Giant Day Geckos and Crested Geckos are easily some of the most popular gecko pets in the world. This is because they’re quite active and very interesting to observe in their vivarium. They’re both excellent pets but both of them don’t do well with handling. This is why you should only get either of them if you would like an interesting-looking gecko but without having to handle it much.
In this article, we’ll talk about both species and what are the advantages and disadvantages of owning each gecko. This should help you decide which one of the geckos is a better fit for your daily schedule and preferences.
Giant Day Gecko: Giant Day Geckos are some of the most beautiful geckos in the world. They are slightly bright green with a cream belly and some red dots on their backs. They also have a few red lines on their face. You can expect one of these geckos to grow up to 10 inches and to live around 15 years in captivity. This makes them quite the responsibility to own. While they are quite docile and accept handling, they have a defense mechanism that causes their skin to slough when you’re touching their backs. This means their skin is coming off and your hands will be filled with small green pieces and the gecko will need to recover.
Crested Gecko: Crested Geckos are some of the most interesting-looking lizards available and they can make great pets as well. They typically grow around 5-8 inches in length and they can live up to 20 years if you’re taking care of them very well. These beautiful creatures were thought to be extinct but they were luckily rediscovered in 1994.
Giant Day Gecko vs Crested Gecko – Which One Is The Better Pet?
Owning a Giant Day Gecko can be quite interesting as they love roaming their enclosure and getting busy. They might even give you a mini heart attack when you don’t seem to find them in their enclosure, especially if you provide lots of plants and climbing areas. These geckos are great at camouflaging, which is something they developed to remain undetected by predators. This doesn’t mean that they can change colors. They just use the surrounding environment to their advantage.
A Crested Gecko can be a bit scared of you the first few months, even after it gets used to its enclosure. But with daily contact and a few minutes of handling, you will slowly gain its trust. And after a while, it will get excited every time it sees you and looks forward to your time together. They also look very interesting, which makes them great to observe in their enclosure. But you can only see them at night as they are nocturnal and they spend their days sleeping.
Temperament and Habits Comparison
Giant Day Geckos are some of the most docile geckos in the world but it will take a while to gain their trust. Despite being calm, they will not hesitate to attack if you introduce a Giant Day Gecko male to its enclosure or a lizard from another species. They only accept geckos from their own species and will protect their territory against intruders at all costs, especially males. These beautiful creatures love climbing, which means they will spend most of their time on the logs you’re providing.
Crested Geckos can have a bit of temperament but it’s only because they don’t know you. This is also why they would rather be left alone and will avoid being handled. It will take a lot of work for these geckos to trust you enough to look forward to seeing you. They only come out at night but they tend to be quite active. You will love seeing them jump around the enclosure and make all sorts of adorable movements.
Can Giant Day Geckos and Crested Geckos live together?
A Giant Day Gecko should never be housed with a Crested Gecko, even if the enclosure is extremely big. Besides the obvious fact that each gecko needs its own specific temperature, humidity, basking spot, substrate, and overall design of the enclosure.
It’s impossible to keep these two healthy in an environment that is not exactly how they need it to be. There are lots of health issues that a gecko can go through if the humidity is not perfect for them. While one gecko enjoys a very hot temperature, the other can get serious burns.
Besides their obviously different vivarium requirements, these geckos are also very territorial and they will start a fight as soon as they notice each other. Keep an eye on them and you will hear them trying to get rid of the other while being very vocal, and when that doesn’t work, they will fight each other to the death or until one loses its tail and goes into hiding. And this is only possible if the cage is big enough. If not, the winning gecko will kill the other.
Diet Comparison
A Giant Day Gecko is quite easy to feed as they are omnivorous and require a varied diet that includes live insects, vegetation, and fruits. It’s very important to feed them only live insects, otherwise, they won’t even touch their meal. A dead insect is like feeding them a spoiled meal. Very few geckos will eat dead insects.
These geckos also love tropical fruits such as bananas, peach, mango, etc. And a few very thin slices and small pieces of carrot, potatoes, kale, and other vegetation are also happily received. It’s also very important to remember that regardless of which gecko you’re feeding, the food should never be bigger in width than the space between the gecko’s eyes. Otherwise, the gecko might risk choking while eating.
Crested Geckos eat both insects and fruits. You will need to feed them live crickets, roaches, silkworms, waxworms, mealworms, etc. They can get a bit fat so make sure you’re not offering only insects that are very rich in fats and low in protein. When it comes to fruits, these geckos love the usual tropical fruits and a mix of baby food and fruit. Their to-go fruits are banana, mango, and peach.
Comparison – Cage Requirements (size, substrate, heat level, humidity)
If you plan on only having a single Giant Day Gecko, a 10-gallon tank is actually enough. But you should get a 20-gallon for a pair and a 30-gallon for a group of three or four. They love their space and they love to climb. So make sure you can provide lots of vertical space.
As substrate, you can use orchid bark. It’s very popular and you won’t have trouble finding it. During the night, make sure the temperature remains just below 80F. But during the day it needs to grow between 80F and 88F. These geckos will also need a basking spot that is between 90F and 95F. They are also more specific about their required humidity levels, which should always remain between 55% and 65%.
Crested Geckos are not very big, which means they can live well in a 10-gallon tank if they are single, and in 15-gallon tanks, if they are in pairs. A group should use a 20 or 25-gallon tank. As a substrate, you can use cypress mulch, coco bedding, orchid bark, or a combination of all three. They can’t stand high temperatures to make sure the cage is usually between 72 and 75F with a basking spot of 80F. And the humidity needs to remain between 50% and 70%, and the substrate will help with that.
