Crested Gecko Pee: Everything You Need to Know

Watching out for your Crested Gecko’s health takes a little adjustment – as they really are quite unique creatures! For one thing, they are very vocal, while lots of other reptiles are simply content to grunt or sit in silence. One big adjustment that you need to make, however, is understanding their waste.

If you’ve never seen Crested gecko pee before, then you are in for a surprise. Despite being tropical geckos, they are designed not to waste water, as a desert lizard would. That means that their urine is actually going to be powdery, and you need to know what it should look like to use it in assessing potential health issues.

Today we’re going to cover this in detail, so that you’ll know a little more about how your gecko excretes uric waste, as well as what it should look like, and signs of trouble that you need to know in case it’s indicating that a vet visit needs to happen. Let’s talk about Crested gecko pee and what it can tell you!

Do Crested Geckos Pee?

Crested geckos definitely pee, it just doesn’t look like what you are expecting unless there’s a lot of humidity in the area. That’s because your gecko’s body is designed not to waste water at all when it can be avoided.

This is particularly interesting when you consider that they come from the rainforest areas of New Caledonia, which is estimated to be forested as much as 45.9%! Despite the obvious availability of water, however, these geckos still evolved an efficient system for keeping it, and it’s hard to argue with the results.

As the waste of any animal can tell you a lot about its health, we’ll start off with a description of what your Cresty’s urine should look like and then we’ll build on from there!

What Does Crested Gecko Uring Look Like?

Crested geckos do not produce the usual watery variety of urine, but rather they excrete urates – a fancy term for solid urine.

Depending on the size of your gecko, this might look as small as a grain of rice, a long bit of string, or if it’s been stepped on it might even resemble a small coin. It’s going to be a part of their poop, as well, so let’s start to begin with the color expectations for a healthy excretion so that you’ll know what to expect.

Color

Typically, this is going to be all of one piece, but not always, so it’s good to know what colors you should be seeing so that you can tell their feces from their urine. The feces is going to be about what you’d expect – light to darker brown – while the urine will look a little weird, like a small section of white chalk.

Texture

Usually, Crested gecko droppings will be bone-dry. That said, this is not always the case, and there might be a small amount of liquid and this is okay — just don’t be surprised if you don’t see any. The Crested gecko is really good at maintaining and using all of the water that it ingests, so this is to be expected.

If you live somewhere very humid or have created a mini rainforest environment for your Crested, then it might even be runny, although this usually occurs at about 70% humidity. Most of the time, however, it’s simply going to be brown on one side, white on the other, and dry enough that it’s easy to spot clean with tissues.

Why Is My Crested Gecko Peeing Clear Liquid?

We’d mentioned that the Urate portion of your Crested Geckos waste is a chalky white, however, it doesn’t start off that way. Usually, by the time you’ve noticed it in the cage, it’s had a bit of time to dry, but it actually starts off a bit gelatinous and clear.

If you pick up your Gecko, you might even get some of this clean Urate in a mostly liquid form, as the lizard is frightened and has emptied its bowels. Don’t worry – eventually, the animal will get used to you and associate you with feedings and as non-threatening, but it’s going to take a little time.

When your Crested pees on you this way, then try not to freak out and immediately put them back in the cage. These clever little lizards will notice that peeing gets you to put them back, so you want to discourage them of this notion.

Wait a few moments and ignore it for now, so that they don’t associate peeing with getting a free trip back to the cage, and eventually, they will become more used to you and the peeing on your hand should become a thing of the past (most of the time).

Why Is The Pee Cloudy?

Cloudy urine can come from a number of different things. In a worst-case scenario, it could indicate a problem with the urinary tract, but more often it has to do with the diet and the alkaline (pH) of the urine.

Urates, like urine, have salts, waste, and water, a change in diet can cause a day or two of cloudy urates, but it’s usually harmless.

That said, if you see this for more than 2 -3 days at a time, then it might be a good idea to get the veterinarian involved – it could be a urinary tract issue and if that’s the case, it’s best to get started treating it before it can become a bigger problem for your gecko’s health.

Why Is There White Stuff In The Pee?

When your Crested Gecko pees and some of it is clear on one end, with white bits, the clear and white portions are actually the same thing – those whiter bits are just drying out faster than the rest. When your gecko makes a solid urate, it’s going to start off resembling a sort of clear gel.

As it dries, it begins to take on the look and consistency of a tiny piece of chalk. While this certainly seems a bit weird the first time that you see it, this is actually what you WANT to see when you look at your Crested gecko’s waste.

Why Does My Crested Gecko’s Pee Have Green Spots?

