# Crested Gecko Tank (Plants & Substrate Q's)



## AndrewFromSoCal (Jan 1, 2007)

I know I don't have frogs, but everyone clearly knows that you guys are the masters of planted vivariums, so I turn to you.

I am making a 12"(wide and deep) by 24"(high) tank for a single male Crested Gecko. (this may change to a 12x24x18 tank, but we'll see) I am hoping to plant it, but I don't really know what plants to use. I have a pothos currently, and hoped to use that because it seems to be very hardy, and the geckos like to nose dive and destroy plants that are to flimsy for them. 

My question is: Are there any plants that grow vertically, which wouldn't take a horrid beating from a 45g gecko? I was hoping for a sturdy larger bush type, but that isn't set in stone. A lot of people have been saying to use a "mother-in-law tongue" plant, but I wasn't sure if cuttings would propegate, or i'd just have to find a plant at a smaller stage than what i've seen at home depot. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, what substrates do you guys use? I've been hearing normal potting soil is okay, but I just wanted to be sure.

Thanks for the replies in advance, and Happy New Year!

~Andrew


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

These animals are from New Caledonia which appears to be a Tropical Rainforest but the rains appear to be seasonal. Sounds like a nice cork tube with ferns and a mossy bottom would be ideal. Maybe a sturdy Sansevieria trisfiscata would do nicely also. 
What is you vision?


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## AndrewFromSoCal (Jan 1, 2007)

My tortoise passed away last night, so please excuse me if i'm late on replys.

See, at first I wanted to do moss, but after watching them feed that's probably not the best idea. If fed crickets, they really like to dive bomb their food, and i've seen a few come up with mouthfuls of substrate rather than crickets. I was also thinking about ferns, but from what i've heard, they really like to trash their plants. They jump around a lot, and as you can imagine, a gecko jumping around wouldn't be the best thing for a delicate plant.

I was thinking about putting the pothos in the front right corner, and maybe some uprights of bamboo in the back, against one of the enclosure walls. I've been reading that their enclosure should still have about 50% open space, so I don't want to clutter it too much. I would, however, like to have a tall trailing plant for the back right corner. Since I wasn't sure if there was anything like this, I was going to silicone some bamboo cross struts up at the top, for more arboreal climbing. Let me know what you think.


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## thekidgecko (Oct 30, 2006)

Moss would be better than repti-bark or something I guess though :roll: I had cresteds for a while and they thrashed ANYTHING. Hmmm, I would go for anything very woody, maybe if the tank is big enough (tall) a good size ficus. If you took a pothos in a pot and figured out how to hang the pot from the top of the viv and let it fall downward, once it was big enough I bet it would be sturdy enough to hold up to a crestie  As for subsrate....mebbe potting soil with long-strand sphagnum on top? That is usually big enough that they spit it out in my experience. Hope that helped a lil, 8)


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## AndrewFromSoCal (Jan 1, 2007)

Well it is going to be 24 inches tall. Minus the substrate, that's probably about 18-20 inches of height. What would you suggest that's really woody? I had another person suggest a ficus benjamina, but I havn't been able to find them at Home Desperate or anything. Your hanging ficus gave me an idea. If I were able to create a shelf up top (maybe 4 or 5 inches) do you think that would be enough root room for the pothos? 

Thanks a ton for your replys.


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## lessthantito (Nov 6, 2006)

I have 10 crested geckos and they will destroy almost any plants but pothos sansevieria and ficus are great for them the plants can support their weight and take a gecko beating, someone said something about long spag moss it's not a good shoice I have heard of crested diving for food and getting a mouthful and almost choking to death or getting imacted from it I use a 2-1-1 ratio starting with top soil sand and ground peat moss this cost me around $10 for 3 50lb bags enough to do all 7 of my planted vivs make sure that whatever substrate you use has no perlite (white styrofoam balls most potting soils contain this topsoil usually does not) I also reccomend corkbark tubes or flats my geckos love to hide in them hangout on them and they are great becuase they can stand up to water also bamboo is great as another live plant and dried for perches I also use oak bark for hides and oak branches. I use pillow moss I am still not sure of the name of it but I have seen it in a lot of frog vivs and I dont think that it can be easily ingested, I have some growing on a couple of pieces of palm bark I found in the woods and it also works well for them to hide in or hangout on I have pics of my vivs just pm me for some if you would like. hope this helps!


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

lessthantito said:


> I have 10 crested geckos and they will destroy almost any plants but pothos sansevieria and ficus are great for them the plants can support their weight and take a gecko beating, someone said something about long spag moss it's not a good shoice I have heard of crested diving for food and getting a mouthful and almost choking to death or getting imacted from it I use a 2-1-1 ratio starting with top soil sand and ground peat moss this cost me around $10 for 3 50lb bags enough to do all 7 of my planted vivs *make sure that whatever substrate you use has no perlite (white styrofoam balls most potting soils contain this topsoil usually does not)* I also reccomend corkbark tubes or flats my geckos love to hide in them hangout on them and they are great becuase they can stand up to water also bamboo is great as another live plant and dried for perches I also use oak bark for hides and oak branches. I use pillow moss I am still not sure of the name of it but I have seen it in a lot of frog vivs and I dont think that it can be easily ingested, I have some growing on a couple of pieces of palm bark I found in the woods and it also works well for them to hide in or hangout on I have pics of my vivs just pm me for some if you would like. hope this helps!


I think you are mistaken there. Perlite is an inert, sterile material that is nothing at all like styrofoam. It is made from volcanic matter. The little styrofoam balls in soil mixes IS styrofoam.

Is your recommendation about this stuff for choking reasons or aesthetics?


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## thekidgecko (Oct 30, 2006)

True, but perlite still wouldn't be good if swallowed. Very coarse on a soft gecko stomach. As for the comment on impactation with long strand sphagnum moss, yes that is possible. This however, seems unlikely because in my experience they spit pretty much anything unwanted out with bigger and more un-foodlike items even more readily spit out. Either way, I tend to play it safe and only use paper towels as substrate. 8)


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## lessthantito (Nov 6, 2006)

I always thought most of the perlite was styrofoam most of the plants I have have the foam balls but after you said that I noticed that in a couple of new plants it's not foam. I dont use it or keep any in my plants/sustrate for the sake of my geckos health I have heard quite a few bad stories about them choking on it, with the moss thats true but I dont wanna take chance with their health either way


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

The broms and jewel orchids are doing great in my 20L vert crestie tank, as well as Cissus discolor 'rex'. The viv has been set up for about 6 months now.


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