Awhile back, I posted a list of my “Dream Reptiles”. This past weekend, I got a reptile but not one from that list. I got something arguably cuter. Meet my new Crested Gecko, Stumpy.
Isn’t he adorable? He is so cute and so sweet! He is too small for his own food bowl so I hand feed him. I put some Repashy Crested Gecko Diet on my finger and he laps it up! I had done a crap ton of research on these guys and it turns out they’re pretty simple to care for.
As a disclaimer, just because I said they are simple to care for, I am NOT saying get this animal because they are “easy”. I think it’s a sad fact that because an animal is cheap, it becomes kind of an impulse buy. Look at Ball Pythons for example. Amazing snakes but they are literally $10 at Repticon. They are basically giving them away! BUT Ball Pythons can get up to 5-6 feet long. They need a big enclosure. They eat rodents. They often go on hunger strikes. So just because an animal is touted as “easy to care for” rest assured there is work involved.
But back to Stumpy. There is one downside to Crested Geckos and it is the reason behind Stumpy’s name. They can easily lose their tail and it doesn’t grow back. It just looks like a nub or a stump. (See photo below).
I lucked out. I bought Stumpy from PetSmart in Bel Air, Maryland. That is about a 15 minute drive from my house. So little Stumpy is in a cardboard pet carrier probably scared of what is happening. I honestly thought he’d drop his tail on the ride home. But to my semi-surprise, his tail was still attached when I put him in his enclosure. I attached a photo of his enclosure below.
As you can tell, Crested Gecko enclosures do not take up a lot of room. We actually moved the enclosure to a coffee table under my bedroom window and it still takes up only about half that. It’s a 12”x 12” x 18” enclosure. 12 inches long by 12 inches wide by 18 inches high. Why is it higher that long? Crested Geckos are semi-arboreal, meaning they like to climb. They can climb glass, so it is funny to watch Stumpy do that. Having said that, as small as the enclosure is, I can’t help but think it is still a little too big for Stumpy. The enclosure we bought is for a full adult Crested Gecko I think. Stumpy uses maybe half his enclosure space.
So I know some of you might ask What Do They Eat? That is honestly one of the best parts about Crested Geckos. They primarily eat a powdered diet that you mix with water. Occasionally they can eat small crickets but it isn’t a staple. I have had Stumpy for 3 days now and we bought 10 tiny crickets for him. He has eaten maybe 2 or 3. There are 2 brands of Crested Gecko Diet that are suggested. Repashy and Pangea. I personally use Repashy. It comes in different flavors and varieties. I bought the Repashy Grubs an’ Fruit flavor and he LOVES it! It has various fruits and black soldier fly larva all ground up into one.
Crested Geckos are nocturnal so they are most active at night. SO how is Stumpy during the day? It depends. When I pick him up out of his enclosure, he climbs all over my hands. BUT after a minute or two, he is really chill. I’m kind of amazed with Stumpy. Of all the research I have done, all of them said Crested Geckos can be flighty at first. I kid you not, when I took Stumpy out for the first time, he calmed down after about 5 minutes.
I know what some people might be thinking. “Ew! They’re slimy!” But that is far from the truth. Crested Geckos feel really soft, almost like velvet. As a comparison, when I had my Bearded Dragon, Gex, she was very rough like sandpaper. But both Gex and Stumpy are really chill animals. The only real con to holding them is that they poop…and if you’re holding them and they decide they have to go, yeah… At least Stumpy has really small turds. They are easy to rinse off. When Gex pooped, IT REEKED! It was runny, wet, it stunk to high Heaven. But I guess that’s the price you pay when you have a lizard sit on you for awhile.
One thing I find really cute about Stumpy is how he keeps his face clean. He doesn’t have eyelids so he is incapable of blinking. So how does he hydrate his eyes? He literally pokes his tongue out and licks his eyeballs. It may seem gross to some, but I think it’s absolutely adorable when he does this!
Some other pros to Crested Geckos are since they are nocturnal, they do not need any special lighting like UVB. This is a HUGE PLUS in my opinion! UVB bulbs are about $50 apiece and they need to be replaced every 6 months. So he doesn’t necessarily need that. Actually, if you look at Stumpy’s enclosure, you’ll see a light on top. That came with the enclosure and even that isn’t 100% necessary. As long as the temperature is between 68 to 75 degrees, they’re fine. A lot of reptiles require a hot enclosure. Gex had a basking spot that was around 90 degrees if I remember correctly. With Crested Geckos, this is flat-out DANGEROUS! If you have an enclosure approaching 87-90 degrees or above, they can actually have heat stroke and die. They prefer cooler room temperature environments. The real “challenge” with Stumpy’s enclosure is the humidity level. The humidity has to be between 60-80%. But even that is really simple. Just spray down the plants twice a day and you’re perfect!
Which brings me to the other pro with Crested Geckos. Technically, (and this is the most controversial thing I will say) they don’t need a water bowl. In the wild, there are no water bowls. They get water from their food and droplets of water off leaves. So I try to replicate that with Stumpy. Having said that, I did give him a water dish but he rarely uses it. The crickets use it more as a swimming pool.
Before I wrap this up, there is one REALLY cool thing I need to say, or want to say. As plentiful as Crested Geckos are now in 2023, they were actually thought to be an extinct species until 1994. So until not even 30 years ago, we didn’t even know these little guys still existed. They are native to an island called New Caledonia. One fell into a research tent. The researchers were just looking in the wrong place, so…oops… Now, they are some of the most common reptiles for sale. At Repticon, a reptile expo, you can buy these guys for $30-$40 for basic patterns. If you want a different or unique pattern (Dalmatian is cool and so is Harlequin) you will pay more. I got Stumpy from PetSmart and he is a Flame Morph from the research I have done and he was $65. But funny story, I was at Petco the next day and their Crested Geckos were half that price! But am I glad I got Stumpy? TOTALLY!
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get how anyone could look at a baby Crested Gecko or baby Bearded Dragon and not immediately go “Aww!” And maybe that’s a pro and a con. It’s human nature. If something is cute, odds are, we buy it. And 9 times out of 10, it’s fine. But when it comes to reptiles (or any animal) cute as it is, they are a living, breathing thing. So just know what you are getting into. But I promise you, if you put in the work and do your research, these little lizards make AMAZING pets! And with the right care, they can live 15-20 years so it’s not a short-term investment. You’re in in for the long haul.
In closing, I did want other lizards and snakes ahead of a Crested Gecko. But I am SO glad to have gotten such a great friend and companion in Stumpy! He is my buddy and I wouldn’t have it any other way! So what are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!
-Tom
AuTom's Spectrum 