How do I properly soak my crested gecko, or should I just spray it?

Give her a 15-20 minute soak in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte daily. During the soak, gently massage her abdomen front to back to stimulate defecation. The soak will warm her up, hydrate her and get her GI tract moving. This should help with defecation. Make sure she is eating an appropriate Crestie diet (Pangea, Repashy, etc). She can eat prey/insects, but if she eats too much, she may get a bit constipated.

For a new tank, hot, soapy water followed by a thorough rinsing is sufficient. Steam cleaning and a dilute bleach solution (1/2 cup bleach:1 gallon water) can be used for disinfection. There are also commercial cleaners, such as Zoo Med Wipe Out, that can be purchased online or in most pet stores.

You can soak him for 15-20 minutes in a warm bath to provide hydration as well as to aid in shedding. Do this 2 or three times weekly during a shed. Without an image or physical exam, it is difficult to determine if his coloration is due to illness or injury.

Created geckos naturally drink from drops of water on leaves. Make sure your enclosure has plenty of decorative plants with leaves and make sure to spray the enclosure down with water at least twice a day. You many never see her drink, but she will. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for reaching out about Aspen. Gnats are attracted to decomposing plant material (food, live plants) and require a moist humid environ. Removing food daily, cleaning out moist substrate (bark, other wood) and removing dead plants could help. Good luck.

Hi there! We have a Crested Gecko and have so much fun with him! Don’t worry, they are a great starter reptile and are pretty easy to keep. In the winter we use a red light to keep the tank warmer, but not a specific heat lamp. This keeps the tank warm enough without getting too hot. Also very important is the humidity of the tank. Keeping it spritzed several times a day is necessary. We started with a tank your size and it probably would have been just fine long term, but we ended up purchasing a larger tank because we wanted a different look. Best of luck and have fun with your crestie! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

When soaking a bearded dragon to increase hydration, I recommend having a Tupperware container that is only used for Phantom (reptiles have the potential to shed Salmonella when they don't feel well, and we don't want to cross contaminate anything in your home). You also want to get a thermometer (a human one will work) to measure the temperature of the water. Ideally it will be 90F for soaking. It can be chin deep, as long as Phantom can hold his head up. if you are doing this for maintenance (i.e. he is not sick), you can soak twice weekly for 15-20 minutes. If you are doing this because Phantom is sick or dehydrated, then I would recommend soaking him twice daily for 15-20 minutes. I personally don't utilize Pedialyte for soaking bearded dragons, as it can get quite sticky and sometimes they don't like the taste of it. Often they will drink while in their baths, and after that will urinate and defecate. I hope that helps to answer your question, and good luck!