Crested Gecko Rescues Pet Stores and Ethics in Breeding

We recently bought a gecko that was misrepresented. The seller lied about its lineage. After some research, we learned it came from a “rescue” that breeds surrendered animals. Some people wondered why this bothers us. This post explains why a gecko’s background is so important.

---

Animal Rescues: Good Intentions, Mixed Results

Animal rescue means saving pets from harm, neglect, abuse, abandonment, or danger. Rescues provide care, rehabilitation, and permanent homes when possible.

Rescues are essential. Many do great work. However, reptile rescues often fall short. Some are outright scams. Others accept animals just to make money. Instead of focusing on the animals’ best interests, they charge high “adoption fees” or breed the rescues to sell the babies.

Rescued animals have already suffered. They deserve loving forever homes, and not to be used for profit.

Tips for Adopting from a Rescue:  

• Support local rescues if you want a pet.

• Do your homework.

• Ask questions.

• Only adopt fully rehabilitated animals.

• Choose rescues that ensure animals are healthy and at a good weight.

• Avoid any rescue that breeds animals or offers unhealthy ones.

---

Pet Stores: Convenience Over Quality

A crested gecko from a pet store, that is underweight, with poor structure and an injury.

The point of a pet store is to connect people with companion animals, supplies, and education in a convenient, retail setting. It should serve as a one-stop hub for pet ownership. 

A good pet store’s point is to responsibly launch lifelong human-animal bonds. A bad pet store is just about profit. Unfortunately, there are very few small ethical pet stores these days.

Either way, pet stores are meant to sell lifelong PETS. The crested geckos they sell are almost never good examples with great structure and health. They don’t have lineage. You have no idea where the animals came from.

The point is that pet stores sell pet quality animals that are meant to be pets, they are not meant to be breeders.

---

Ethical Breeders: Care First, Profit Second

Ethical breeders are individuals who prioritize the lifelong health and welfare of animals over profit, volume, or trends. They breed responsibly, transparently, and sparingly to improve or preserve crested gecko traits and/or morphs while doing their best to prevent overpopulation of pet-quality animals that may end up in the hands of rescues or worse. 

An ethical breeder is a steward of their animals, not a seller of pets. They spend a lot of money on care and good stock. They have extended lineage on their animals and have extensive knowledge of what their animals are expected to produce.

A striking crested gecko female, displaying excellent physical structure.

Our Ethical Standards: What We Do

• We keep extensive lineage on all of our animals.

  • When purchased, our animals always include a hatch date if produced in-house. 

• All of our animals are fed live food (weather permitting) from the time they hatch.

  •  We have a small collection that costs us about $400 a month in food alone. 

• We limit breeding. 

  • 1 to 1 pairings. We do not put one male to many females in one season. 

  • We typically do not repeat pairings beyond one season.

• We always breed with a purpose. 

  • Our animals are always of a proper age and weight when paired.

  • Structure and health always come first.

  • We are goal-oriented. Every pairing is put together with great thought and intention.

• We do not participate in low-end auctions or shows that focus on low-quality animals at very low prices just to get rid of unwanted stock.  

  • We don't offer pet quality animals at all.

• We are transparent.

  • We are always open and honest with the community, even when it is not well received. 

• We only support ethical breeders and would never purposely add an animal from a pet store or a rescue into our breeding program.

• We do our best to mentor new breeders and help the community.

  • Our inbox is always open.

We often face criticism for our high standards. People call us elitists or say we “gatekeep” because our geckos aren’t cheap. Some claim we’re in it for money or call us “drama” for expecting the same care from others. We’ve heard “pricey” and “picky” too. That’s fine. The higher price covers quality care, premium food, and years of selective breeding. It’s about responsibility, not exclusivity.

A yearling crested gecko, offspring of the female gecko pictured above.

Tips for finding an ethical breeder:

• Ask for lineage.

  • Ethical breeders keep extensive lineage and are happy to provide it.

• Ask for hatch date.

  • Ethical breeders understand the importance of keeping track of the age of the animals in their collection.

• Ask about their goals.

  • Every pairing should have a purpose and that purpose should be clear.

• Look for breeders who take photos of both sides of their animals in good lighting.

  • You can tell who takes pride in their animals by the pictures they take. Pay attention.

• Look at their breeders.

  • Ethical breeders love to show off their animals. Find out where they post them.

  • Their breeding animals should have good structure and look healthy.

    • Captions should feature lineage etc., not just a list of traits and morphs that make them sound better than they look.

• Babies available should weigh more than 5-15 grams at a year old.

• Ask how long they have been breeding.

  • Double check what they tell you by seeing when their page was started (Morph Market, Facebook, etc.)

  • Search their name on Social Media.

• Always read their TOS.

RED FLAGS

• Lots of low end animals being sold cheap.

• Selling animals that look unwell or underweight for their age.

• Poor photos in low light or heavily edited.

• Lots of fancy traits listed on animals that are very plain and/or low quality.

• An inability or are unwilling to answer questions.

Not everyone has super high-end animals and that is okay. However, an ethical breeder will have above pet quality animals that are the best and healthiest example of whatever trait or morph they are working to improve.

---

Where Each Option Fits (And Where It Doesn’t)

• Rescues: Best for giving a needy gecko a retirement home.

• Pet Stores: Great for supplies; risky for live animals.

• Ethical Breeders: The safest bet for a healthy, well-documented crested gecko.

If you have plans to breed, do A LOT of research and purchase from an ethical breeder. Pet-store or rescue animals will never have the necessary background for responsible breeding programs.

P.S. Yes, ethical breeders charge more. But a $300+ gecko that lives 20+ years and produces animals of equal quality is a good investment.

P.P.S. A $40 gecko with no lineage is more likely to be neglected. Check Facebook groups, it’s a hard truth.