhacodactylus.
They
feed on a variety of foods including insects, soft
fruit, other invertebrates and small lizards.
We feed ours Crested Gecko diet twice a week and
dusted crickets once a week.
 Captive Environment:
The minimum enclosure size for adult crested geckos
should be a standard twenty gallon high tank,
preferably a larger and taller enclosure.
Because these geckos choose to rest in foliage, the
tank should offer enough height that plants, such as
small Ficus Benjamina, can be provided.
Cresteds do not require bright
lights
to thrive and many hobbyists and
breeders keep them in enclosures that receive no
light or just light from a nearby window. On
the other hand, if you choose to set up a natural
vivarium with live plants, then UV lighting will be
necessary.
During
most of the year, Cresteds should be fed about three
times a week. We prefer using Clark's Crested
Gecko Diet twice a week and dusted crickets once a
week. Many keepers like to give their geckos
different types of baby food while we have had
better success with Clark's Gecko diet which has a
much greater nutritional value and is in a powdered
form which is mixed with water. All of our
geckos seem to love this diet which is even readily
eaten by our hatchlings.
Breeding:
Crested Geckos are among the
easiest of all lizards to breed. It is as
simple as putting an adult male and female together
and letting nature take its course. Cresteds
will also readily breed in a harem setup with one
male and several females. Males should not be
kept together as they will fight which will
undoubtedly lead to the loss of tails, injuries or
even death in some cases.
Size is another important factor
when breeding cresteds and we recommend that you
wait until your females are at least thirty grams,
preferably thirty five grams. Although smaller
animals will breed, they are more susceptible to
calcium crashes and metabolic bone disease that can
lead to death.
 Females will readily lay their
eggs in a nest box which can consist of a small
plastic storage container with a two inch layer of
moistened peat moss. When keeping pairs
together, you should check the egg laying box daily
or if you record the dates when your female lays her
eggs, you can reduce your inspections as there is
generally a two to three week period between
clutches.
Incubation:
Eggs
that are discovered should be removed, taking care
to place the eggs in the incubating container in the
exact same position in which it was laid. The
incubating container can be a small plastic
container with a snap on lid. Small holes
should be drilled in the sides for ventilation.
The incubating substrate should be moistened
perlite. There are many recipes for getting
the perfect mixture of water and perlite and we have
found that it is really quite simple. Place
the perlite in a separate container and add enough
water to completely cover the perlite in the
container. Pour off the excess water then
vigorously squeeze out any excess water from the
remaining perlite (when you squeeze it in your
clenched fist, no water should drip from it). Once the perlite
is in the incubation box, make small indentations with your thumb and gently place the egg
into the recess, again taking care to keep it in the
same upright position as it was in the lay box.
Incubation times can vary
depending on temperature. Ours are kept in a
room with temps ranging from seventy five to eighty
degrees with an average incubation period of seventy
days. Eggs kept in the low seventies can take
as long as three months to hatch.
Juveniles:
Babies can be offered the same
diet as the adults but in portions adjusted to their
size. A good rule of thumb is to not feed them
crickets that are longer the the gecko's head is
wide. |
