Tropical Terrarium Build (part 2)

First, a little catching up after the holidays!

Regrettably, my moss project didn't go so well.  I think it was due to a poor mixture and lack of sufficient natural lighting.  I think I'll give it another try in the spring, after the melt, when the moss will be accessible.  This time, I'll give the beer recipe a try.  Or maybe even both yogurt and beer, for a comparative analysis.

I've also got a bunch of new pics to put up!  Lots of new things in both my leo's habitat and my tropical terrarium.  My leo's build has been completely upgraded, tank and all.  For Christmas, I got the Exo-Terra Medium Low terrarium; much nicer than an old aquarium!  I'll get into that on a different post.

For now, I'll showcase my tropical terrarium.

***

Behold, the final product of my tropical build!

It's not quite what I had envisioned, but I'm satisfied with it.  I was obviously hoping for a little moss in there, but I may yet be able to culture some and transplant it.  In the meanwhile, I bought some Zilla Premium Compressed Frog Moss to toss around  for a little extra splash of green.  I'm glad I didn't try to stick it down; it works much better just fluffed about.  The colour can be a little dominating if I put too much of it in one spot. 

Also note that my plants have been trimmed down and separated.  I mixed up my pothos a little, so I hope that they won't be in direct competition for root space.  The gold pothos (just visible on the right) is doing fine.  It's sprouted a couple new leaves in the time since it's planting, meaning that it is doing well.

I was having some trouble with the philodendron and sansevieria (snake plant), however.  When I put the Zoo-Med Hydroballs in, I oversaturated the soil.  This lead to me loosing a couple philodendron leaves and a sansevieria stalk to overwatering.  Still, being fairly hardy plants, they've totally bounced back.  The philodendron has also sprouted two new leaf, which are not visible in the above image.  Some of the individual pothos plants are withering off, but some have also sprouted new growths, kind of averaging it out.  The sansevieria is now my cresty's favourite resting spot.  He wedges himself between the leaves, almost completely concealed.  I wish he'd take advantage of the log hideout I built him, but I'm just glad he's enjoying the plants.

I've still got to install the Monsoon system from my old tank, although for now, my hand mister is doing fine.  As a side bar, I'll most likely be revisiting my review of the Monsoon system eventually, as I've had some issues with it since.  One of the tubes is also in need of a little patch job.  A drop or two of silicone should solve the issue.

In later pics, you'll see the substrate layers; drainage, mesh, and substrate layer.  The substrate is a combination of three Exo-Terra products: Exo-Terra Jungle Earth, Exo-Terra Tree Fern Substrate, and Exo-Terra Plantation Soil (brick format).  The mixture I used is as follows:
-2 parts plantation soil
-1 part tree fern substrate
-1 part forest soil
This gives me a really nice, fairly natural substrate that is both visually appealing and thus far totally functional.  Plenty of drainage and a good amount of water retention.

I've also added a couple extra pieces of wood, drift wood and grapewood.  I originally planned to use them for the leo tank, but once again, my eyes are bigger than the physical space of my tanks.  It's all worked out though, since they fit perfectly into the tropical tank.  They give even more jumping and climbing platforms, and help to break the line of sight.

The overall effect has been fairly noticeable.  Humidity has been stable at the 50 to 70 percent range, and temperature has been holding at 20 to 25°C.

Psycological effects have been noted as well.  Rocza's a little less intimidated by my presence, he eats more freely from my fingers, he's actually walked up to the glass and observed me, and he's gone as far as jumping at my fingers as I worked to place some wires around the outside of his tank.  I'm fairly sure it was the twiddling movements that set him off.  I placed my hand in right after and he recognized it at once, and tryed to lick Repashy off my fingers. 

But enough analysis, time for some more pictures!

The philodendron leaf on the left covers the feeding dish, giving the gecko a better
sense of security while he eats.  Having the dish on the door also simplifies cleaning.

Formerly, the newest leaf of the philodendron.

Jade pothos, now a little more worst for where.

Here, we see the pothos wrapped around the grapewood, as well as the log hideaway.  And Rocza, of course.

Next post, I'll show off the third phase of the leopard gecko build, talk about some new product I'm trying out, do a little research into yet another animal I'd like to acquire, and post plenty new pictures.  Hopefully, it won't be another month till then!

Tropical Terrarium Build (part 1)

I've been talking about if for a while now, so it's about time I made a post for it; after many delays, here is a look at my tropical terrarium.

Bet that was anti-climactic! The truth is, being my first build of this kind, it's taking even more time on top of all the delays. Lacking the proper techniques definitely slows down the process! But I've come up with a few by trial and error, such as stringing up the wood that I'm siliconing in before spray-foaming. I'll get to those tips later on, I'm just giving a bit of a status report on it at this point.

If it looks at all crowded from this picture, that's because it is. In fact, that's what I'm going for. I want maximum amount of furnishing without over-crowding. Also, this picture doesn't really capture the scale of this build; the tank is 18" x 18" x 24". I mean, I can fit my head in there... so it's big. Trust me.

