Took my son to pick out his crestie today for his B-Day present. Got a baby for 80 bucks. (I think this was a good price). She is approx 4.5 weeks old. Actually, this was going to be a 3 question post, but the other poster asked about the hiding...and if it was normal. It's funny initally, my son named her Spike...now because all it is doing is hiding...he calls her Heidi! Kids come up with the darndest things!! Anyway, here are my two questions. 1. The lady I bought her from at the Expo told me to get the Crested Gecko food by T-Rex. This eliminates the requirement to feed crickets. Is this indeed true?? 2. Portions to feed....I'm really confused as to what portion to give Heidi. I've got a water dish in the cage for her, but she hasn't touched it yet. Made a batch of food for her that basically covers the bottom of the food dish...about 3 inches round. Is this too much?? Also, going to give her some baby food before my Son goes to bed, how much is too much?? Right now I've got about a table spoon's worth sitting on his dresser waiting to go in the cage. Thanks. BBF
Alright, 1. The T-Rex CG food is good, but I'd still put a cricket or two in there if at all possible, it makes them work for their food so they get exercise, plus it's probly fun watching them hunt the crickets down. But about the t-rex diet, if the gecko doesn't eat it, mix it in with the baby food. Also, what kind of baby food are you feeding her? 2. I think you can take the water dish out, but you don't have to, but the gecko most likely won't drink from it. Just mist the cage heavily, and the gecko will lick the moisture off the leaves. Another cool thing to add some looks and humidity would be to get a small exo-terra waterfall. Hope that helped.
Gutloaded crickets can be healthier and more protein packed which is needed in a young cresty, especially one as young as yours. Offer appropriately sized crickets as teh main staple of the diet. They should be no larger than the space between the eyes. I would use the T rex CG diet as added nutriants for the youngin with the babyfood. You can offer it as the staple, but it will not promote as much excerise to the crestie or natural instinct. If you dont feed crickets, they may never eat them either. The water dish I would keep in. Spike knows how to drin kout of his and does it regualrly. Plus the added bonus of raised humidity. Just make sure the gecko cant drown in it. Be sure to mist the enclosure regualry, this will provide most of teh humidity and water source. Mainly covered by Advent :wink: wanted to touch up on a couple things.
Hey Bigbossfan...I got two Cresties at the expo this weekend...What lady did you go to??? What morph did you get??? I am really liking these little guys...I got an Orange Super Dalmation and a Chocolate/Orange Fire Dalmation. They are both about 2 months old and 4 inches long...I will post pics soon... I am using a ESU Fresh air Terrarium for the time being...will this be ok for them until I finish their new custom vivarium...pics to follow I got that T-rex food and was wondering if it supposed to be liquidy when when served to them...I follow the instructions ( 1 part food to 2 parts water) I am also feeding a few 1/4 size crix and they love em...its really kewl to watch them jump to catch a crix I have a UVB bulb on during the day and at night I am using a 40watt RED night light bulb (NOT the heat bulb) it gives off a bit of heat but the temps fall to about 65-70 degrees. last question...for now.... Do you need to use babyfood if they are already eating the T-rex diet alone????
