Here Is How Social Crested Geckos Are

Having Geckos is different from your typical domestic species making it more difficult to understand if they are happy or not.

Here Is How Social Crested Geckos Are. The crested Gecko is a crepuscular solitary creature that prefers to live alone. Left to their own devices, and you will only be tolerated. They will never be as social as your family dog, but with some work, they can bond with their humans with their form of affection.

To tame and train your crested Gecko to be more friendly first, you need to understand what their habits and personality are. Even if you work with them to get used to human beings, interact with Gecko’s of the same species is chancy.

You also need to watch out for other animals and children in the household to make sure they won’t hurt your fragile Gecko. Read further to learn how to make the created Gecko like you, who can share a tank, and how the Gecko interacts with animals and children.

They can be friendly and social, but it’s different than you might think

The crested Gecko is social and friendly, but since they are a reptile, it manifests differently than it does with the domesticated mammals we nare accustomed to. It will be reptile friendly, not dog-friendly.

With a little work and time, you will appreciate their particular signs of affection.

They fair better with human contact than those of their own species, which tend to be territorial. For humans, they are a calm, meek lizard that doesn’t like rough handling. They get frightened easily and have a fragile body.

If you manage a crested Gecko too harshly or hold them too tightly, they could drop their tail in fright, and they cannot ground a new one.

If you are unfamiliar with reptiles, then you might judge them from a mammal’s perspective as far as how they should act. Push that aside and allow them to show you their actual needs.

Learning how to care for a Gecko means understanding their schedule. The Crested Gecko is a solitary crepuscular creature. So during the day, they will like to be alone in a cute little hidey-hole in their tank.

If you try to handle them during the day when they want to be asleep, they will reject you. Towards the evening is when they become more active, so that is the time to play, so try interacting with them after work to get a better grasp on their personality.

More so than other animals, they need their time alone, which is why even people who have a lot of geckos tend to house them separately. Pay attention to the queues they give to indicate they want to be solo.

Allowing them their boundaries will help strengthen the bond.

If you are new to the Crested Gecko to get them to use to you handle them during the weekly cleaning of their cage. Then step up to holding them a couple more days a week.

You want them to get used to your presence slowly and for them to see that you mean them no harm. That comes from appreciating their boundaries. If you have a particularly fussy Gecko that doesn’t like handling, then try during the day when they would typically be asleep.

They will be less alert and more susceptible to being touched.

Start with the hand to hand technique. Let the Crested Gecko, on their own accord, walk back and forth from one side to the other. Make sure not to make any sudden movements during this training to not startle them.

After steady persistent taming, they will be more receptive to interaction.

Can they live together with other Crested Geckos?

The crested Gecko shows more aggression towards its species than it will humans or other animals. For this reason, it is advised that if a person has more than one Gecko to keep them housed separately.

The only exceptions are two female Geckos or if you intend to mate them a male and female of the same age and size.

If you intend to breed or want female Geckos, two in a tank together is fine, but honestly, any more than that, and there will be territorial issues.

For those who intend to breed their Crested Geckos, it’s important not to introduce them to one another too soon, or they might start to mate too early. Once they hit 35 grams at around 15 to 18 months of age than the two are mature enough to be introduced to one another.

You can also group two female Geckos without any issues, but two male Geckos will fight all day. If you have two male Geckos, do not house them together. Each one should have its tank. The two females need to be relativity the same size so that there are no dominance issues.

If you love Geckos, then consider getting separate tanks for each of them. They love to be alone, so different containers works out perfectly fine.

Having enough space for your two Geckos will alleviate the tension. Allowing each crested Gecko to have that essential time alone.

The recommended tank size for a Gecko is one by one by two since the Crested Gecko is native to the rainforest. They prefer climbing over a lot of ground access.

For the Crested Gecko, sometimes aggression and or territorial behavior doesn’t show itself until there is a change in their environment. If you are going to have multiple Geckos together, female or mating pairs only, then introduce them at the age of maturity discussed above.

You might think of your Gecko as a docile baby until you add another one to their environment. Or you could have two that have always gotten along only to have them fight if you change tanks.

Be prepared for these little misadventures with an extra tank to separate them. It might seem a bit extravagant until you really need it, then you will be happy to be saved a headache.

It is not a good idea to mix different species with the crested Gecko, including other Gecko breeds. What the Gecko doesn’t see as prey they could see as a challenge to their territory.

Overall, though we may feel that they need a friend, the crested Gecko wants a nice home with a lot of things to climb and space to be alone.

How are Crested Geckos with other animals and children?

For households that have a variety of animals, it isn’t the animal type so much as temperament that matters when interacting with the crested Gecko.

The crested Gecko is a gentle creature that likes careful handling. Rambunctious puppies or animals will be too much for this placid baby. More mature dogs or cats have the correct disposition for the Gecko.

If you are unsure how your animal will react, then, during handling, hold the Gecko up for your pet to sniff to see what their reaction is. If they keep calm, then it’s ok to let your Gecko out around them.

However, if your pet gets excited or is a little too rough, then wait a while before allowing them around your Gecko. The Gecko is a fragile lizard and can get hurt easily if mistreated.

The same idea applies to children. Older kids who know how to handle an animal will fair better with Geckos. Young kids have a tendency to grab, sometimes forcefully, which is too much for our tender friend.

With both children and animals, first, make sure your Gecko is comfortable. Get them acquainted with their new living arrangements.

Then after you have handled them a few times and they are used to your presence, slowly introduce them to the other people or animals in the household.

Spacing it out gives your Gecko time to adjust to all of the changes that are occurring and not be overloaded. Be watchful during these interactions to see how everyone is reacting. If you notice any tension, put your crested Gecko back in its tank to give it some alone time.

While the Gecko isn’t social in human terms, they are gentle creatures that can make silly companions that are always getting into the wrong thing.

Related questions

How active are crested geckos? Their activity level depends on the time of day and the age of your Gecko. Since they are crepuscular animals, the crested Gecko will be more active at night and during the early morning hours away from any bright lights. Younger Geckos also tend to be active and hard to keep a hold when handling.

Are crested geckos nocturnal or crepuscular? They are crepuscular, which means active during the early dawn and dusk hours, unlike nocturnal animals that are active only at night. Typically crepuscular animals sleep during the day. Their busy times are the best periods to interact with your crested Gecko.

Are crested geckos fast? The crested Gecko’s natural habitat in the wild was on the trees in the rainforest. So on the ground, the Crested Gecko is not a fast animal, but they can jump and climb very fast. This ability is something to keep in mind when handling the Gecko because when they are young, they tend to try out these skills using their human as the tree.