As show to the right, here, you can see that there is in fact much room for plants. I also feel I should mention that since this particular shot was taken, I added a bunch of foam to the bottom corners to build them up. The reason for this is to minimize the amount of substrate needed in areas where it's not really useful to have it.

Something else clearly visible is how painfully close my pots are to the top of the tank. This is something I learned the hard way to look out for. In the end, I'm sure it'll be fine. The only problem is one of the two pothos plants I wanted to put there is kind of... growing up instead of growing like a vine. I may try to transplant parts of it, or maybe just buy a new one. I'll probably have the room for a third one down at the bottom.

Quick price break down:
-Great Stuff Pond and Stone (which is the black kind): 9.00$/can, 3 cans
-Aquarium Silicone (price carried over from the leopard gecko build): 13.00$
-See previous posts for prices of plants and wood (I hope...)

Some of the tools I used include:
-Breaking Bad costume Breathing mask
-Caulking gun
-Many pairs of disposable rubber gloves.

All of these I had lying around the house. At this point, I also want to point out that I don't condone the use of disposable latex gloves; be kind to the environment and get some nice rubber gloves that you can use again and again. Yes, I am a hypocrite.

I won't add the substrate costs just yet, at least not until I have a better idea how much I will use. Hopefully, Amanda at The Pet Store will live up to her standards and get me some good aquarium silicone by the end of the week!

More Plants

For part two of today's posts, I'm showing off the newest plants I got for my cresty build. To be fair, "new" is relative, as I have had these for a couple weeks now, and despite a little feline intervention, the majority of them are still alive!

Firstly, I picked up another pothos, but instead of a Jade pothos, I picked up a Gold pothos.

I also found this really nice philodendron which has the best leaves ever! Perfect for a shy little gecko to chill out on. As time goes on, the leaves will develop splits and become more articulated. It also spreads fairly well, I'm told, so I'll be trimming it fairly often.

Also, I finally found the perfect sized snake plant, which sadly became the target of a cat attack and lost a couple leaves...

Lastly, and this one might not make it through to the terrarium, is this cute little Venus Fly-trap. I've fed it several times, forgetting that each "mouth" only feeds once before it dies. So, as a result, I'm left with a plant with very few mature "mouths". Still seems to be living though, so, yay!

Also, though I didn't technically buy this, I harvested a little moss from my back yard and have so far been able to keep it alive on nothing but a rock, so kudos to me!

I plan on incorporating most of these plants, if not all, and a couple more into my cresty build, which, as it happens, I'm currently in the process of building! Finally! I'll definitely post phase 1 tomorrow, when I have a few more things completed.

Research into Custom Natural Habitats 2: Backgrounds

A little late on my idea to post more findings for making the natural habitats but with studying for my chemistry refresher courses, the heat we've been having lately, as well fretting over tuition and grant money, it kind of got back-burnered.

Anyway, I found a really decent website for Do It Yourself naturalesque backgrounds called Bamboo Zoo, which links to several threads on Reptile Forums UK.
The setup I really liked was the Reptile Habitat in Foam by Hedy S., shown below. I've been trying to get a hold of some black spray foam from a guy at work, which is an idea I found on Youtube posted by bshmerlie which I will also post below. (Note to self, don't start Youtubing Skyrim soundtrack female covers!)
 What I like about Hedy's background is the way their mopani wood seems to grow out of the backdrop, something which I feel gives natural backgrounds some credibility. I also like how they added a couple synthetic plants as accents.

Image from BambooZoo

Now before I skip ahead to the part I like the most about Hedy's setup, here's the video posted by bshmerlie on how to create a spray foam background, hosted by Sherry. It's long, but very informative.

Just to note, I've been around to a couple places, even asked some of the contractors at work, and no one has even heard of black spray foam insulation in my part of town till just now. Not sure if this black Great Stuff is strictly an American product, but I certainly can't find it. Now what I like about Sherry's technique is how it stand up to wear and tear versus the generic white spray foam background. I think I might use a bit of a mix of black and clear acrylic, using the clear around the mopani wood to avoid black spots.

Now to get back to Hedy's setup, they use a mixture of substrates which really give it a natural feel. They even use a bark background, like the one Zoo Med but which I cannot seem to find on their product site.

The end result is this stunning piece of work.

Image from BambooZoo

What I really like is the mixture of the fine-grade Eco-Earth and larger Repti-Bark, both from Zoo Med.

I'd also really like to try to find a good way to grow moss on the mopani wood. Exo-Terra has the Tree-Fern Panels, but I'd like to know if they're in any way malleable once it's soaked. Also, I'd like to see if it actually does as advertised and grows small ferns and mosses.

