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CRESTED GECKOS ADVICE ON
OVERHEATING AND UNDERHEATING
WRITTEN BY: LYNN CUNNINGTON
www.lymelight.org.uk
Crested geckos are becoming more popular and many people are now keeping them. I felt it was important to highlight an issue regarding their husbandry.
As many of you are aware the summer is now here. Weather forecasts are suggesting this could be one of the hottest driest summers ever recorded with heat waves across the UK.
Last year many crested gecko keepers were very concerned at the high temps in their homes and some crested geckos indeed died from heat exposure. This can happen easily without us realising as we thermo-regulate naturally and often do not feel the heat in the same way they do.
Crested geckos are often said to be easy to keep as they are able to survive at room temperature but what does this really mean ?
Room temperature is only applicable if your room does not go below 65 degrees fahrenheit at night in winter or above 83 to 85 (although I prefer to suggest 83 as I have heard of cases where they have died exposed to temps above 84 degrees fahrenheit) by day in summer, if it goes below of above these temps for any length of time your crested gecko is highly at risk.
So what can we do?
First make sure you have digital thermometers. An option is also the infra-red temp guns these can be bought from Maplins and are helpful for those with larger collections who need many tanks accurately read at the same time. These temp guns cost around £20 upwards.
To avoid overheating the best piece of equipment you can buy is an air cooling unit. These range from £60 upwards. They are not simple fans but also cool the air. If used in a room they can effectively lower the temps by 5 degrees in most normal conditions. You can usually set them to a specific low and high however this will depend on your room size please take this into consideration before you choose your unit. If the area requiring coverage is large you will need a more powerful unit.
IN AN EMERGENCY
SUMMER or OVERHEATING
If in an emergency you find the room is too warm and your crested gecko is lethargic or its skin is sticky to touch ( this can happen when they overheat), the following methods can be used:
Place the gecko in the coolest room if possible away from direct sunlight. Use ice in a plastic bag or the ice bags from the supermarket and place around the viv. be very careful the gecko does not sit against the glass where the ice is pressed and becomes too cold. Use towels between the bags and the vivarium.
DO NOT spray the crested gecko directly with freezing or very cold water as this can cause severe shock, but spray with cool water in the vivarium.
If the area, room or tank is very hot remove the gecko/ geckos.
Place them in a small tub lined with cold wet kitchen roll or spaghnum moss for those who prefer a natural substitute and remove the crested gecko from its vivarium, place the tub if you can on the floor of your home away from any disturbances or feet obviously, in the coolest quietest room or in a cool cupboard.
This is for emergencies only. To further cool the vivarium or faunarium:
If you have a desk fan or room fan open the ice bag or as much ice as you have in your fridge and place a tray with the ice on it under the fan, angle the fan towards the tray where the ice is and then towards the Tank thus reducing the ambient tank temp. The air from the fan should reach the ice then the tank causing cool air to be blown across the tank.
To avoid cold temperatures there are several methods. Firstly a heat mat can be placed against the glass. However it is best that a foam barrier is used between the heat mat and glass and always use a mat stat or pulse stat with your heat mat to avoid overheating. Again make sure you use a digital thermometer to take the temps regularly. The heat mat however will at times not raise the ambient temps high enough so you may want to think about how and where you house your crested gecko in winter before the issue arises.
Another option is using a bulb or ceramic OUTSIDE the vivarium. If you choose the spot bulb method angle the bulb on a dimmer stat towards the vivarium. Always again use a dimmer stat with the spot bulb this avoids the crestie overheating. Take temps with a digital thermometer and change the dial of the stat until the correct temps are achieved.
IN AN EMERGENCY
WINTER or POWER CUT
One more suggestion is to have sealed poly boxes such that are used as incubator boxes. You can buy these from ebay or many online stores and simply keep them at home. if possible in a warm airing cupboard so if you require using them they may be warmer than if stored elsewhere. They can be stored and used the following way in a power cut emergency. If you have a power cut and it is VERY cold and you cannot heat your geckos you can use these to place them inside. The sealed temps will stay regulated and not drop as low as outside the box. Please make sure you take the temps inside the box BEFORE you place the crested gecko there. Obviously never ever place two males together and only use this method IF your crested gecko is in danger of being exposed to temps below the recommended safetymargin Wrapping the vivs in warm quilts also helps and this is again another option in emergency to avoid the tanks dropping even lower in temperature.
www.lymelight.org.uk
Crested geckos are becoming more popular and many people are now keeping them. I felt it was important to highlight an issue regarding their husbandry.
