I am interested in buying a Crested Gecko, I have done all my research and know that I am able to care for it properly.
I was just wondering, if anyone owns a Crested Gecko, if they could recommend and websites where they get products from, such as CGD, substrate etc.
Alternatively, if anyone can recommend any good shops for buying reptile things in south-east England that would be much appreciated.
Thanks 
Yeah, the lizards I am looking at are captive bread for generations, so it knows no different, and as long as the enclosure is plenty big enough, there is surely nothing wrong with captivating lizards, or any animal
A few years ago I had a pair of bearded dragons. Just picking up on some of the other answers I’d like to comment on owning reptiles as pets and some points that may help you or be of interest.
HOUSING
I loved my dragons – sasha & mimi – to bits. They were beautiful; very large and interactive. It wasn’t long before I became upset about their situation – being stuck in a house in Dublin instead of scuttling around the Australian desert. To make them as comfortable as possible, I had a carpenter build me a huge timber and glass terrarium. I wasn’t happy with the size of any I saw for sale. In fact, my dragons were big enough to let run loose around a couple of rooms and mostly, they just slept in the tank at night. I had an enclosure in the back garden for hot summer days also. Even with that, I wouldn’t keep them again, it really didn’t feel right. I’m not sure how big you’re planning to go with the housing, but give him as much space as you can.
To make matters worse, the female arrived pregnant. I had only wanted to give her a more comfortable home to live out the rest of her days. She had been used for breeding and was supposed to be too old to have any more babies. A few weeks after she arrived, I had 8 more lizards. I built an incubator and hatched the eggs raising the babies til they were old enough. I didn’t sell them but instead researched and gave them away to the best homes possible.
FOOD
I fed them some greens but mostly they’re carnivorous like geckos. They ate live crickets, locusts, mealworms, and the odd (dead) mouse. I had to sprinkle their food with a supplement. the insects were quite expensive. I live in Ireland so maybe they’re cheaper in the UK. To give you an idea, it cost IRL£6 for about 6 locusts and that was a good few years ago. In the end, I started to breed the crickets myself (it’s not hard to do) and sometimes I sold them to the pet shop or swapped them for locusts. The locusts were harder to breed. I wasn’t able to get it quite right. If you’d like some info on that let me know and I can post it.
I had to feed the babies fruit flies. Total nightmare. They’re really small and escape easily. Your geckos may have those on their menu, just so you know. In fact, be prepared for the odd insect escape, whatever it is. It just happens.
When your pet eats live, exotic food you have to be able to buy it easily nearby.
HABIT
Your gecko will be nocturnal, I’d imagine, so you’ll hardly see him at all. He’ll be up at night and snoozing all day. The various breeds of gecko make different noises and they can be quite loud. Cleaning out their quarters is a lot of work – taking out all the decor and substrate, cleaning down the inside, shining the glass, cleaning the bits an pieces of decor. Your little fellow will be small but I suppose you will have a nice big enclosure for him, regardless.
CAPTIVE-BRED EXOTICS
You are right in saying that the geckos are captive bred for generations and if you provide them with high-standard, large living quarters it beats anything they will ever hope to have in the pet shop/breeders place. (Try to imitate their natural surroundings with proper plants, stuff to climb on etc.) However, if there wasn’t a market in the 1st place, they would never be bred as pets.
Having said that, if cared for correctly, they will have a longer and less stressful life than if they were in the wild. But are they happier? I don’t know.
Anyway, I’ve gone on a bit more than I intended. My point is, I thoroughly researched the dragons before I got them (I had fallen in love with them after seeing them in a pet shop). I was armed to the teeth with everything they needed but I always felt guilty for supporting an industry I now think is wrong.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Try http://www.aquamania.co.uk/reptiles.asp
Although the website name suggests fish, they do things for reptiles and mammals too!
References :
Seriously, why would you take an animal out of its natural habitat and stick it in a tank just so you can look at at it for 5 minutes a day. Pretty selfish and inhumane if you ask me.