So my shopping list is as stands:
-Spray foam insulation (preferably black)
-Aquarium-grade black silicone (I already have clear)
-Mopani wood (you can never have enough)
-Cork bark rounds (mix things up a bit)
-Plants
-Fine substrate (probably the bag format of Exo-Terra's plantation soil)
-Coarse substrate (some bark or coco husk)


And that's just for my cresty!
I'm planning a second upgrade for my leo already. He's very curious and loves to explore. unfortunately, all I have for him are aquariums which are more vertical than horizontal.
If I could get my hands on a nice-sized low and wide tank, I'd be happy. I'm also planning on introducing some greenery into his environment, like this Jade cactus.

Maybe some of my other synthetics as well, since it would be hard to keep his habitat dry like he needs it and still have nice plants. I'll work something out though. I'm also going to need some things for his hab.

-Sand (not as an actual substrate, but as a sub-substrate, jsut to hold the rocks off the tank bottom and stop crickets from hiding under them)
-Concrete grout (with which to cover my foam)
-Lizard-friendly sealant (to protect the grout)
-Large pebble substrate (to go over any sand that may be visible)




I have a lot to keep me busy, on top of all the things that currently keep me busy...

Research into Custom Natural Habitats 1: Plants

Ever since I started looking into crested gecko care on YouTube, I've noticed how nice natural habitats are, even when compared to high quality of the plant products by Exo-Terra and ZooMed. The look of real plants, growing as they see fit, makes for an esthetic quality that far surpasses that of the sterile setup. However, a natural habitat raises the difficulty level of keeping your habitat healthy and functional, as you now have your flora to care for as well as your fauna. The benefits aren't lost on me either; natural plants help keep a good humidity level and increase air quality.
I've recently started looking into crafting my own habitat in the hopes of creating a truly unique terrarium that will make Rocza feel more at home and that will add a nice touch of decor to my own environment.

***

Part 1: Plant Life

Even though I'm really excited to try my hand at foam sculpting and building, I decided to start by looking what will probably be the trickiest part of the project: the plant life. There are lots of forums and sites that talk about which plants make nice additions to a cresty's habitat, but it's never as simple as just picking out what looks good. I have to take into account what kind of lighting they need, weather or not they require special nutrients, and above all, if it's a good choice for an actively arboreal species of reptile.

To start off, I'm compiling a list of plants that other people recommend for crested geckos. Thus far, this is what I've got:

Pothos: I've noticed that both the golden and jade pothos plants are very appealing, broad of leaf, and look like a plant that could easily hang down from on high.

Jade Pothos
image from:http://www.sanfranciscoplantcompany.com/plants1.html

Golden Pothos
image from:http://www.sanfranciscoplantcompany.com/plants1.html

Sansevieria: I have a larger one of these in my house presently. It's a very nice colour, very sturdy leaf, and it grows in an extremely vertical fashion. It's also layered which could give my gecko a lot of shelter.

Sansevieria Black Coral (Black Coral Snake Plant or Mother-in-Law Tongue)
image from:http://realornamentals.com/plant-store/small-black-coral-snake-ornamental-plant.html

Amaranthus Tricolour: This plant is more for decoration that function, as it boasts really vibrant reds and yellows. Some other species of Amaranthus have leaves of red and green.

Amaranthus Tricolour (Joseph's Coat)
image from:http://store.underwoodgardens.com/Josephs-Coat-Amaranth-Amaranthus-tricolor/productinfo/F1004/

Ficus: A very leafy plant that also resembles the plants found in crested gecko natural habitat. It's thin branches and shoots are non-the-less capable of supporting the weight of an adventuring gecko.

Ficus Elastica (Rubber Fig)
image from:http://www.flowersbylana.com/everydayflowersplants.html

Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig)
image from:http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-weeping-fig-ficus-benjamina-in-pot-image18877453

Bromeliad: A very esthetically pleasing tropical plant, bromeliads form natural hideouts for little animals. Some can even form small "ponds" in the cup-shaped center of their leaves.

Blushing Bromeliad
image from:http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Plants/Ornamental-Groups/Bromeliads/Neoregelia/Neoregelia-carolinae-Tricolor/Neoregelia-carolinae-Tri-2.html

These are just the most common suggestions. From what I can tell, any plant that provides shelter, can support the weight of an adult gecko, and isn't outwardly poisonous, is a viable option.
I'd also love to find ways of having real mosses in the habitat. They always add a really beautiful touch of green to any environment.

However, after a bit of initial research, I can already start ticking off certain species due to light requirements. According to the San Francisco Plant Company (from which I pulled a couple of the above pics), ficus need a lot of sunlight, which wouldn't be a problem if I was still using my UV blub. My decision to stop using the UV bulb came after talking with Emily of Pet Depot, who informed me that crested geckos can actually get sunburned. On top of that, they don't have eyelids, and I can imagine that a daily dose of UV light might cause some eye damage after extended exposure.
The amaranthus tricolour is another plant that needs a good amount of direct sunlight, so it can probably be forgotten in my case. The most my plants will be getting is a small amount of early morning direct light, but mostly they'll have indirect light, provided from my shuddered southward-facing window.\
The other plants seem to be well suited to indoor life, particularly the sansevieria, to which I can attest is a very hardy plant, capable of surviving much abuse and neglect. Even the bromeliads, some of which are really colourful, can thrive in interior conditions.

