If you are the new owner of a crested gecko then you are sure to have many questions that you would like answers for. When I first started out one of the first questions I had was:
“do crested geckos drink water?”
It may seem silly at first as all living creatures need water to survive as a large proportion of our bodies are made up of water.
But I was more puzzled about how to give my crested gecko water, was it in a bowl? in a little drip bottle like you get for small rodent pets? I had so many questions!
So I did tons of research into it so I could provide my crestie with the best care available.
I will write all that I have learnt below so that you do not have to spend all of your time going from website to website looking for the correct information.
Do crested geckos drink water to survive?
Ok so let’s start of with the first question then we can get onto how to give your crested gecko water.
So do crested geckos drink water? Yes, crested geckos do need to drink water to survive. Just like all living creatures they need water for all aspects of their life. Water makes up a large part of their body such as their all of their cells.
Let’s now look at the best ways to get your crested gecko the water that it is vitally needs.
How do you give crested geckos water?
Getting water to your crested gecko is important. Some ways are a lot better than others.
Below are the ways that I found best.
Do crested geckos drink water?
Water bowl.
A plain and simple water bowl or water dish is one of the best ways to get water to your crested gecko.
Giving them a water bowl will allow them to get water whenever they feel like they need it. However some people have reported that their own crested geckos do not tend to take water from a bowl.
However they are known to soak in the dish for shedding reasons and it is also good for humidity purposes.
Personally I have always found it to be quite an effective way to make sure that they always have water ready.
If you are on the look out for a decent water bowl have a look at this one on Amazon. I use it and cannot fault it one bit.
Misting the tank.
This is a technique that gets used by a lot of crested gecko keepers. Misting the tank is something that you should be doing anyway as it is great for humidity and also for helping your gecko to shed.
In the wild a crested gecko will usually drink water in this way. They will lick any condensation and moisture from plant leaves that find.
You can replicate this natural technique by regularly misting your geckos tank. It is easy to do with a spray bottle such as this one.
Below is a quick video showing a crested gecko drinking water from a misted tank.
What water should you give to your crested gecko?
One of my next questions when I was a new owner was “which water should I give my crested gecko?”
Should you give it tap water, distilled water or even bottle mineral water?
Well below I will let you know everything that I have learnt.
Can crested geckos drink tap water?
Do crested geckos drink water from the tap? Some people say that they prefer not to give their crested gecko tap water.
I however have never had a problem giving my crested geckos or any other lizards tap water. I know loads of other long time keepers who give their crested geckos tap water without any problems.
It is obviously one of the cheapest ways to go about it.
Can crested geckos drink rainwater?
Yes, absolutely you can give your crested gecko fresh rainwater.
This is the most natural water that you can give to them. Personally though I would not recommend storing the rain water because it does have any bacteria or any other nasties it could multiply into a problem.
Freshly collected rain water that is sprayed as a mist into the tank is absolutely fine. This is definitely the cheapest way to give water to your crestie.
Can you give bottled water to a crested gecko?
Yes you can give your crested gecko bottled water. It is perfect for if your worried about the chlorine content in plain folks tap water.
Unfortunately though it can work out quite expensive compared to the other options. If you don’t mind spending a little more then it is no problem at all.
Can you give your crested gecko distilled water?
Do crested geckos drink water, when it is distilled? This seems to be a favourite amongst crested gecko keepers.
It is obviously the cleanest water that you can give to your pet as it will have no chlorine, minerals or anything else in it except quality H2O.
A lot of people prefer to use distilled water for misting. This is because it does not leave water stains on the glass tank when it dries. Which in turn saves you the job of having to wipe it clean!
Conclusion.
Do crested geckos drink water? Just like all living things your crested gecko requires water to live.
The best way to do this is by providing a small bowl or dish and to regularly mist its tank. This will give it all of the water it needs.
As far as which type of water to give it, well this is down to personal choice. However I like the combination of tap water in the water dish and misting in the tank with distilled water.
I really hope this article has helped and make sure you check out some of our other articles.
Related posts:
Here are some crested gecko articles and guides that you may also be interested in!
The ultimate crested gecko care guide.
Why do crested geckos fire up.
The ultimate guide to crested gecko diet and feeding.