References :
To the guy above me, how is it taking an animal out of its natural habitat? Most reptiles in a pet store are captive bred, thus that is their habitat, and would probably not be able to survive in the wild anymore.
Anyways…back to the answer…try
http://www.LLLreptiles.com
or
http://www.bigappleherp.com
References :
Ther eis a good forum for reptiles and breeders advertise so you may find a breeder near you and any advice on how to keep them.
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/
References :
A few years ago I had a pair of bearded dragons. Just picking up on some of the other answers I’d like to comment on owning reptiles as pets and some points that may help you or be of interest.
HOUSING
I loved my dragons – sasha & mimi – to bits. They were beautiful; very large and interactive. It wasn’t long before I became upset about their situation – being stuck in a house in Dublin instead of scuttling around the Australian desert. To make them as comfortable as possible, I had a carpenter build me a huge timber and glass terrarium. I wasn’t happy with the size of any I saw for sale. In fact, my dragons were big enough to let run loose around a couple of rooms and mostly, they just slept in the tank at night. I had an enclosure in the back garden for hot summer days also. Even with that, I wouldn’t keep them again, it really didn’t feel right. I’m not sure how big you’re planning to go with the housing, but give him as much space as you can.
To make matters worse, the female arrived pregnant. I had only wanted to give her a more comfortable home to live out the rest of her days. She had been used for breeding and was supposed to be too old to have any more babies. A few weeks after she arrived, I had 8 more lizards. I built an incubator and hatched the eggs raising the babies til they were old enough. I didn’t sell them but instead researched and gave them away to the best homes possible.
FOOD
I fed them some greens but mostly they’re carnivorous like geckos. They ate live crickets, locusts, mealworms, and the odd (dead) mouse. I had to sprinkle their food with a supplement. the insects were quite expensive. I live in Ireland so maybe they’re cheaper in the UK. To give you an idea, it cost IRL£6 for about 6 locusts and that was a good few years ago. In the end, I started to breed the crickets myself (it’s not hard to do) and sometimes I sold them to the pet shop or swapped them for locusts. The locusts were harder to breed. I wasn’t able to get it quite right. If you’d like some info on that let me know and I can post it.
I had to feed the babies fruit flies. Total nightmare. They’re really small and escape easily. Your geckos may have those on their menu, just so you know. In fact, be prepared for the odd insect escape, whatever it is. It just happens.
When your pet eats live, exotic food you have to be able to buy it easily nearby.
HABIT
Your gecko will be nocturnal, I’d imagine, so you’ll hardly see him at all. He’ll be up at night and snoozing all day. The various breeds of gecko make different noises and they can be quite loud. Cleaning out their quarters is a lot of work – taking out all the decor and substrate, cleaning down the inside, shining the glass, cleaning the bits an pieces of decor. Your little fellow will be small but I suppose you will have a nice big enclosure for him, regardless.
CAPTIVE-BRED EXOTICS
You are right in saying that the geckos are captive bred for generations and if you provide them with high-standard, large living quarters it beats anything they will ever hope to have in the pet shop/breeders place. (Try to imitate their natural surroundings with proper plants, stuff to climb on etc.) However, if there wasn’t a market in the 1st place, they would never be bred as pets.
Having said that, if cared for correctly, they will have a longer and less stressful life than if they were in the wild. But are they happier? I don’t know.
Anyway, I’ve gone on a bit more than I intended. My point is, I thoroughly researched the dragons before I got them (I had fallen in love with them after seeing them in a pet shop). I was armed to the teeth with everything they needed but I always felt guilty for supporting an industry I now think is wrong.
References :
888reptiles, an online company are great, their prices are reasonable and they have never let me down! (if your order is over £39.95 the postage is free, which is great if you order frozen food!)
References :
15 yrs experience keeping reptiles (888 customer for over a year)