Being that I've only dipped my toe in the pond on the topic of indoor plant care, I've still got a lot to learn about plant nutrition. Again, personally, I can attest that the sansevieria is hardy enough to get by jsut fine with it's occasional watering. Then again, it was originally planted in fertilized soil, something I will really have to look into to ensure I don't end up poisoning my gecko. In any event, Crested Gecko Canada gives an idea of how I could use fertilizers or special nutrients without worrying. According to them, a bit of mesh under a layer of substrate should be enough to keep the gecko out of contact with treated soil. Still, I really want to look into organic options to feed my plants, just to be safe. I also had the idea of double potting my plants so I could remove them easily if I ever needed to give them some special care or feeding. It might interfere with the natural look of the enclosure though, but it's still an idea I had. Much more research is required on this matter.

Now, I decide to think about weather or not these plants are the right fit for my crested gecko. Luckily, since these plants were presented to me by crested gecko care forums and websites, I'm fairly confident that they fit the bill. But the reasons for that vary by plant. The pothos and the ficus have big flat leaves, perfect for a timid little gecko to hide under or to climb on. The pothos in particular interests me as I think I'll be able to plant it in a high corner and have it hang down as a good vertical access. Of course, I could always string it along something like my Exo-Terra Jungle Vine, which would make it work as a horizontal means of travel too. The sansevieria is also another means of vertical access as well as a refuge. Another refuge plant could be the bromeliad, with its long, broad leaves forming a safe little cup for something like a gecko to sleep in or draw water from. And the moss I'd like to grow would make a terrific moist bedding for any reptile or amphibian. The joseph's coat also gives nice refuge in its big leaves, which would make a great bed for my gecko, if it weren't for the light requirements.

Now, this is just the begging of my horticultural research, and as such, I hope to find new species of plants to add to my list, as well as ascertain for sure weather or not the ones I've crossed out can or can't be used.
Also, let's not leave out the idea of using some of Exo-Terra's Smart Plants or some of ZooMed's more colourfully decorative synthetic plants, either. After all, they'd be a constant source of "foliage" in a habitat that could easily fall short of expectations. After all, there's no certainty when it comes to me keeping live plants.

Just another update, with a little Repashy on the side

Well, I've been out and about for a little while now, what with our household getting HD cable (including Oasis! Yay!), friends about to leave town, and St-Paddy's Day, but now it's high time I got back to posting.

Well, Rocza's still proving to be fairly shy and reclusive (guess the pets reflect the master after all...), but he seems to be in good health. I've noticed fairly regular bowel movements around the habitat, which is definitely a good sign. Cricket feeding is now about three to four times a week; four crickets on Tuesdays and Saturdays, one cricket one Sunday and Thursday.

After having spoke with Emily about how hard it was for her to ween her gecko off crickets and get him eating Repashy, I was pretty worried. As it turns out, Rocza loves the stuff. I offered him some with a popsicle stick for something a little softer than the steel tongs and he ate it right up. Unfortunately, I'm not sure he's finding his elevated food dish which contains the Repashy. I get the feeling the little guy is slightly agoraphobic. 

So, to give him a better sense of privacy, I've started putting up a shroud around his habitat at night to cut back on the ambient light he's getting (like from my computer and the light on the Monsoon RS 400). Since then, I've actually been able to observe him moving around and exploring more, even hanging upside-down on the screen top. I've also bought him some extra foliage. I went with a second synthetic croton plant, though this one is by Zoo Med. I got to admit, it's "arms" really form a nice, leafy alcove for sleeping. I placed it on the open side of the feeding ledge to entice Rocza out onto it.
The more lush, green colour kind of contrasts my other plants, but it looks good. I also like the more rubbery feel. As it turns out, so does Rocza, I guess. He's moved out of the amapallo and taken up new residence. Hopefully he stays in that one. He's far more exposed to view and this will hopefully have him feeling more comfortable around me.

Also, though I can't be sure, since he's taken up residence, he might have also discovered his food dish. So I hope anyway. I would love to reduce his cricket consumption to twice a week, but I don't want to till I'm positive he's able to forage his own food.
As far as I can tell, he's not thinning out. In fact, after I saw some baby cresties at a another local pet store today, I think he's even growing.

Pictures of the current habitat to come tomorrow (later "today") as I don't want to take down Rocza's shroud and start shooting while he's active.

New Product - Monsoon RS 400!

So I picked up that well-priced Monsoon RS 400 I mentioned before. It was more or less half price, since it had been used for about a month on a baby veiled chameleon at Pet Depot.

