How Big Do Crested Geckos Get? The Size Guide

If you own a pet that you’ve never had before, you may be unaware of how large that pet could get. Naturally, the same is true of Crested Geckos. So, how big do Crested Geckos get? We’ll be covering that in great detail in this article.

Before we answer this question, it should be said that there is no concrete, hard limit to size for crested geckos. Like with any animal, there will always be exceptions, with some full grown adults being smaller than the average, and others possibly being larger.

That said, averages exist for a reason, and most Crested Geckos will fall within those averages. By the time a Crested Gecko becomes a full adult, it will generally weigh anywhere from 35 to 55 grams, with a length between 9 and 16 inches.

What Factors Contribute to How Big a Crested Gecko Gets?

There are many factors that affect the size a Crested Gecko will grow to, though the most imporant is their diet. Their size can also be affected by genetics, temperature, their incubation period and dehydration. We’ll cover all of this in greater detail below.

The Optimal Diet for Healthy Growth

The diet for a Crested Gecko depends on the stage of growth it is in. When it is growing to maturity, it will have a different diet compared to when it is an adult. Crested Geckos are usually considered to be sexually mature adults when they reach a weight of 35 grams, which generally takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months for the Gecko to reach.

Juvenile Diet

Prior to that, the Crested Gecko would be considered a juvenile, and have a different diet compared to the aforementioned point when it would be considered an adult. When a Crested Gecko is a juvenile, it should eat gut loaded crickets, soldier fly larvae, or dubia roaches every day, or every other day at the least.

Studies have shown that Crested Geckos that eat gut loaded crickets reach maturity faster than those that do not eat them. Calcium deficiencies are a common problem for Crested Geckos, so their diet should also include calcium powder 2 to 3 times a week. A reptile multivitamin may also be needed on a weekly basis, if a veterinarian deems it necessary.

Adult Diet

Once a Crested Gecko reaches adulthood, its diet changes dramatically towards fruits and vegetables. On a daily basis, it should be fed fruits such as oranges, figs, raspberries or papaya. 2 to 3 times a week, it should be fed fruits like apples, grapes, berries, and watermelons, as well as greens such as okra, dandelion greens, and escarole. 

They should also be fed calcium or Vitamin D3 2 to 3 times a week. If they are a healthy weight (35-55 grams) they can also be fed gut loaded insects at that interval. On a weekly basis, they can be fed fruit like pumpkins, pomegranates, peaches, bananas and cantaloupes. A biweekly reptile supplement may be needed if recommended by a vet.

Excess sugar intake can lead to obesity, so be sure to feed your Crested Gecko sugary fruits in moderation.

Temperature

The full size a Crested Gecko will grow to in adulthood can also be affected by the temperature of their enclosure as they go through their juvenile stages. Too cold or too hot and they will not grow as efficiently, since they’ll have to use energy to counter the poor temperatures.

Generally, an enclosure temperature of 75 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit leads to the best growth rates for a Crested Gecko. However, this is only if the enclosure also had a proper humidity level. That level is recommended to be from 50% to 70%.

Dehydration

When your Crested Gecko is dehydrated, it will eat less food, and therefore weigh less, as well as grow at a slower, stunted rate. The easiest way to ensure your Crested Gecko remains hydrated is to keep its enclosure at the aforementioned humidity level of 50% to 70%. You should also ensure that your Gecko has clean water available to it at all times.

Genetics

Genetics are finicky and not at all guaranteed to have a major effect on the growth and size of your Crested Gecko. However, there is still a possiblity that genetics will affect your pet. A Crested Gecko with larger parents has a higher likelihood of growing large itself, compared to one with smaller parents.

Incubation Period

This factor is a bit more complex. Basically, the longer the incubation period, the larger and faster a Crested Gecko is likely to grow. The smaller a Gecko is when it hatches, the more difficultly it will have in eating enough food to grow. This can be because they have trouble swallowing food, or because their larger brethren get to the food first. 

How Big Is a Baby Crested Gecko?

Before answering this question, it’s important to understand that there is a difference between a hatchling and a baby Crested Gecko. A Gecko is considered a hatchling from birth to 2 months old. It is considered a baby between 2 and 3 months. After that, it is considered a juvenile.

A hatchling is often very small, weighing 1.5 to 2 grams, and being 2.5 to 3 inches long. By the time it hits the baby stage at two months, Crested Geckos tend to be roughly 3 grams and 3 to 4 inches long.

