| One of the most common geckos kept in the | | | | enjoy fruits. A common choice for Crested Gecko |
| commercial pet trade are Crested Geckos | | | | owners is to feed formulated diet that can be |
| (Rhacodactylus ciliatus). Their relatively small size, | | | | purchased at the pet store. This is much more |
| hardiness and wide variation in colors and patterns | | | | convenient then acquiring live insects regularly. They |
| makes them quite popular among gecko enthusiasts. | | | | will also take honey but it should be fed sparingly as |
| Also known as Eyelash Gecko because of their | | | | it is quite fattening. |
| eyelash like protrusions above their eyes, these | | | | Although they can be jumpy, they are quite |
| arboreal geckos are omnivorous and eat small insects | | | | handleable once they get used to you. Their 'sticky' |
| as well as plant nectars in their native New Caledonia. | | | | feet, which allow them to walk up most surfaces |
| Crested Geckos should be housed in a minimum of a | | | | including the glass of their aquarium, are actually the |
| 10 gallon tank, or equivalent. While they appreciate | | | | result of many microscopic hairs that are able to |
| some heights to explore in their cages there is not | | | | interact with surfaces using the atomic strong force |
| any need for more height then length or width in the | | | | (the same force that holds the nucleus of atoms |
| tank because in the wild they are a mid canopy | | | | together). |
| gecko and are rarely found at the tops of trees. | | | | Another fascinating part of keeping Crested Geckos |
| They need moderate temperatures around eighty | | | | is their mating call. It sounds quite a bit like birds |
| degrees Fahrenheit with temperatures dropping as | | | | chirping, rather than a small reptile like a gecko, and is |
| much as ten degrees at night. They require UV | | | | rather soft. Mating can be encouraged by lowering |
| lighting and a relatively high humidity of seventy or | | | | the temperature of the enclosure for several days |
| eighty percent. | | | | with a mature pair housed together. |
| Crested Geckos will take live insects readily, but also | | | | |