Temperature

Keep your crested gecko between 72 and 78°F during the day, and treat anything above 82°F as a problem. Heat is a bigger danger to these geckos than cool air, and prolonged temperatures above the mid 80s can be fatal.

• 72 to 78°F: ideal daytime range
• 65 to 72°F: fine as a night time drop
• Below 65°F: tolerated briefly, but appetite and activity drop
• Above 82°F: too warm; cool the room
• Above 85°F: dangerous; act right away

Most homes need no heating at all. Skip heat lamps, hot rocks and under-tank heaters unless your room is genuinely cold, and never place the enclosure in direct sun or near a window that heats up.

Measure at the level where the gecko lives with a digital probe thermometer. Stick-on dial strips are often inaccurate.

In summer, move the enclosure to the coolest room, use air conditioning or a fan blowing across the room (not into the enclosure), and check the temperature during the hottest part of the day.

Signs of heat stress include open-mouth panting, lethargy, hiding on the floor of the enclosure and refusing food. Move the gecko to a cooler spot straight away, lightly mist the enclosure, and call an exotic vet if it does not recover quickly.