hey....thanks for the info! nt

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Posted by starmom on October 14, 2002 at 19:38:45:

In Reply to: OOPS...LET ME CORRECT MYSELF posted by Raymond Moreno on October 14, 2002 at 14:53:41:

:Sue (and the other readers),

:as I was looking at my first post, I noticed that I stated that I keep my temps at the 82 to 84 degree mark. That was incorrect, as 82 degree's is the HIGHEST I will let the temperature get while I'm there.

:Anyways...for your information, I have posted a photo of the "temperature and rain" ranges that are common to the different parts of New Caledonia island. It's a small section from one of the pages of the "Rhac book". (Hope they don't mind, as it's being done for the love of our cresty's). And you'll also notice that depending on the part of the island they're from, will determine their temperature and humidity range.

:Great book by the way.

:Hope this helps.

:In Christ: Raymond

::Hey Sue,

::when I said that I kept the temperature in his cage in the 80's...I didn't mean "mid to high" 80's!!! No, no, no.

::I keep my cage at a constant 80 to 82 degrees, at the highest! (From what I understood, the youngster's do not know how to properly thermo-regulate, hence will succum to heat-related injuries much quicker).

::But to tell you the truth, I have come home a few times (at around 8:00 O'Clock at night), and found the cage hovering at around the 88 to 90 degree mark. But it was because the AMBIENT ROOM TEMPERATURE was in the high 80's. (Yea...my place "cooks" during some of the summer days, even with the windows wide open). But "Sticky" has learned how to control his body temperature, and was found at the very bottom of his cage in the "cool shade". (A quick misting and removal of the glass dropped the temperatures in the cage pretty quick).

::Attached is a page to a really cool "gecko care sheet". I believe that the care sheet is based on this "David Sy's" information, and includes the chart of the "New Caledonia" average temperatures. (Excellent info)!!!

::Sorry again, if I caused some "corn-fusion" out there.

::In Christ: Raymond

::setabolism is geared for cooler conditions. I try to hover around 78,79 during the day and about 74 at night. Under these conditions, my younger cresteds grow pretty fast. :)

::::Again its confusing, because in many places including on this board I could have sworn that I have read not to have it too hot like too high in the 80's because it can adversely affect young cresteds.........

::::so I try to teeter in the 75-80 range.........and have it more like 75 at nite......

::::I may be totally wrong......I get so confused! (im 40 maybe its old brain cells or something! LOL!)
::::sue

::::
:::::And Sue,

:::::before I forget...the temperatures will also effect their metabolism...especially when they're young.

:::::You see, when the temperatures are kept in the 80's, they'll become "FRENZIED-EATING-MONSTERS". (They'll eat much more). And that's important, especially when they're young and still growing. (The same applies to bearded dragons).

:::::Just wanted to add that, in case you didn't already know this.

:::::In Christ: Raymond

::::::Hey Sue,

::::::I gotta admit, your Abby sounds like a sweety-pie.

::::::As for the "moist hide-away," I saw that it was not being used...so I took it out to give him more climbing room. (He still gets plenty of moisture, as well as places to hide).

::::::And when I spray-down the cage, I get EVERYTHING wet. Even going as far as ensuring that the CARPET has a super-fine layer of tiny, mist-sized, droplets...like a thick fog has just set in. (I sprayed "Scotch-Guard" on the whole carpet surface).

::::::And when "Sticky" falls asleep, he will sometimes kick-back on a leaftop while facing the window. (I guess he likes to keep an eye-out on me as well). As a matter of fact, I like that very much...as it will accustom him to seeing me as I walk around the living-room on a daily basis.

::::::I also noticed that when he's "sleeping," his pupils will not only turn into razor-sharp, horizontal slits...but those slits will also seem to "glaze over". (His whole eye will look a solid tan color). I say that because when he senses any type of movement or disturbance, the slits will not look glazed-over any longer, but turn into dark black, horizontal slots). And that's how I can tell if he's "sleeping," or if he's alert.

::::::And very lastly, if you don't have them yet...invest in a timer, as well as an "A-Life" thermostat.

::::::Hook-up the DAYTIME incandescent and flourescent lights to the timer, and then hook-up the heating pad and black-light to the thermostat. And instead of using the blacklight, hook-up a RED LIGHT instead. (This way they'll still get plenty of heat, as well as you being able to see them clearly at night without disturbing their day/night light patterns).

::::::The thermostat can be set to any temperature you want (I have mine set at 74 degrees), and will turn the heating pad and red light, "on and off," when the correct temperature is reached. And if you hadn't guessed yet...it's mainly used for controlling the night-time tempertures, as that's when the temps get below 74 degrees. (Yea...it get's into the high 40's here in San Francisco during the winter nights).

::::::Well, Sue...I gotta get to sleep now, as it's getting pretty late now. (And I have a long day tomorrow...err...I mean, later today).

