Crested gecko escape

[gambite]

Came home today to find the lid on my cresteds' tank opened and all three geckos missing. I have a relatively small room, but a LOT of junk in it, and thus many, many places for them to hide. For example, I pulled out all the stuff in one small corner of the room, and it covered the entire floor! I still have to look under the bed, in the closet, behind the bookcases, etc. I do not think they can get out of the room; the crack under the door is not large enough, and the widows are all shut or have screens. I found one female near the tank, but the other male and female are still missing. I checked the immediate area around the tank, but there is no sign of them.

This is really upsetting, because I had plans for this evening and now I am at a dilemma: do I cancel my plans and spend the whole night looking for them, or will I be better off letting them be and trying to bait them back? If I worked at it, I could have the entire room cleared out by the end of the evening, but even then I am not sure I would be guaranteed to find them. Would it be better to try to bait/trap them? Will they be safe in my room?

ATM, I have banana and apple baby food out for them under a covered upside-down tuper-ware with an entrance hole cut in it and a red light shining down, in the hopes of creating a warm place they might congregate.

How social are these guys? Would putting the found-female in a ventilated container near these food dishes bring the others back? What else can I do?

Thanks!

 

[Harlock]

I'd block off the door crevice asap. Even if you don't think they can get through, it'll be reassurance later. As long as the room is blocked off, I don't think it would be to bad of a thing to leave for the evening, depending on the importance of your plans. Good luck, had my Tokay escape today, but I managed to get him back quickly.

 

[Bedlam]

Remember that they love to hide and looking for them during the day will just make it that much harder for you. They're active at night so you'll have a better chance of seeing them then. Also be sure you're looking high up too. They'll probably find hiding spots pretty quickly if there are lots of places so clearing your room might be a good idea.

And seal that door shut. Once you've done that you can completely rule out the possibility of them leaving the room.

Good luck!!

 

[Tcollector]

Put a tall hide in the corner of the room and put a hot spot their that reaches 85 degrees and ill bet he or she will be their.

oops sorry you allready did that lol

 

[UrbanJungles]

I can almost guarantee your crested is within a 8' radius of their cages...they don't travel all that far. They are very fond of sleeping "underneath" things so your best best is to look under the surfaces of shelves and other furnishings.

I would look during the day when they are actually sitting still. You aren't going to entice them with any hides although you may get them to come out for food as they have a good sense of smell providing the ambient air in the room isn't too dry.

 

[gambite]

Well, yesterday evening I tried to look some more, but didnt find much. Around midnight, I put out little dishes of banana and apple baby food (they go crazy for the apple especially) to try and lure them out. I caught the boy within half an hour, but after two hours of waiting I neither heard nor saw any sign of the other female. Compared to how active the two I caught were, I feel certain that if the last girl was still in the room that she would have at least made some sort of noise, or come for the food. I left the food out overnight, and in the morning there was no sign of anything touching it, so I know she didnt come out while I was asleep.

A few hours after first finding the tank empty yesterday, I found out that one of the windows in my room was actually open a little, plenty for a gecko to crawl out... I am starting to think that if she did not climb out there, that she must either be in the closet under a mountain of clothes, or in something that I took out of the room, if she didnt find another way out.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

put a hot spot their that reaches 85 degrees

Just for the record, crested geckos get sick at temps that warm.