# Crested Gecko Enclosure



## Brendan (Feb 19, 2008)

Hey.

Would a 15 gallon high aquarium 20" x 10" x 18" be suitable for 2-3 crested geckos?

I do know that a 20 gallon high aquarium 24" x 12" x 16" is suitable for 2-3 crested geckos, but considering a 15 gallon high is 2 inches taller than a 20 gallon high, would it work?


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## mrbonzai211 (Feb 19, 2008)

That would be enough room for one crested gecko. They do actually get pretty big and it's best to keep even "social" reptiles separate (although I'm sure there are a few out there that would argue with me on that). Even if they appear to tolerate each other, even communal species of reptiles establish their own territory that they choose to inhabit. Being in the vastly smaller territory of a tank disrupts that cycle and forces the lizards to unnaturally cohabit thus causing them undue stress. If you're serious about having two in the same tank I would look at a minimum size of 55 gallons for two adults assuming that you provide plenty of foliage and places to hide. I would also recommend using live plants to help with humidity and air circulation.


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## tyrant963 (Feb 19, 2008)

If you live in Wisconsin, ill sell you a 55 gallaon for cheap :}


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## Bedlam (Feb 19, 2008)

While I cant quote dimensions, I can tell you that I agree with mrbonzai.  

When keeping Crestids together you want to make sure that you keep them together from a young age.  Also, if you end up with one being male and another female, you HAVE TO separate them or else the male will act like a horny college student 24/7 when mature, which will probably kill the female.


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## mrbonzai211 (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks Bedlam. I've been expecting people to rebuke me with the classic "pet store told me this so it must be true logic." It's nice to see people around who rely on other sources for information rather than someone who's trying to sell you something.


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## RoachGirlRen (Feb 20, 2008)

I concur with the above posters; a 15g is suitable for one crested and that is about it. I would think a 20H (as opposed to a 20L, which I assume you were talking about) would be preferable anyways since it is a bit taller, and this is a climbing species. Frankly, a 29g would be even better - this is an active species, so bigger habitats that you can load with climbing and hiding spaces are better. 
I also agree with the sentiments that just because some reptiles _can_ be housed socially doesn't mean that they _must_ or _should_. Two male cresties is usually a bad combination with a large fighting risk, a male and a female will lead to the female being harassed constantly, possibly to the point of death, and while you can generally house females together sucessfully, you are at a much higher risk of having your crestie lose its tail (not to mention the inherent risks of socially housing anything, such as greater difficulty monitoring dietary intake - which can be very important to this species' health). Unless you can provide quite a large enclosure, solitary housing is the way to go.


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## Brendan (Feb 20, 2008)

RoachGirlRen said:


> I concur with the above posters; a 15g is suitable for one crested and that is about it. I would think a 20H (as opposed to a 20L, which I assume you were talking about) would be preferable anyways since it is a bit taller, and this is a climbing species. Frankly, a 29g would be even better - this is an active species, so bigger habitats that you can load with climbing and hiding spaces are better.
> I also agree with the sentiments that just because some reptiles _can_ be housed socially doesn't mean that they _must_ or _should_. Two male cresties is usually a bad combination with a large fighting risk, a male and a female will lead to the female being harassed constantly, possibly to the point of death, and while you can generally house females together sucessfully, you are at a much higher risk of having your crestie lose its tail (not to mention the inherent risks of socially housing anything, such as greater difficulty monitoring dietary intake - which can be very important to this species' health). Unless you can provide quite a large enclosure, solitary housing is the way to go.


Nope, I was talking about a 20 gallon HIGH. I know there are two different types of 20 gallons, and two different types of 15 gallons.

The 15 gallon HIGH is two inches taller than the 20 gallon HIGH. The 20 gallon HIGH is just 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider.

I was actually thinking about house two FEMALE cresties in the 15 gallon high tank...I'm just not sure if it'll work out though.


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## mrbonzai211 (Feb 20, 2008)

It will work for a few months, but ultimately it WILL fail. The desire to house and care properly should always be higher then the desire to own a certain amount of animals. I still say if you want two then get a 55, but at the very least get them a 29 gallon. They could at least stay in there together while they're still young.


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## Mushroom Spore (Feb 20, 2008)

Brendan said:


> I was actually thinking about house two FEMALE cresties in the 15 gallon high tank...I'm just not sure if it'll work out though.


Like the others are saying, it won't. A 15 is good for one gecko and one gecko only.


