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Meet the Crested Gecko


Text and Images by Anthony Caponetto

Meet the Crested Gecko

Species: Correlophus ciliatus
Lifespan: 30+ Years in Captivity (Unknown)
Safe to House In Groups: Yes (Do Not Believe Otherwise)

Crested geckos, unlike a lot of lizards that have proven to make not-such-good pets, rarely have health problems as long as a few simple requirements are met. Also, because they thrive at room temperature there is no need for expensive heating equipment, which makes housing infinitely less complicated, whether you're a casual pet keeper or a serious breeder.

Their strange crests, eyelashes, seemingly endless palette of colors, interesting patterns - and ultimately, all the potential for combinations of the above, are what lured a lot of breeders (myself included) into crested geckos in the first place. I believe this is likely the best pet reptile the hobby has ever seen - both for the average keeper and the genetics-nerds, like myself, who also breed various other species with genetic mutations or morphs.

Natural Range

The crested gecko is endemic to - or native exclusively to New Caledonia, which consists a tiny chain of islands to the east of Australia. New Caledonia is a French territory (and popular vacation spot) that consists of the main island, Grand Terre, as well as a small group of smaller islands, which includes the Isle of Pines, where the species was first rediscovered thriving in great numbers. Since the rediscovery in the mid 1990's, it's my understanding that two other populations on the main island have been discovered. 

30 years from Extinct to Most Popular Pet Gecko on the Planet

The crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) was previously thought to be extinct, until its rediscovery in 1994 on the Isle of Pines, a tiny island just off the southeast coast of the main island of New Caledonia. This was the gecko people only knew from a sketch and a holotype specimen that had been collected and preserved in the late 1800's, which was apparently the last time scientists had been able to find one in the wild. The species rediscovery was greeted with much excitement amongst both academics and hobbyists, but no one had any idea of just how popular this species would become in the pet trade. 


30 years after discovering they weren't actually extinct, it's a near certainty that this is the most popular gecko in the pet trade today, and that there are likely more captive bred crested geckos in US captive collections than exist in their natural range(s) - probably by many times over.

This species was only imported in small numbers for a handful of years before the government of New Caledonia stopped issuing export permits (what I've been told).  I've spoken to one of the larger importers and he estimates fewer than 200 crested geckos have ever been legally exported from New Caledonia.  By contrast, we produce tens of thousands just here in our facility and there are several other breeders producing similar numbers just for the major US pet chains - add to that all the more normal scale breeders and it's not hard to imagine 50,000-100,000+ are hatched annually in US collections.

Crested Gecko Care & Husbandry Information