I checked it out and gave it a run-through before I did any final installation. The motor runs just fine. The only two icks are that one nozzle is slightly plugged with mineral deposits (I think and hope) and that there is a small hole in one piece of the tubing. Nothing major at all. I'm fairly sure I know exactly what went down with the nozzle. See, Pet Depot uses filtered tap water for their animals. Nothing wrong there in my opinion, at least in terms of animal health. There's most likely still mineral deposits after the filtration process, though, and that's what hopefully plugged up the nozzle.

Currently soaking both nozzles in a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar for 24 hours, as per the instructions.

I can already tell it's going to be pretty visible in my enclosure, since it's rather small (the enclosure, that is), but it's hopefully going to be worth it. The misting process is hopefully goign to be more effective at raising humidity than my simple spray bottle. I'm just worried that two nozzles won't be enough. We shall see.

No product review yet, as I've only run it in my bathroom for a couple minutes.

Going to leave this post post with a new pic of Rocza I took after her by-weekly cricket feeding.

Second Feeding

First of two posts today, I think. I'm feeling like another product search is in order. But first, a bit of a status update.

I went over to Pet Depot today and spoke for a while with Emily. It's so very useful having someone who personally cares for the same animal as you do; great source of knowledge (and, in my case, reassurance).

Things I learned:
First off, it takes a couple weeks for a cresty (probably any new pet) to acclimatize themselves to their new habitat, which is fine.

Cresties are pretty darn nocturnal. Me thinks PetSmart's pamphlet may be giving false aspirations to the contrary in order to convince people they will see their gecko without a little coaxing. This might change though, who knows. No judgment here.
They're also pretty shy, and even Emily's gecko stays tucked away during the daylight hours.

Weening them off crickets can be a challenge, especially if it's all they've known. But since Rocza doesn't really seem interested in his(her?) food pellets' lack of movement, crickets have so far been the only thing I can confirm her eating. Hopefully not once the Repashy arrives, fingers crossed, some time this week. In the meanwhile, she suggested moistening them to help bring out the aroma.

The issue I was having with his skin seemingly lacking in luster might indeed have just been the UV light washing out the colours. It does that with other stuff, anyway, why not Rocza. He seems to change colours when he walks from heat lamp to UV lamp...
Still, looking into a humidifier upgrade.

***

Now, onto the business at hand; the second feeding.


I think it went really well. After trying to tweeze in the crickets last time, I invested (*sigh* more money...) into a pair of feeding tongs (more specifically, these!). These tongs are now on my essentials list. I was able to insert the cricket right into Rocza's hanging plant to entice him out without disturbing him.

I also learned that Rocza has mad hunting skills. The second he saw that cricket it was over. What's better, I let the next cricket make it's way up to him, and he took it handily. Although I must pause here and make a note that these crickets always move right up to where he's hiding... Anyway, I actually lost the third cricket in the enclosure behind the Boston fern, but Rocza found it before I could. I would have loved to have seen it unfold, but all I saw was Rocza spitting out a mouth of substrate while holding the cricket in his mouth (talented!). I just release the final cricket into the enclosure and let him wander around till Rocza nailed it.

Tried fooling around with his pellet food by sticking some to the tongs and moving it in front of his face, but he was either full or just not interested in it.

Finally! Even More Finally!

Just picked up my little cresty this afternoon! Still not clear on the sex, but that will come in time. Hey, if it should lay eggs at some point, that will be most definitive.

But in all honesty, Crested Gecko Canada ahs some info on how to sex your gecko, which sounds realy wierd... though not as wierd as the "sexing tools" i saw on eBay last night. Creepy indeed. In my day, you just looked at what the kid was playing with to know if it was a boy or girl! *Old-man 24-year-old rant!*

But I digress, because I'm excited.

We were trying to decide what morph it was at the pet store, with no clear results. I'll have to do a bit more research.

It's already shown some pretty neat skills. In the time it took me to turn my head it went from being stalk-still on the vine to having leapt into the amapallo (about a 6" jump). He (at least until I can identify it) is about four to six months old, but they told me he looks bigger than most of the other babies they get. He's also pretty adorable. Everyone agrees!

So, crickets are fed, tucked safely out of cat reach, and awaiting their gladiatorial end in the arena, I've put fresh food and water in this morning, I've misted twice already to give him a little leaf drinking water, and everything is copacetic. Just going to watch him chill in his amapallo for now. I assume that will be his bed from now on.

Male or female, his name is Rocza.

I can't tell if he's asleep or staring me down.

Odds and Ends

I've been calling around every PetSmart in the area for the past two weeks and still, can't seem to get my hands on a cresty.

