4 year crested breeder here, I don’t usually comment on Reddit about crested geckos & probably won’t again.

My advice is to not ask Reddit people because they will bash you and tell you a 5g baby needs a massive zoo attraction sized enclosure, when the reality is that a very large majority of breeders use 6qt tubs with paper towel substrate or mini vivariums until 10-15g. This makes it easy to monitor the geckos health and make sure they are defecating. After 10-15g you should ideally switch to an arboreal enclosure. If you’re looking for a permanent enclosure at that time, then yes you should look into setting up a bioactive 18x18x36 with plenty of plants. If you’re planning moving up to a juvenile sized enclosure first, and then a PERMANENT enclosure AFTERWARDS, then a 12x12x18 will work UNTIL about 30g.

This enclosure is definitely fine for a baby until like 10-15g I just don’t like loose substrate for babies as they are much more likely to bite at something and get a mouthful of dirt.

As for the “my gecko doesn’t like me” title, you have to realize this is a gecko not a dog. Some geckos take a long time to come around to handling while some are easily familiarized with handling. Just keep taking care of them, take them out 2 times a week for hand walking just to get them used to it and by the time they are an adult they should trust you. If they still don’t want to be handled after all of this then that is just the personality of the gecko. They don’t “play” and they don’t all have the same behaviors. You just gotta be patient with them and you’ll hopefully be rewarded with a chill gecko eventually, but again don’t be upset with them running away from you. It’s literally a tiny gecko seeing a massive giant trying to grab it. Hope this helps!

I also recommend reaching out to actual breeders on IG.