When you see green in your Cresty’s waste, it’s easy to think that it’s natural, as they can eat certain vegetables and leaves to ‘square out’ their diet. So it must be unused vegetable matter, right?

Wrong. Your gecko should be digesting this and when you see green in their urate droppings, then it’s time to bring them into the veterinarian’s office for a quick and very necessary checkup. Green poop is rare with Cresteds but is often a sign of a parasitic infection called Cryptosporidium.

Small amounts might indicate that it is just started, but if it’s mostly green then it’s definitely advancing. Your veterinarian can confirm if this is the case and treat the parasite with paromomycin, so that the parasite will die and your gecko will get back to feeling (and pooping) normally.

Just be sure to get them in right away – parasites are nothing to be trifled with and your gecko’s health could quickly take a turn for the worse if they are not treated quickly.

Why Is There Blood In My Gecko’s Pee?

If there appears to be blood in your gecko’s urate droppings, then don’t panic right away! Take a deep breath and consider their diet. If you have been feeding your gecko strawberries or other red fruits, then it might just be pigmentation that you are seeing.

That said, if there are no red foodstuffs involved in yesterday’s or today’s feedings, then you need to get some veterinary assistance right away. The doc can screen your gecko for bacterial cultures and parasites so that they can get to the bottom of this quickly.

Why Is My Crested Gecko Peeing A Lot?

There are actually a few reasons why your gecko might do this, with the most common ones being anxiety and stress – especially if they are still getting used to you and their new home. When stressed out from handling or even sudden movements, Crested geckos often panic and urinate in response.

They also do this, however, as a territorial instinct, so that other geckos will know that ‘this place is mine’. This could be on an object or even on you and that brings us to the 3rd reason – sometimes your gecko views you as a nice, tall tree!

In most cases, this sort of behavior will tone down, especially once your gecko has gotten to know you.

That said, if you’ve had them for a while and this behavior is sudden, and there have been no recent changes in your gecko’s diet, then it might well be time for a checkup with your local veterinarian to rule out any health issues.

Gecko Pees For A Long Time

If your Crested gecko is peeing for what seems like a longer time than usual, it is not necessarily a cause for panic, unless this lasts for more than 24 hours. Peeing for long periods of time can occur normally, as a result of stress or even a large, delicious meal.

Just keep an eye on your gecko and if it keeps occurring then go ahead and get your veterinarian to check things out – it could be a urinary tract issue making the process painful or other health issues that you’ll want to address right away.

Crested Gecko Pees Everywhere

When you first get your Crested gecko home, you’ll be seeing a lot of ‘potty’ activity, and it will mostly break down into stress responses and marking behaviors. This is normal, especially in a new environment that is plentiful with food.

As your Crested gecko explores their new ‘territory’, it will ‘mark’ the areas in order to claim them, and as they are likely eating much better in its new home than they were before, frequent waste until its bodies adjust is not an abnormal thing.

If you’ve had them already for some time now, however, and you are seeing extreme changes in their potty habits, then this is definitely a red flag and an immediate vet visit is called for. Anytime you see dramatic changes in their potty behaviors, this is something that you will want to pay attention to.

While it could be from changes in diet, new people around looking at the gecko and stressing it out, or especially with the introduction of another gecko, if none of these factors apply then your vet should get involved to determine what’s amiss.

Why Does My Crested Gecko Pee On Me?

Your Crested gecko is peeing on you, most likely, for one of two reasons. The most common reason is stress. It takes a while for your gecko to get used to being handled and until they can relax, frequent ‘potty accidents’ can and will occur.

If your gecko seems adjusted and is doing this while climbing your arm, for instance, then they are doing this to mark you. Geckos sometimes get comfortable enough that they tend to think of you more as a favorite tree, and in that case, they are marking you as belonging to them, to keep other geckos away.

It’s a dubious honor, but if it’s not stress or an unexpected health issue, then that’s it in a nutshell!

Some Final Words On Crested Gecko Urates

We’ve taken a closer look at what to expect from your Crested gecko in terms of uric waste. Unlike many other animals, rather than a liquid, you’ll be getting a clear gel that turns a chalky-white color as it dries.

This will often be brown on one end, and this is the ‘poop’ side of the pellet that your gecko has excreted. Just remember that you’ll be seeing a lot of this until your gecko gets used to you and if it comes out red one day, be sure to check their diet for red foods to rule out pigmentation.

Finally, if you see green in your Crested Gecko’s waste, then that’s your queue to immediately bring them to the veterinarian. Parasitic infections can quickly debilitate your lizard’s health and green dropping are most visible warning that you’ll get.

Now that you know what to look for, be sure to check your gecko’s droppings briefly when you clean the cage, and with a little luck if anything is amiss then you’ll know right away and you can get it handled!