I had a bit more luck at the local Pet Depot. I found them way more helpful than the other locations I've tried so far, although I may have just gotten lucky since the girl I spoke with actually has a crested gecko. (Side not, she was pretty, too!) I learned a bit about their suppliers, which is also more reassuring. They get their cresties from a Canadian breeder and she tells me they arrive as hatchlings, which is perfect! It's definitely better than hearing that "they're really tiny when we get them"... because, you know, +1 for using proper terms. I can have one ordered specifically, but I have to put a down payment on it. Both good and bad in my opinion. One the right, they would then be actively involved and perhaps try a little harder to get me one. On the left, I could still get time-shafted. I mean, from what I've been hearing at every other store I've visited, they're waiting on the breeders (a likely story?). I've been thinking about it, and though it might cost me a little more, if I can in a hatchling, (ACTUALLY get one in) I'm all for it! If the clerk's cuteness and helpfulness was any indication, it'll be just fine. (Yeah, that makes sense to me... and speaks volumes...)

I sis learn a couple other fun factoids too. I probably got suckered into buying the UV light. Heck, I figured out that much before talking with the Pet Depot clerk (Emily?) about it, but then I hear that cresties can actually get sun burned?! Dafuq is up with that? If that's true, it's a strike against that goon at PetSmart (I'm sorry, you're at work, in a professional place, take off the face metal, maybe??) who sold me it. That'll learn me.

Emily(?) also feeds her gecko Repashy, which might be sold at Big Al's! At least, the one in Kanata (?) sells it. But hey, there's always online order. She also feeds gut buster crickets, but not every day. Oh, silly gecko dietary plans. I'm starting to think it's just a long-running joke.

I told her about the rest of my set-up, though, and she agreed with it. +1 for me.

I'm going back this Wednesday to place my order and I'd love to ask her about some of the other products I bought. I may have some extra junk lying around once all is said and done! Call it an investment for future herps. Or, you know, a waste of cash. Blah.


Oh, and I've been trying to find a way to link to this blog, but I can't. So here's the link to Exo-Terra's Sri Lanka expedition. Looks pretty cool.

Hard to Find

Well, another Wednesday rolled by, as did another shipment of reptiles at PetSmart. Sadly, their suppliers still haven't gotten around to filling the order for one crested gecko. I'm not angry with PetSmart or anything; I mean if their suppliers are screwing them, they can't really be blamed. Sure it COULD be a cover-up story... if it wasn't for the fact that every other pet store I contact is also waiting shipment on these guys. Time to expand my horizons. I really didn't want to have to go out of town to get my cresty, for multiple reasons.

Reasons being:
-Long travel time for a little critter. Although I guess it's no worst than the trip to the pet store.
-Local custom. I'm not super patriotic or anything, but I do like giving my business to the locals when I can.
-Solidarity. I've pretty much got all my gear at this local PetSmart and I'm the kind of guy that likes to honor that.
-Gas prices. It's expensive enough as it is to buy this little geek without jacking up the price with travel expenses. Grr

Eh, whatever. I'm most likely going to a PetSmart anyways, since their are like six in Ottawa alone. I hope my membership card still applies out of town.

Prepping the Diet (cont'd)

Still waiting for word from the pet store. But, in the meantime, I've been reading up on dietary needs, since i can't seem to find a decent answer anywhere.

I did find many varying accounts though, some that actually dispute what others say and oh the twisted tales of gecko breeders! It's actually kind of humorous, almost as funny as it is aggravating.

At this point, it feels much less like a science, more of an art. The sites I found I've listed below.

JB's Crested Gecko Info
Ciliatus.com
The Gecko Spot
Geckoland Reptiles

Also found a page on About.com.

Each site a different opinion, each site a different diet, almost.
The short hand was:
-Be wary of pretty much any kind of hard bodied worms, such as  meal worms and wax worms. They're hard on the digestive track.
-Cricket size shouldn't exceed the distance between the gecko's eyes.
-Try not to overload the gecko with calcium.
-Baby food might be tasty to them, but be careful and feed it at your own risk.
There are about a zillion (no, a gorillian) other things to consider and this aspect of gecko care seems by far the most complex.

One page struck me above the others though, and that's the Diet and Nutrition page (here) of Ciliatus.com. What they say is that they offer their geckos crickets regularly. They also claim to know many other breeders who deny even using crickets, but in fact do. Not sure what the deal is here. When did crickets become contraband? The only thing I can think to do now, at this point is to go with what I feel.

Something else I will most likely look into is this dietary product called Repashy Crested Gecko Diet. It's like a water based fruit mixture that seems to work pretty well when coupled with gust buster crickets (much spiffier name than gut loaded), or even on it's own. I'll have to do some online shopping... which will ahve to wait till after I get some extra cash... Blah.

But, once I iron out a proper meal plan, I'll post it up.

After all this talk of food, there's only one thing left to post.

Prepping the Diet

Since all I need to do to finalize my terrarium is add the substrate and get a hide-away, and since I thought I'd actually have my gecko by now, I got my cricket keeper and feed a couple days back.