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## ThomasH (Feb 20, 2008)

I disagree, in fact I have never met a crowd on one of the many forums I go on that say don't house a few together. Mine do fine together. Of course I bought them together but you could probably get 2 adults and put them together and watch carefully after their quarantines. Or simply buy them from the same source. Mine use to be in different places of the terrarium when they were young but now I find them together all the time and they chirp all night. NO they don't kill each other if you leave a male and a female together. I know tons of people who keep males and females together on a 1 to 1 ratio that have no problems. Just eggs all year round, in fact I've never heard one problematic story of keeping crested together except with two males in the same cage or one male and more than two females. 2 would be fine in a 15 gallon but nothing smaller.


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## Mushroom Spore (Feb 20, 2008)

BoaConstrictor said:


> NO they don't kill each other if you leave a male and a female together. I know tons of people who keep males and females together on a 1 to 1 ratio that have no problems. Just eggs all year round,


Eggs all year round from constant breeding IS a problem. Overbreeding a female can do nasty things to her health and long-term lifespan.


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## Brendan (Feb 20, 2008)

BoaConstrictor said:


> I disagree, in fact I have never met a crowd on one of the many forums I go on that say don't house a few together. Mine do fine together. Of course I bought them together but you could probably get 2 adults and put them together and watch carefully after their quarantines. Or simply buy them from the same source. Mine use to be in different places of the terrarium when they were young but now I find them together all the time and they chirp all night. NO they don't kill each other if you leave a male and a female together. I know tons of people who keep males and females together on a 1 to 1 ratio that have no problems. Just eggs all year round, in fact I've never heard one problematic story of keeping crested together except with two males in the same cage or one male and more than two females. 2 would be fine in a 15 gallon but nothing smaller.


I do honestly kind of agree with you. I mean, almost every care sheet I read about Crested Geckos say that they can be housed together. It's really weird how everybody here is saying I shouldn't. Anyways I'll just put two females in a 15 gallon high, and should ANYTHING at all happen, I will take action immediately (obviously).


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## Mushroom Spore (Feb 20, 2008)

Brendan said:


> Anyways I'll just put two females in a 15 gallon high, and should ANYTHING at all happen, I will take action immediately (obviously).


With all due respect, why would you post here looking for advice if you're only going to listen to the one person out of all of us that gives the answer you apparently wanted to hear? :?


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## RoachGirlRen (Feb 21, 2008)

> Eggs all year round from constant breeding IS a problem. Overbreeding a female can do nasty things to her health and long-term lifespan.


Exactly. It isn't a matter of the male physically killing the female by mauling her, it is a matter on the long term stresses of constant, inescapable mating, and the negative impact that constant egg bearing has on the female's overall health and lifespan (not to mention the much higher propensity for calcium deficiency). Granted this is irrelevant in the OP's situation since he wishes to house two females together (though IMO and apparently in the opinions of several others a 15g is still way too small for two mature cresteds), but it is misleading to suggest that it is "just fine" to house males and females together consistently.


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## ThomasH (Feb 21, 2008)

I very much disagree with your opinions, and exactly how many of you keep cresteds? You can't kill her by breeding her year round. I know breeders who have retired breeding animals about 10 yrs old that they used to breed year round. In parts of their natural habitat they breed year round too. Breeding reptiles as often as possible [for how often that given species will breed] is a controversial subject. I don't know the answer and all any one can offer is an opinion. I tend to perfer breeding a reptile [as often as they will breed together] for 50% to 75% of its life time.


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## bluefrogtat2 (Feb 21, 2008)

*agree*

i keep a breeding pair year round in a 20 high with no problem.they slow down egg production in the winter,have never had a problem.would it be better to house in a larger area..of course but they would do fine inthat set up.even long term.the two females though.i would trade oe for a male
andy


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## ThomasH (Feb 21, 2008)

Brendan said:


> Hey.
> 
> Would a 15 gallon high aquarium 20" x 10" x 18" be suitable for 2-3 crested geckos?
> 
> I do know that a 20 gallon high aquarium 24" x 12" x 16" is suitable for 2-3 crested geckos, but considering a 15 gallon high is 2 inches taller than a 20 gallon high, would it work?


By Mushroom Spore...
"With all due respect, why would you post here looking for advice if you're only going to listen to the one person out of all of us that gives the answer you apparently wanted to hear?"

Well, with all due respect to you he was'nt originally asking for your o.k on housing 2 together. He was asking if he could use a 15 gallon for 2-3. Actually the majority of breeders, hobbyists and the world wide web disagree with you. Brendan I've found the best info you can get about cresteds in the Pangea forums. I do not know how to do links, just google it.


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