As many of you are aware the summer is now here. Weather forecasts are suggesting this could be one of the hottest driest summers ever recorded with heat waves across the UK.
Last year many crested gecko keepers were very concerned at the high temps in their homes and some crested geckos indeed died from heat exposure. This can happen easily without us realising as we thermo-regulate naturally and often do not feel the heat in the same way they do.
Crested geckos are often said to be easy to keep as they are able to survive at room temperature but what does this really mean ?
Room temperature is only applicable if your room does not go below 65 degrees fahrenheit at night in winter or above 83 to 85 (although I prefer to suggest 83 as I have heard of cases where they have died exposed to temps above 84 degrees fahrenheit) by day in summer, if it goes below of above these temps for any length of time your crested gecko is highly at risk.
So what can we do?
First make sure you have digital thermometers. An option is also the infra-red temp guns these can be bought from Maplins and are helpful for those with larger collections who need many tanks accurately read at the same time. These temp guns cost around £20 upwards.
To avoid overheating the best piece of equipment you can buy is an air cooling unit. These range from £60 upwards. They are not simple fans but also cool the air. If used in a room they can effectively lower the temps by 5 degrees in most normal conditions. You can usually set them to a specific low and high however this will depend on your room size please take this into consideration before you choose your unit. If the area requiring coverage is large you will need a more powerful unit.
IN AN EMERGENCY
SUMMER or OVERHEATING
If in an emergency you find the room is too warm and your crested gecko is lethargic or its skin is sticky to touch ( this can happen when they overheat), the following methods can be used:
Place the gecko in the coolest room if possible away from direct sunlight. Use ice in a plastic bag or the ice bags from the supermarket and place around the viv. be very careful the gecko does not sit against the glass where the ice is pressed and becomes too cold. Use towels between the bags and the vivarium.
DO NOT spray the crested gecko directly with freezing or very cold water as this can cause severe shock, but spray with cool water in the vivarium.
If the area, room or tank is very hot remove the gecko/ geckos.
Place them in a small tub lined with cold wet kitchen roll or spaghnum moss for those who prefer a natural substitute and remove the crested gecko from its vivarium, place the tub if you can on the floor of your home away from any disturbances or feet obviously, in the coolest quietest room or in a cool cupboard.
This is for emergencies only. To further cool the vivarium or faunarium:
If you have a desk fan or room fan open the ice bag or as much ice as you have in your fridge and place a tray with the ice on it under the fan, angle the fan towards the tray where the ice is and then towards the Tank thus reducing the ambient tank temp. The air from the fan should reach the ice then the tank causing cool air to be blown across the tank.
To avoid cold temperatures there are several methods. Firstly a heat mat can be placed against the glass. However it is best that a foam barrier is used between the heat mat and glass and always use a mat stat or pulse stat with your heat mat to avoid overheating. Again make sure you use a digital thermometer to take the temps regularly. The heat mat however will at times not raise the ambient temps high enough so you may want to think about how and where you house your crested gecko in winter before the issue arises.
Another option is using a bulb or ceramic OUTSIDE the vivarium. If you choose the spot bulb method angle the bulb on a dimmer stat towards the vivarium. Always again use a dimmer stat with the spot bulb this avoids the crestie overheating. Take temps with a digital thermometer and change the dial of the stat until the correct temps are achieved.
IN AN EMERGENCY
WINTER or POWER CUT
One more suggestion is to have sealed poly boxes such that are used as incubator boxes. You can buy these from ebay or many online stores and simply keep them at home. if possible in a warm airing cupboard so if you require using them they may be warmer than if stored elsewhere. They can be stored and used the following way in a power cut emergency. If you have a power cut and it is VERY cold and you cannot heat your geckos you can use these to place them inside. The sealed temps will stay regulated and not drop as low as outside the box. Please make sure you take the temps inside the box BEFORE you place the crested gecko there. Obviously never ever place two males together and only use this method IF your crested gecko is in danger of being exposed to temps below the recommended safetymargin Wrapping the vivs in warm quilts also helps and this is again another option in emergency to avoid the tanks dropping even lower in temperature.
Lynn is in the process of creating a site for naturalists and herptologists outlining the effects of lyme and other diseases in nature. Watch for this site to be up and running by December of '09.
www.lymelight.org.uk