The tank is the small Kricket Keeper by Lee's Aquarium and Pet Supplies. I've seen other brands that come with small built-in (I think) food and water dishes, of which the Kricket Keeper had none. The Exo-Terra brand name equivalent is an example of the latter. After having done some price checks, the difference amounts to a couple dollars, so I guess it's justifiable. Besides, I didn't feel like ordering one online. I'm sure this product will work just fine (despite the Mortal Kombat style changing of "cricket" to "kricket")

For food and water, I went with Fluker's Orange Cube and  Cricket Quencher. I've read good things about the Orange Cube, but I have come across some accounts that state that the calcium enhanced Cricket Quencher may actually do the crickets too much good; I've read that the extra calcium goes straight to the cricket's exoskeleton, making them harder to digest. Since the Orange Cube contains a certain amount of moisture, I might hold off on the the Quencher till my gecko is a little older and more likely able to digest these things. I may not. I mean, I keep hearing different answers from every source, so I may just have to go with my gut. Gut-loaded crickets. Haha.

I still plan on dusting them with calcium powder before hand, but to avoid hypercalcemia, I'll probably only dust a couple crickets a week. In terms of cricket feeding frequencies, again, I find myself facing down a multitude of opinions. The young lad at PetSmart indicates I should feed crickets daily and as many as the gecko can eat withing five minutes. The literature I obtained from PetSmart says crickets 2 to 3 times a week. I'm more inclined to go with the second amount, as it matches the recommended amount listed on Pangea, yet another very helpful source of information I came across while doing my research.

I also intend to provide Fluker's Crested Gecko dietary food more or less as recommended, depending on how much my gecko will consume.

All this just makes me wonder if geckos share traits with their crocodillian and testudine (turtle) cousins, in that they continue to grow giving sufficient food and living space, like the case of Gustave. I'd love to be able to raise a monster-sized gecko!

Picture of my feeding and cleaning products

Prepping my Terrarium (part 3)

Step 3: Lighting, Heating and Humidifying

So now that I have all my branches and bushes exactly how I want them, I'll turn my focus to the mechanic aspects.

It's important to note that I have been keeping my heating and lighting in mind as I place my decorations in order to create the desired hot and cool spots.

Heating:
After doing a bit of research, I find again that there aren't concrete rules for these guys.
Taking into account everything I've read so far, I would have to say that cresties need a day-time temperature of about 80 to 82°F (27 to 28°C) in the hot spots and somewhere in the mid 70s in the cool spots (about 24°C), unless you plan on breeding them. Though the brochure provided by PetSmart indicates a maximum hot-spot temperature of 85°F (30°C), some of my other sources (namely Crested Gecko Canada) state that temperatures above 83°F (28°C) can increase your gecko's stress, and temperatures any higher than 85°F can in fact be fatal. So none of that.

Also, I mentioned that breeding would require different temperatures. Since I don't have immediate plans on breeding, I haven't looked into it with much detail, but again, Crested Gecko Canada has some good knowledge on it.

To help control these varying temperatures, I bought an extra thermometer (product of All Living Things) to go with the thermometer and hygrometer provided in the Exo-Terra starter kit. The first I place up in the basking zone of the terrarium to make sure I never get into those deadly ranges. The second (which I may have botched), I stuck lower to the ground near the cool spot, just to make sure things stay cool but not cold.

To be fair though, this might be overkill, as I have read that cresties can take temperatures in the mid 60s (about 16 to 17°C), but I don't really want to push my luck, as these guys need heat to grow and to help them digest.

Lighting:
In terms of heat lamps, I was advised to get a 60W Neodymium daylight bulb (Sun Glo 60W by Exo-Terra). The literature I found online backs up my choice, indicating that a low wattage heating bulb is all that is necessary. Cresties are nocturnal after all. I have even been told that an infra-red bulb way serve too, as I could leave that on day-round since it sheds no light, but I prefer it this way... so far.

I also run a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB 26W bulb by Exo-Terra in the lamp that was included in the starter kit to provide my cresty with necessary uv levels. This bulb has a high uv output, which may affect my choice of cricket calcium powder in the future (since my current powder is fortified with vitamin D3, a possibly redundant additive in light of... the light).
This bulb would be very necessary if I were running a natural terrarium, however, given that plants require this light to grow as well.

The effect is as follows:

This image shows my terrarium bathed in uv light alone,

















while this image shows both the uv light and the heat lamp in full glow.















Also visible on the second image is the placement of my thermo/hygrometers; at the top and bottom.

Humidity:
Last factor to consider is humitidy. This is a tricky one, since a hot humid environment is a breeding ground for moulds and mildews, some of which can be kind of nasty for both myself and the cresty. This means regular cleaning is essential.

But I digress; humidity! Recommended to be between 50% and 80% by the people at PetSmart, 60% to 80% by Crested Gecko Canada. I'm thinking somewhere in the low 70s is where I'll be. This is so far the only factor I haven't tried to control in my environment since I don't want to add the coconut husk substrate till about a day before I get the gecko to avoid wasting it. Considering that no animal wastes will be contaminating it, however, I'll probably get around to setting it up over the course of next week.