I think her name was Jeanine or something like that. Was at the end of one of the tables. When you say morph..what do you mean by that?? I can tell you that she is beige in colour. Although I can't answer your questions, as I am a newbie myself....I can comment that I found the T-Rex food was liquidy as well. It says on the jar it's supposed to gel..but mine didn't. Haven't been able to get her to eat yet...mind you I put some babyfood on my finger last night and she did take a few licks. I hope there is no reason for concern yet. For Advent....Right now I'm feeding her peaches. Gonna try something different tonight/tomorrow to see if I can get her to eat anymore. When you say to mix in the gecko food with the baby food...how much?? What about the requirement for water with the gecko food?? As for giving a few crickets a week...the cage is kind of big right now (17.5 inches squared...the large Exo Terra Terrarium). Should I still try some crickets? I agree it would be entertaining, do you think I could go to the local pet store and buy gut fed crickets or do I have to do that myself?? (gut feed them that is) BBF Thanks in advance. BBF
Frickfrack, Do you have any place I can see the terrarium? Kinda difficult to determine if its okay or not without seeing it. Sounds alright though... The CG diet can be liquidy, I have never been able to get it into a perfect "gel" but if you add more of the diet it becomes somewhat less liquidy. The UVB bulb is okay, just make sure its low power. Too much can be a problem to the crestie. Use babyfood with the CG diet. The CG diet has many vitamins, minerals, and protein. However variety is important, and there are many babyfoods out there with nutriatns not found in the diet. Offer thins like, peach, banana, mango, papaya, pear, apricot, turkey, chicken, etc. The poultry can be used as added protein BBF, Sounds like you could have a buckskin, cream (depeding on how you see color), patternelss borwn, many things really. A "morph" is the type of color the gecko is and its patterns to make it simple. There are Reds, Yellows, Salmons, Buckskins, Sulfurs, Rusts, Oranges, Grays, and Everything inbetween in terms of color. Then in patterns, there are many aswell. Flames, Fires, Harlequins, Pinstripe, etc. There isnt reason for concern just yet bbf, give him/her a bit more time. May not be a bad idea to continue the finger lickin feeding if you are concerned. Go ahead and buy some crickets from the pet store, the gecko may get interested if it sees one roaming the cage. Make sure you gutload well, pet stores usually use crappy stuff to keep the crickets alive. Feed thins you would offer the gecko, and remember if possible buy some gutload from http://cricketfood.com . They's got the best around. 1lb is prolly all thats needed for a few months I would assume. What exactly are the measurements? The enclosure could be too large for the juvie crestie, which can be stressing it out. If too large, section some of the cage off. I think its fine though, is it 17.5" x 17.5" x 17.5" ? P.S. Please post pics FrickFrack! Your Cresties sounds stunning!
Yes, 17.5 all around. Is it too big? To get a good idea visit this url. http://www.exo-terra.com/products/glass_terrariums_i.html I believe it is the largest one pictured. Should I section it off?? If so, how would you recomend I do this without it climbing over the section? A million and one questions..my apologies. BBF
Jeffreh...thank you for the help The T-rex CG diet did turn into a gel overnight...which has caused me to wonder how long the food is good for afer it is mixed??? The bottle says "the mixture will be liquidy at first but will thicken after several minutes" does this mean wait until it has gelled to serve??? I don't think they have eaten any of it out of the small lid I have it in, but they sure like the 1/4 size crix...pretty kewl to watch em jump to grab them (so fast) I will pick up some baby food today and use it as a treat when handling them so they associate handling with the baby food I am using a 15 watt UVB bulb...is this low enough?? I will be interested to hear what you have to say about enclosure sizes...I am currently working on a double sided vivarium for the cresties when the get older and the measurement of each side will be 36"tall / 16"deep / 20"wide...I would like to eventually house 2 separate 4somes (1m/3f) heres a pic of the frame of it.... here is a link to a pic of the viv I am using for right now... http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/R0...6/Itemdy00.aspx and heres a few pics of the new babies...
BBF, 17.5" all around is fine for a youngin, if no improvement is shown over the next week section some off and bring a fecal sample to the vet. Just a poo, no crestie required. Finda good herp vet online at http://arav.org or http://herpvetconnection.com in your area. They should do a smear and float... And no prob about Q's, the more the better. Heck if no one asked Q's how could they take good care of a crestie? Michael, your enclosure size sounds fine to me. Again, if the crestie does not show signs of becoming accustomed, and is stressed; you may wish to section some off. But I think yours is just dandy :wink: FrickFrack, You can serve it liquidy or gel. Gel obviously is easier, but either provide the same stuff when feeding. You can wait if it seems more appropriate. If they dont eat it, mix it with babyfood (they can be quite picky). The babyfood idea sounds good to me, as does the crickets. Spike eats them from my hand or from his branch when its VERY dark in my room. I cant even really see him catch them so when he pounces I tend to jump a bit . I know hes ready fro crix when he sits on his log facing the water dish, this way I have room to put my hand down with a cricket inside or drop a cricket in frint of him. If time is short I offer crickets with no back legs from a custard cup burried halfway in the substrate. They cant get out, he can get in 15 watt sounds low enough for UVB, what brand and type? (eg. exo terra 2.0, 5.0, or 8.0). Heh, the frame looks wonderful. Sounds like excellent dimensions for four cresties. Make sure males are past 10 months and females past 12 before breeding and introducing to the large enclosure. It's possible to take 2 months of those but I beleive you'll have a better chance to 2 eggs with an older healthier gal and guy. Ahh tha babies look awesome! The grow up so fast, I remeber when spike was no larger than the length of my finger. Now hes push 10". *tear* Great pics!
