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So this woman from my church got a crested gecko. She laid some eggs (on Easter, no less, and for a moment she thought one of her kids put candy eggs in the terrarium). She is taking good care of them and will be giving me at least one hatchling when they hatch. So. What do I need to know about them? I have books, but they don't say a whole lot.

Would my paludarium be ok for housing for a crested gecko if I put some more branchy things for climbing on in there? Would the water be a hazard? Should the substrate be orchid bark or what? Currently the humidity is stable at about 85% RH. Would I need to rip the thing apart and just make it a terrarium? (which would be ok, there are no fish in there now, but it'd be a shame to tear up all that work) What about feeding? I assume growing geckos require a bit more calcium and protein than adults, which I am told get by on mashed fruit with some mineral supplements.

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Room temperature is fine for cresteds, but they like to climb so use your tallest tank (or longest tank on it's side, so lengthwise becomes heightwise).

Your current enclosure should be fine, as they like a bit more moisture in the air. I would still mist them every few days to make sure the vegetation stays alive though. I'd say you've got a good setup already. You don't even need to get a uv or heat bulb for them (unless your space is exceptionally cool).

First lizard?

Yeah, first lizard. First herp entirely, actually. That is very good news that the setup will be fine.

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Crested Geckos are pretty awesome - if I was ever going to get a lizard myself, it would probably be one of those guys. Like Tim said, your habitat will probably be fine for them. If they fall into the water, they can just swim out.

They are for all intents and purposes frugivores, so you don't need to worry about them trying to go after any fish you keep in the tank, though I would think that any droppings that get into the water might make it nasty pretty quick (because of their diet, Crested Geckos tend to poop more than most other lizards).

For food, they make powdered Crested Gecko food that is pretty good. You just mix it with a bit of water so that it has the consistency of baby food, and the lizards will lap it up from a bowl. I always mix in chunks of fruit in the food as well - blackberries really seem to be a favorite.

Make sure the food you use has calcium and especially vitamin D3 if you don't give them UV lighting (this isn't necessary but it wouldn't hurt to have a small full-spectrum bulb over the tank).

Young geckos can be fed dusted crickets in addition to fruit, but not too many (just a few once a week or so). When the geckos are full-grown they don't need to eat any insects, and feeding them too many can actually be detrimental to their health (too much protein). They are quite bad at catching insects anyway.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Cant disagree with any of the above.
Try to get one with a tail - seems to be the norm almost now for these tailless cresteds!

Yeah, it kind of sucks that they can't regrow their tails once lost. I think most "tail accidents" in captivity happen when the lizard is being held and tries to jump, and the person tries to grab the gecko but only manages to get ahold of the tail. That's something you need to watch out for - Crested Geckos are generally a slow-moving species, but they like to jump when you're not expecting it (and when you are).

In the wild it is rare to find full-grown individuals that still have their tails.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Well lucky me it'll be a baby. Pretty sure they come with tails out of the egg.

Thanks for all the info everyone

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When are the eggs due to hatch?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Well the first one hatched (the other one from that clutch wasn't fertile, apparently), waiting on subsequent eggs.

I set up the paludarium with more wood for climbing structure and some coconut fiber bedding that I can change our regularly. I have run into a slight problem in that the wood (grape driftwood sold for terrarium use) has sprouted a bunch of white fuzzy mold. Could this be harmful to a gecko? If so, what should I do about it?

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take it out and clean it well under hot water and with a scrub brush... that should help to remove teh mold spores...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

oops i missed the water thing - i wouldnt risk it. geckos are not good swimmers especially the arboreals and this is not something they will encounter in the wild. also if they fall in it and do get out they will lose the stickyness on the hairs they use to climb. also you need to be offering at least some kind of live food - they dont just eat fruit pulp.
also if there is mould growing how is your ventilation?

regarding the ventilation, I had re-done a bit this last weekend and the air line from the air pump fell down and ventilation was about non-existent for that time (I have a glass cover over the tank). But I put it back and it's better now.

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you shoudl think about a PC fan too keep the excess humity out of it...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

With the air pump the humidity doesn't get over 85, and the air circulates pretty well.

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Well I have the gecko as of last week - got a new 10 gallon tank for him. Finally took pictures and uploaded them today. I think he's bigger than when I got him already, but that might be my imagination. Of course it's too small to tell if it's male or female so I'm trying to come up with a good androgynous name...

Here's the critter on my hand with a quarter for scale.

Cute, huh?

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Looks good..

Well, AFAIK the lizard is still alive and healthy. I'm 3/4 through a 2-week trip. I talked to my mom (who I gave lots of instructions to for while I'm gone - which did involve not handling it because of the tail thing...) yesterday, and she told me that the lizard didn't have her (I'm guessing it's a she) tail when she saw her on Sunday, when I was halfway through my trip. So that's sad. I guess I'll have a tailless gecko from now on She was so pretty. I guess she'll still be pretty, but not the same. I think I'm finally settling on a name: Freckles (on account of the spattering of dark freckle-like spots she has).

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Shame. Something or someone will have spooked it. They will literally drop their tail if they get a bit frightend. Some reckon they're going to be the first tailless gecko to evolve. I dont believe it - however a lot of wild ones have no tails compared to other geckos that cannot regenerate them. Im pretty sure its because theyre smaller than most other arboreal geckos that cant regenerate a tail, they are more agile and lighter, therefor wont really need the tail, but it is always helpful.
Dont bother doing anything with the gecko treatment wise. If it starts to fungas whack some tamadine or baytrill on there, but i wouldnt bother stressing it by catching it. it will heal on its own.
Cheers
J