Coconut husk seems like the right choice, since it's gentle on the animal, it holds moisture and has a very pleasing natural look, to boot. Added to this is the Exo-Terra Rainforest Heat Wave I have affixed to the bottom of my terrarium. I've had mine plugged in since I set up and I must say; it's not very hot. Weather or not this is normal, it will in any event help release the moisture in the substrate, giving me my humidity.

To keep the substrate moist, misting is required. Once again, I've found about three different solutions. To average them out, I'm going to mist about once or twice a day, or as required to hit that humidity g-spot.

In terms of misting to provide the cresty with water (rather than a dish, as they lick dew off themselves and their surroundings), I'll probably continue to provide a water source, unless I see that the gecko isn't using it at all.

Also, I plan on treating the water with a cleanser, even though I will be using distilled water. I'm taking no chances of poisoning my gecko with chlorinated water, afterall.

Prepping my Terrarium (part 2)

Step 1: Cleaning

After opening the Exo-Terra Rainforest Habitat kit, I gave everything a good wash-down. The starter kit manual suggested the following :

Soak all plants and decoration with a solution of 1 part bleach to 30 parts water for about an hour once a month, which I did, except for the foam background and the jungle vine. I thought they might be too absorbent.

I find this kind of high on the bleach. One of the PetSmart reps said I could definitely get away with a smaller amount of bleach, but I decided to get Fluker's Super Scrub, which is an organic cleaner that "cleans and sanitizes" tanks, branches, rocks, vines, and bowls. To be fair, I did try to the bleach solution on my first batch of plants and decor, but I left them rinse well and sit for, so far, four days.

A point here regarding the Exo-Terra Jungle Vine (show in the image to the right):
I let my vine soak, not in the bleach solution though, for well over an hour to get the excess dyes out. This would be especially important if I were going to have it in an aquatic environment to avoid discolouration of the water, and maybe even negative effects to the critters.

Once everything was clean and free of the smell of plastic and bleach, I cleaned out the tank with a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar (also recommended in the manual). The vinegar smell goes away pretty quick, too.

Weather or not I will continue to use these two home-brew solutions now that I have Fluker's Super Scrub, I haven't decided yet.

Just for the record, this is also when I installed my Exo-Terra Heat Wave, since it adheres to the bottom outside of the tank. (See Step 3)

Step 2: Decorating

So next, I added the Exo-Terra Rock Background in and placed my plants more how I wanted them to be in the final product.

I'd like to point out here that, although I do like Exo-Terra products, the suction cups that were provided for the Exo-Terra Croton and the Exo-Terra Amapallo were pretty useless, which suited me since I wanted to have the stems wedged into the background foam. Also, you have to kind of take all advertisement with a grain of salt; the rock background shown here on their website looks MUCH more realistic than the actual product, which is still nicer than having a picture taped to back of the tank.

You'll notice in the picture to the left, the jungle vine has been removed temporarily.

This is also when I placed my two thermometers and hygrometer. (Step 3)

Also, I want to add how much I really like the Boston Fern included in the kit. All the plants really, I found to look very good for plastics.

The final result was something to this effect:



Notice in the close-up what I mean about the background looking a little less rocky and a little more foamy. Still though, like it!



The last step of decorating was the addition of a small fake branch by All Living Things. You want suction cups? This thing has two, and combined, you could raise the Titanic with these them! I added it to the left-hand side of the tank to assure an artistic look of symmetry that my future gecko will have plenty of things to climb on. I'm not sure what plant the branch tries to emulate but it looks like ivy to me.

Huzzah, the final product! Please note that I will be waiting till the last minute to add the Exo-Terra Plantation Soil Tropical Substrate, which was also included in the kit.


To be continued in part 3 (because it's starting to take too long to upload these damn images into one post.)

Prepping my Terrarium (part 1)

I did my research on these guys. Cresties like to climb. Of course, they're arboreal. They like heat and humidity. You would to is you came from New Caledonia (that's a small, French archipelago off the east coast of Australia; g'day Crsties! or perhaps Sallut le petit Crestie!). Also, they're kind of nocturnal.

I learned some lessons recently. Namely, every person I ask seems to have a different opinion on the care of these animals.

To make a long story short, I should have followed my gut and bought the medium sized kit. It saved me money, sure, but now I'm worried that the soon-to-be-my gecko will out-grow it's tank kind of fast. Or not? Lot's of "professional opinions" buzzing around my head.

In any case, smaller sized kit I bought will definitely fit a jeuvy Cresty, which is what I plan to get.

I went with the Exo-Terra Rainforest Habitat Kit. So far, I really like it! Exo-Terra has some really nice swag in my opinion. And although I can't personally vouch for all of it, the good people of YouTube show it off with fairly good reviews. With the addition of a couple extra pieces, my terrarium is almost up and ready to go! All I need now is for the stupid reptile delivery person to make his call at PetSmart!

(Pictures and methodology to follow at a more decent hour)