Im quitting the crested gecko hobby.... for green anoles!!

[GartenSpinnen]

Green anoles! That is the new hip thing everybody! Now everybody go to the FS section and start listing your geckos for trade, i have lots of green anoles of all different color variations to trade and get you well started in the green anole hobby! I got green (all green 'green' variety) and then i have a lighter shade of green, a brown variety (poop brown), and then a few other morphs. The poop browns are going quick, i will only trade those for full pinstripe CG's. So everybody jump on board!

 

[Smitty78]

Glad I am not the only one to notice the band wagon. Somebody should go jump off a bridge. If the trend continues the original jumper would have at least 5 followers. My prediction is that the T keepers will not need roaches in 2 years. We will have a ton of unwanted crested geckos to feed them. :wall:

 

[stevetastic]

i would want green anoles over crested geckos any day! anoles are cool and cresties are overrated and boring.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

i would want green anoles over crested geckos any day! anoles are cool and cresties are overrated and boring.

Hey your going a little far there guy! I love my cresties The only problem is that lately there is so much interest in them, that it is hard to get nice stock They get snatched up faster than Oprah's doughnuts

 

[ThomasH]

I honestly must say cresteds are the biggest pain in the butt! I spent more time caring for them than I did a pair of dogs! They need new food made at least every other night and they crap EVERY WHERE! Even while I was cleaning the cage they would crap in my hands, the restraint cage, just every where. I had two babies in a 20 gallon and would wake up to see at least 30 turds. I'm glad I traded them for money and a full colony of dubia roaches. That was back when they were worth something before everyone and his brother had them. They have absolutely no personality at all. They just sit, jump, eat, drink and propogate. They are the most unrewarding pet in my opinion. I don't see why there has been a recent spike in popularity. I really just don't see why any of the most popular are popular. I'd take rare geckos and exotic arachnids over fluffy the litter box cat any day. Just my opinion, don't kill me here.
TBH

 

[stevetastic]

love 'em all you want. i look at them like a reptile version purse poodles... as soon as one person gets one everyone has to have them. anoles and other lizards on the other had are largely over looked and there are such amazing species out there that could be developed in the hobby if everyone didn't stick to the animals that come in "designer colors" (cresties, beardies, BP, boas).... they make reptile expos so repetitive

They get snatched up faster than Oprah's doughnuts

if Oprah had crested geckos on the show i bet every woman in America would get one in every color to match there outfit...

 

[Jmugleston]

I

I remember when these were first brought into the hobby. Just a few years back I was buying them for $15.00 each at the shows (Pomona IRBA show 2003?). This was before there were all the specific lines of fires, dalmations, brindles, etc. It was just a grab bag type set up and some were reddish, some were brindle, etc. They were cool then, but it seems that recently there has been a sudden pulse in the market and many keepers, not just T keepers here, have been switching to Rhacodactylus geckos. With so many people keeping them, they'll drop back down in price soon enough. (See leopard geckos, albino burmese pythons, albino reticulated pythons (this year), etc. I like them, but I don't work with geckos anymore. As geckos go they are one of the best to keep in my opinion so I can see why so many here are collecting them now.

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

love 'em all you want. i look at them like a reptile version purse poodles... as soon as one person gets one everyone has to have them. anoles and other lizards on the other had are largely over looked and there are such amazing species out there that could be developed in the hobby if everyone didn't stick to the animals that come in "designer colors" (cresties, beardies, BP, boas).... they make reptile expos so repetitive


if Oprah had crested geckos on the show i bet every woman in America would get one in every color to match there outfit...

in my eyes they are becoming the "Leopard Gecko" of today, not even 5 years ago everyone i knew had a darn leo, and now everyone is like "OHHH CRESTIES!" which im not gonna lie i have one lol but hes cute and simple to me so i dont mind, and he was free.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Haha. For a second I was excited to think that someone was interested in something other than cresties, leos, bps, and the overpriced color morphed progeny thereof. Oh well. Good point about the "crestie bandwagon," though, I feel like everyone and their mother that I know who bought a couple of cresties at their local Petco is a "crested gecko breeder" now. I imagine it's hard to find quality, sound stock in such an environment. I agree with the poster who said they're basically the new leopard gecko; another passing fad for the majority of keepers with a few die-hard enthusiasts, no doubt.

anoles and other lizards on the other had are largely over looked and there are such amazing species out there that could be developed in the hobby if everyone didn't stick to the animals that come in "designer colors" (cresties, beardies, BP, boas).... they make reptile expos so repetitive

Word. If I see another table of "hypo tangerine bla bla bla" leopard geckos or "het albino bla bla bla" ball pythons at an expo, my head might cave in. A few times I've seen breeders offering for adoption the crooked-spined, one eyed, otherwise defunct "culls" alongside their high priced brothers and sisters who are carrying the same defective inbred genes. Depressing.