::::::In Christ: Raymond

:::::::Dear Raymond;
:::::::Thanks for responding;
:::::::Yes I'm obviously new to the crested gecko's, and reptiles as a whole ive only had them for around four months...but I LOVE my critters! Im faciniated by them, amazed and entertained by them....

:::::::Im still on a learning curve....
:::::::On the subject of humidity......hummmmmmmmmmmmm.......what I try to do because I work and have kids im chasing etc.....is when I mist, I do it heavily, because I know that with the paper towel substrate (since Abby is a baby still) and the human heating pad on low, that I can keep a temp in the 75-80 degree range on the warm side and blast out the humidity but it will only last so many hours then it goes back to like 60-70 by the time I get home or check on it and then I mist again........I dont keep a steady 90%, would be impossible.......I have a screen top on a 10 gallon tank (will get a much bigger tank in the future for Abby and a mate someday). I thought that when you mist you should shoot for the sides of the tank and foliage so that they can "lick" /"drink" the water, my praying mantids do that too!

:::::::I see that "sticky" uses the moist hide as much as "Abby" does at least she is not the only cresty that hasnt figured that out yet!

:::::::Abby also hides her head in the leaves and hangs the rest of her body out........she is soooooooooooo tiny, and easily hides in the leaves of the tree that I made for her, the thing that usually clues me in to where she is, is her tail, she is light brown with the white markings on her tail, so I see the tail hanging down somewhere out of the tree and follow it up to a "butt" hanging out, but Ive noticed lately that she positions herself so that she can "peer out" of her leaves and "watch us" while she is awake (of course sometimes it hard to tell if they are awake or asleep, "the no eyelid thing") My geckos get natural sunlite through the window.

:::::::The thing that is so confusing is that lots of people and on care sheets say that they dont need much as far as additional heat, where I live in NY in the spring and summer I can count on 75-80 without anything but now that its fall and currently 59 degrees outside and them being cold blooded I have to have something to bring that up so i use the human heating pad, I have an additional 30watt incandescent black heat lamp bulb for when it will get very chilly .

:::::::I do see Abby hang out on the bottom hunting crix sometimes or just "staring" at something........or another......

:::::::Thanks for setting me straight on the humidity thing..

:::::::Take Care and say Hi to sticky from Abby!

:::::::Sue

:::::::

:::::::
::::::::Hey Sue,

::::::::as you well know, I'm still a newbie to all this cresty stuff. But from the little that I have seenn from "Sticky," he thinks he's a BEARDED DRAGON or something.

::::::::I say that because he will not hide-out much from the Reptisun 5.0, or the Chromalux incandescent lights. He actually likes to bask in the mild heat. (He's a "die-hard" Californian now). Ha ha.

::::::::I also designed and built a "moist area" for him to use...but saw that the humidity in his enclosure was fine if kept between 65% and 80% humidity - with 80% humidity being the super-heaviest. (Any more than that, and the window starts to fog-up pretty heavy). And if it gets to around 85% to 90% humidity, I'll open-up the top of the cage a bit more to let the moisture out, hence dropping the humidty levels. (At 90% humidity, the water starts forming into droplets, and starts to run down the glass, which is a "no-no").

::::::::Anyways, about the "moist area"...he doesn't use it, which is pretty funny.

::::::::You see, he'll hide his head in between a few leaves while leaving the rest of his body exposed to the lights. I guess he thinks that if he can't see me, I can't see him. (Funny, huh)? So all you see is his butt sticking-out, with his head covered by foliage. What a dork!! (Ha ha).

::::::::At first I thought that he was UN-intentially doing this (being young and all, and not knowing how to PROPERLY thermo-regulate himself). But I realized that he actually prefers this method of thermo-regulation, and does it intentionally. (I know this for for a fact, because when he does get too hot, he'll go to the bottom of the cage (where it's cooler), and kick-back in some serious shade.

::::::::As for the shedding...if you're keeping the humidity that high, I wouldn't even worry about it. (Cuz that's REALLY, REALLY, high humidity).

::::::::Myself, I keep his cage temperature at a constant 80 to 84 degrees, and mist-down his cage three to four times a day. (And give the night-time misting an exceptionally good soaking). And since I am sure that he is receiving the proper amount of moisture, I do not worry about his shedding AT ALL.(Although as a good "gecko-daddy," I'll keep a look-out for any stuck or un-shed patches of skin - which I've yet to find).

::::::::Hope this helped. (Although it may be incorrect, it's what's working for this "newby daddy").

::::::::And in closing, use bottled or filtered water, as this is also what they will be drinking from.

::::::::Tschuss. (German for, "See you later").

::::::::In Christ: Raymond

:::::::::use theirs?
:::::::::She abby just weird? any ideas for me? Im concerned about her shedding. I do mist her home twice a day and try to keep the humidity up in the 80-90% range........
:::::::::could use some ideas....
:::::::::thanks
:::::::::sue

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