A Guide to Crested Gecko Tank Size
By: Jason
Last Updated: March 12, 2023
Crested geckos often live in stunning display terrariums of all sizes, but does tank size matter for anything other than how it looks? Enclosures can be expensive, and you don’t want to do anything that might harm your pet lizard.
Crested geckos respond best to different-sized enclosures at distinct stages of growth. Taller spaces are better than longer ones for these arboreal reptiles. Hatchlings (>10 g) thrive in a 12″x12″x12″ while adults (25+ g) need 18″x18″x24″ minimum.
Please keep reading if you’d like to learn more about how much space a pet crestie needs in its habitat. In this article, I’ll explain why we talk about tank dimensions and not volume, standard sizes, and what to expect if they have too much or too little room to move about.
Recommendations by Age
The amount of space a pet reptile needs is directly related to the animal’s size. Experts continue to refine their recommendations for minimum enclosure sizes to promote normal, healthy behaviors.
Baby Crested Geckos
Hatchlings that are less than 12 grams thrive in smaller enclosures. A 6-quart tub or a 12″ x 12″ x12″ tank is plenty of space for them to move about without feeling overwhelmed and unsafe. The large Critter Keeper is perfect for these tiny babies.
Fake plants, a cork hide or two, and a shallow water dish are all they need. You don’t need any substrate, but you can use paper towels.
Juvenile Crested Geckos
Once they weigh 12 grams, cresties can trade up to more space, especially one with some height. A 12″ wide, 12″ deep, and 18″ tall tank is ideal for a juvenile crested gecko.
At this stage, you have more options about how to set up the terrarium. Artificial plants or live ones are both viable. You can rely on natural light or additional lighting to help the plants grow, and they will help stabilize the humidity levels better than the options for the littlest ones.
The most important thing to remember is that they still need hiding places. Large pieces of bark they can slide under or cork logs they can climb into work great.
Adult Crested Geckos
At 25 grams, eyelash geckos reach adulthood and are ready for more space. An 18″ wide, 18″ deep, and 24″ tall cage is the minimum size, and an 18″ x 18″ x 36″ tall is better. Some adult geckos respond well to larger terrariums and maximize additional space.
More space in a tank means more opportunities for branches, sticks, plants, vines, and hiding spots. This is an excellent thing for both enrichment and exercise.
Too Much or Too Little Space?
What happens when an enclosure is too big?
Larger tanks can cause problems, too. Why? There is no such thing as ‘too big’ in their natural habitat, so why would it matter for a glass tank?
The biggest issue that comes up is finding food. Insects move about and fruit can be found everywhere. In the wild, there is a wide range of options.
In captivity, we offer commercial food in a food dish holder on a feeding ledge. It doesn’t move about. They might go hungry since the space is ample, and they need help finding their crested gecko food.
In addition, it is harder to keep the humidity levels stable in larger terrariums. Substrates that hold moisture (like coconut fiber), natural plants, and a water dish help add water to the air but often aren’t enough.
Finally, it can be challenging to monitor your pet if there are too many places to hide. If you don’t see them very often, you are less likely to spot weight loss, swollen limbs, or any other sign of common diseases that can be addressed if noticed.
There are some solutions here. Adding more than one feeding station will help reduce that problem, and a humidity gauge lets you monitor the environment and spot problems as they arise.
The correctly-sized tank helps keep your reptile healthy.
What happens when an enclosure is too small?
Keeping a crested gecko in something below the minimum tank size can create a few different problems.
It is challenging to create a temperature gradient in a small space. When their body temperature gets too high, there isn’t a place they can go with cooler temperatures. Ceramic heat emitters don’t work well because they can overheat the area quickly. Overall, the risk level for problematic environmental temperatures is much greater.
They can become sluggish and overweight without enough room to exercise. And since they are nocturnal reptiles, it is challenging to offset the lack of space in a tank with more time in the room with you. They need a natural environment to crawl around at night to keep their circadian rhythm intact and healthy. Any lighting that lets you keep an eye on them also tells them they shouldn’t be out and about exploring.
It’s easiest to overcome these issues by upgrading to more space.
How to Measure An Enclosure
Many young hobbyists who become reptile keepers have prior experience raising tropical fish. They know about fish tanks and might even have one they hope to repurpose for a pet lizard.
Lots of concepts carry over from one expertise to the other, but some places require a shift in mindset. How we quantify the size of a tank is one of those areas.
By Volume - How Many Gallons?
Traditional glass terrariums are often measured by volume. This makes sense, given that many aquariums were made for fish and aquatic invertebrates where the amount of water is a crucial requirement for different species.
Even when there are different proportions, the terminology highlights capacity. For example, the 20-gallon high or 20-gallon long tanks both focus on how much water the tanks can hold rather than their dimensions.
This makes sense for fish but needs to be revised for pet reptiles with other needs. Some reptile species, for example, need height to explore and feel safe. A narrow, tall space is much better for
By Dimensions - How Tall?
Tall terrariums have less floor space, but that is fine for these critters, and they prefer their time in trees. The additional vertical area provides excellent places to climb, and the lack of horizontal surfaces needs to be noticed.
Standard Terrarium Sizes on the Market
10-gallon tanks are available in most large chain pet stores and are relatively inexpensive because they are easy to manufacture. They are not ideal for this species; the standard dimensions for this size are 20″ long, 10″ wide, and 12″ high.
20-gallon tanks have the right volume but need the correct dimensions.
The 20-g long is 30″ long by 12″ wide by 12″ tall. Some keepers turn these on their side and use a custom “lid” as a door, creating a nearly three-foot-tall enclosure. Many people don’t have problems, but some find the glass on the bottom/side cracks as it was meant to support only some weight.
The 20-g tall is better. The 24″ tall sides allow climbing lizards plenty of room to move up and down the habitat. The 12″ broad and 16″ long base is fine. The biggest issue is not the size but the shape, specifically from reaching in to pick up the pet. Since these animals have an innate fear of predators from above, the top opening causes undo stress.
The most common crested gecko terrariums come in two sizes. Both sizes use bases 18 inches wide but 24 or 36 inches tall. Many come with fluorescent lights built into the hoods to make it easier to see your reptile pets.
Co-Habitation & Room
Housing geckos together change how much space they need. An adult pair needs more space than a singleton living alone.
Except for breeding, we recommend crested geckos be housed apart. All of the recommendations here assume only one is living in the habitat.
There is a bit of risk in having more than one in an enclosure. Males housed together are likely to attack one another, possibly injuring or even killing them. Since it is near impossible to identify the sex of juveniles correctly, the chances of accidentally housing lizards that will eventually show signs of aggression are high. The solution is straightforward; keep young cresties separate.
Multiple adult female crested geckos have been known to live together peacefully. This works best when they are roughly the same size and when you aren’t introducing one into the enclosure of others who might feel their territory is being invaded.
Crested gecko breeding is the most common and reasonable situation where a pair would live together.
Generally, add 5-10 gallons or move up one size for each adult gecko after the first, anticipating that extra care will be needed to keep everyone safe.
Want More Habitat Info?
We’ve done a lot of homework on building and maintaining a healthy home for pet crested geckos:
- Creating a temperature gradient
- Are heat lamps essential?
- What is a substrate?