 

[tabor]

Glad I am not the only one to notice the band wagon. Somebody should go jump off a bridge. If the trend continues the original jumper would have at least 5 followers. My prediction is that the T keepers will not need roaches in 2 years. We will have a ton of unwanted crested geckos to feed them. :wall:

I know there was at least 1 person using crested geckos as feeders over a year ago.

Cresteds have been popular for a long time, but yeah there is definitely a fad/bandwagon going through these forums right now.

It's not like it matters though, with any luck that will mean more color morphs. The first dude who gets an albinos going to make a nice bit of cash.

 

[equuskat]

I can go in my back yard and catch green anoles, Cuban anoles, etc by the truckload.

 

[tabor]

I think it's funny that some people are like, "Man, i was into Cresties BEFORE they were popular!". Like it's some sort of obscure indie band that you have disowned after they put out a popular song and starts getting radio play.

Man I was breeding cresties back when people thought they were still extinct... now all these stupid Petco hipsters have RUINED this animal for me

 

[vvx]

One good thing that came of the fad is it brought more discussion to the forums. I was considering crested geckos before the explosion and after, well, knowing a bit more I'm happy with low maintenance T's.

 

[rollinkansas]

Hopefully people will stop keeping crested geckos and realize there are 1000+ more species of geckos out there besides what you can buy in a Petco. Geckos come in so many different colors/sizes, etc that there is no reason to genetically <edit> up one species just to create all these different colors and patterns.

 

[Thompson08]

Hey your going a little far there guy! I love my cresties The only problem is that lately there is so much interest in them, that it is hard to get nice stock They get snatched up faster than Oprah's doughnuts

Where do you buy your geckos from?

 

[Jmugleston]

Hopefully people will stop keeping crested geckos and realize there are 1000+ more species of geckos out there besides what you can buy in a Petco. Geckos come in so many different colors/sizes, etc that there is no reason to genetically <edit> up one species just to create all these different colors and patterns.

If they like them, then more power to them. Popularity shouldn't be a driving force for or against a gecko. Get what interests you. If an uncommon knob-tailed gecko or any other species tickles your fancy, then by all means go for it Though others prefer a more common lizard, it isn't all bad. Those that are serious about the lizards will keep them even when they become the next cornsnake or leopard gecko and the vanity or "for profit" keepers will then ditch them and jump on the next rising star. As for the bloodlines, I'm not a fan of morphs for I see them only adding to the problem of working with a limited captive gene pool, but that argument is for a different thread and I don't want to hi-jack this one completely.

 

[tabor]

I'm going to raise the bar and buy 50+ R. leachianus's. I will single handedly start a new fad

 

[davidbarber1]

I'm going to raise the bar and buy 50+ R. leachianus's. I will single handedly start a new fad

Hope you got the "big bucks" for that. But, than again, you would probably make it all back :? Speaking of other species of geckos, check out my Western Banded Gecko thread.

David

 

[dtknow]

Leachies are already big. All New Caledonia stuff and Australia stuff is.

I wonder what happened to the wild crested geckos?

Also, how are they as pets? I've heard them described as one of the better beginner reptiles.

I think one overlooked(and thus overpriced) group are the small geckos. I would pass up cresteds to get a group of some species of Sphaerodactylus or Gonatodes albogularis. For some reason, even though they are small and quite abundant in their native lands they are awful expensive.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

I would have to say out of everything i have owned in the herp land, my male crestie i picked up from climbingregalis recently has the most personality out of everything. It is just unbelievable how well they interact . For example, i had to take him out of the cage to put some antibiotic on his wound, and he practically lunged out onto my hand and just sat there. So i got some repashy mixed up, and put it on my finger, and he licked it off my hand while i put the stuff on his wound. It was really neat feeling having a gecko tongue licking me finger (their tongue looks just like a cat/dog tongue to me up close).

I get enjoyment out of my cresties, they are a lot of fun. I think the appeal to them instead of many other geckos is the fact that there is so many different patterns and colorations to choose from, and it isn't just a different 'shade' or 'variation' they can be quite different from one specimen to another. Unlike, say, my leo's that i used to keep, who were a pain in the butt mostly, and not that grand to keep all in all (IMO).

This isn't just a 'fad' to me, so i will be looking forward to the day when perhaps some may decide that cresties are really not for them, and start selling their stock off on the boards . Maybe i should keep all my T's for trade til then? And i know at least 2 other members here that i am sure feel the same way. However, i do think there is some who don't feel that way, and are just 'trying it out' sort of speak.

All in all they are very fascinating though , my main reason for making the switch is that i wanted a hobby that was safer to have around small children, seeing as to how i lost my secure area to keep my stuff in. The only other option i could see was picking these guys up, they have interested me for quite some time, but i didn't want to spend my 'tarantula' money on them before. Also, as far as reptiles are concerned, cresties are pretty easy to care for, do not get too big, yet are not too small either. They are easy to feed and clean up after, and do not require too much specialized care like some other lizards/reptiles.

I'm happy with making the switch . I do wish that they hadn't become so popular seemingly overnight though, because now that their is a large demand, the prices and scarcity are following suit! Oh well, at least they are boosting the economy

-Nate