The right Crested Gecko plants can turn a good enclosure into a great enclosure! This article highlights the best plants for crested geckos to make them feel like they are back in New Caledonia!
When caring for Crested Geckos, their enclosure should be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Plants and foliage are immensely important to crested geckos as these lizards love climbing and hiding in their vivarium. The area of Crested Gecko plants can be confusing, but we’re going to make it as simple as 1, 2, 3 (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)!
So, let’s look at the best plants to keep your crestie happy!
Why use real plants?
When keeping lizards, deciding what to put in your pet’s vivarium can be confusing. A lot of people choose to use fake plants, and these do have a lot of benefits! They don’t die, are easy to maintain and give your lizard places to hide and climb.
However, fake plants do have serious drawbacks. Your pet lizard might try and chomp down on the fake plants and become unwell. Additionally, plastic plants don’t help maintain a perfect habitat for your creatures and aren’t too eco-friendly!
Live plants assist in keeping the tank in the pristine condition. Plants help in maintaining the humidity of the vivarium, and as we know, this is extremely important when looking after cresties!
Furthermore, live plants help keep the air fresh and the soil healthy. By choosing to use live plants in your Crested Geckos tank, you ensure your crestie’s habitat is as close to their natural one as possible!
To Plant or to Pot?
It is advisable that you place your potted plants straight into the vivarium. This means that they are easy to remove, maintain, and place back again. Just make sure they won’t fall over if your crested gecko is climbing on them!
Before putting them into the tank, gently clean the plants to remove any pesticides or chemicals that might be on them.
1. Sansevieria
The sansevieria plant, commonly known as a snake plant, is a very popular choice for house plant owners. Hardy, adaptable, and pretty, this plant is perfect if you want to keep your crested gecko happy!
The snake plant is also great for cleaning the air and was actually involved in a study by NASA that looked into air purifying plants!
You can pick up a snake plant pretty cheaply from Amazon. Your little crestie will be thrilled to see a new thing to climb!
Cheap and easy, you can see why it’s top of our list of Crested Gecko plants!
2. Concinna Prayer Plant
Another favourite of house plant lovers, the prayer plant is sturdy enough for your gecko to climb on and very beautiful. Its exotic patterns mean your vivarium will look great and the big leaves are perfect for your lizard to hide under. It is a low growing plant and will spread out over the bottom of the tank.
It is a fairly hardy plant but can be a bit picky when it comes to staying hydrated. It needs moist soil, but likes its leaves to be dry.
Another cheap plant, why don’t you give the prayer plant a go!
3. Pothos
This an excellent plant for crested geckos as it is a fast-growing ivy, great for climbing and hiding. It is commonly known as the devil’s ivy, named so as it is nearly impossible to kill. Perfect for novice gardeners like myself!
Get yourself a Pothos and watch it grow.
4. Petra
This tropical plant is a wonderful addition to your crested gecko’s habitat. It is colourful and bright, livening up the tank. The leaves are also really big so your gecko will have fun climbing all over them.
The petra plant thrives in a warm environment, it will be super happy to be in a lizard’s vivarium!
These are a bit more expensive than other plants, but well worth the investment!
5. Weeping Fig
The Ficus Benjamina, or the weeping fig, is native to Asia and Australia. Growing up to six feet tall, these plants are great air purifiers and thrive in moist, humid habitats.
Crested geckos love weeping figs as they are strong and easy to climb. This plant does like a lot of light, so make sure it is in a part of the vivarium that gets light.
Put a weeping fig in your crested gecko’s habitat. If cresties could say thank you, they would!
6. Elephant Ears
Elephant ears are the common name for a group of plants with huge leaves. These are tropical plants, native to southern Asia, Indonesia, and parts of Australia.
There are some beautiful varieties of elephant ears, so look into them and see what kind of colour and size you are after!
Because of the large, strong leaves that the plants have, they are perfect for your little lizard to climb over and sit on. Perhaps put them under the lamp so your gecko can relax on the leaves, bask in the light, and have a great time!
Elephant ears can be hard to look after, being a bit picky when it comes to humidity and heat. However, once you get to know the plant and what it needs, you will be able to look after it!
The black shield variety of the elephant ear is a fantastic and strong plant, perfect for you crested gecko.
7. Moss
Crested geckos are known to munch on their substrate from time to time, so having a layer of moss on top or a moss substrate is a great idea for your lizards home.
Crested geckos need a substrate that helps with humidity, such as coco bedding or mulch. Moss can be used as a substrate or layered on top of the existing bedding.
Covering the top of your lizards substrate with moss not only helps against impaction, but it’s also a great way to bring a more natural feel to your lizard’s enclosure.
Because of the warm and wet environment of your reptile’s vivarium, natural moss will thrive. It helps keep the humidity up too and can be placed over and around flower pots to hide them.
Moss is a must regarding Crested Gecko plants, so make sure you have some to make your crested gecko as happy as possible!
8. Lemon Button Fern
This cute little plant is for decoration more than anything and helps to create a rounded environment for your lizard.
It is a smaller variety of the Boston fern and rarely grows over a foot tall. Resilient and robust, this fern is excellent to have dotted around your gecko’s tank, helping to purify the air and adding different to the habitat.
These plants will stay cheerful and beautiful. They can be purchased pretty cheaply, so are a great addition to any lizard vivarium!
9. Lucky Bamboo
The lucky bamboo plant isn’t actually bamboo, but it is said to bring luck! A type of dracaena plant, the lucky bamboo is from southeast Asia and has been used in Feng Shui for centuries. It is said to bring fortune and prosperity into the house of those who have one. They can also be braided and pruned to different shapes, so fun for everyone!
These are great for crested geckos as your tiny friend can climb up and down the stems. It won’t need much light, but will need a lot of water!
These beautiful plants can be purchased widely, and make a great addition to your gecko’s vivarium.
10. Pink Quill
This bright flowering plant is a wonderful way to add some colour to your vivarium.
It likes bright light but other than that it is pretty low maintenance and will be fine in your crested gecko’s tank. It does not need a lot of water, so this won’t be a worry when adding on to your vivarium.
It is a little bit on the expensive side, but perfect if you are wanting a bigger variety of colour in your vivarium!
Conclusion
Live plants are a great way to achieve a natural habitat for your crested gecko. Most plants listed above are pretty easy to take care of, great if you are a gardening beginner.
Live plants assist humidity, give more places for your lizard to climb, explore, and hide under! We all want happy cresties, and live plants are a great way to achieve this! They also look great, so it is a win-win situation!
You now know some of the good plants for Crested Geckos!
Go ahead and buy some live plants, and you never know, horticulture might become your next big love (after lizards obviously).
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