How Long Does It Take For a Crested Gecko To Grow Big?

The answer to this question is heavily dependent on what one considers ‘big.’ Moreover, the speed at which a Crested Gecko grows is dependent on many factors, all of which were mentioned earlier. 

If you are simply curious as to how long it generally takes a Crested Gecko to grow to its adult size, that timeframe is most often 12-24 months. However, in some rare cases it can take as long as 36 months. A more detailed time to size breakdown is below.

What Size Should Your Crested Gecko Be?

To tell if your Crested Gecko is growing at a healthy rate, you should know the healthy weight and length they are supposed to be at each stage of their life. You don’t want your Gecko to be too small or too large for its age, because that indicates a problem.

As a hatchling (0-2 months old) the Gecko should be 1.5 to 2 grams and 2.5 to 3 inches. As a baby (2-3 months old) the Gecko should be approximately 3 grams and 3 to 4 inches long.

‘Juvenile’ is a term that encompasses a pretty long span of time. From 3 to 12 months, a Crested Gecko is considered a juvenile, but it has different healthy sizes throughout that span of time.

At 3 months, the Gecko should be 4 grams and 3 to 5 inches long. 4 months it should be, 5 grams and 4 to 6 inches long. At 5 months old, it should be 7 grams and 4 to 6 inches. And finally at 6 months, it should be 9 grams and 5-7 inches long. Finally, at 9 months, it should be 16-35 grams and 6-9 inches.

At 12 months, the Crested Gecko is either transitioning from juvenile to adult or getting fairly close to doing that. At that point in time, it should be anywhere from 35 to 50 grams and 9 to 16 inches long. An adult Crested Gecko, being 18 to 24 months or older, should weigh no more than 55 grams, though their length may exceed 16 inches.

How Big Should a Crested Gecko’s Tank Be?

This question is a little complex, because the answer depends on many factors. For one, it depends on how old your Gecko is. But it also depends on how many Geckos you are raising, as well as whether or not they are mating pairs. Since we’ve been treating this information as though you only have one Crested Gecko, we will focus on an ideal tank size for one Gecko here.

It is recommended that a tank for a hatchling be anywhere from 2 to 5 gallons in capacity. At minimum, the tank should have dimensions of 8x8x12 inches. From the juvenile stage to full adulthood, the minimum tank size should be 12x12x18 inches. 

Of course, you can select tanks bigger than these recommendations. The aforementioned dimensions are just the mimimum you should provide for your Crested Gecko. There’s no harm in providing a larger tank if you want your Gecko to have even more room to jump, play and hide.

What Foods Help Crested Geckos Grow?

We briefly touched on Crested Gecko diet in an earlier section of the article, but now, we’ll discuss it in greater detail. The good news is that Crested Geckos are one of the easiest reptiles to feed, requiring little in the way of complex food recipes or mixes. But which foods actually help them grow the most efficiently?

Well, there’s no concrete scientific research to say that one food type allows a Crested Gecko to grow faster than any other option. However, many keepers of Crested Geckos believe an insect heavy diet helps them grow faster, due to the high amount of protein found in insects.

Being nocturnal reptiles, Crested Geckos should primarily be fed roaches and crickets as their main insect food. However, it is very important that you do not feed your Gecko any insects that are larger than the space between its eyes: food that is too large runs a risk of impaction for your Gecko.

Some owners also feed their Crested Gecko commercially prepared food specific to their species. However, while this is certainly acceptable and not harmful to your Gecko, there’s also no evidence to suggest that this helps them grow any faster either.

Conclusion

Generally speaking, a Crested Gecko will grow to a weight of roughly 35 to 55 grams, and a length of 9 to 16 inches or more. The time it takes for the Gecko to reach this size can be anywhere from 12 to 24 months, with some rare cases being 36 months.

Factors that affect Crested Gecko growth include temperature, hydration, genetics and incubation period, but the diet is most important. It is believed that a heavy insect diet focusing on roaches and crickets helps the reptile grow more quickly due to the high protein, though commercially prepared food is acceptable as well.

Once a Crested Gecko reaches adulthood, its diet will turn more towards fruit and vegetables. At minimum, a single juvenile Crested Gecko should have a tank with dimensions of 12x12x18 inches allotted to it.