# Crested Gecko advice needed please



## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

Hi,

So I have recently bought a crested gecko that im actually in love with she so cute  called phoebe. I think she is 10 weeks old though i can't be sure because the pet shop wasn't sure.

I think she may not be eating some of her food though, she eat crickets and an occasional wax worm a couple times a week but she hardly touches her Zoo med's gecko food mixed with fruit puree. I think she doesnt like it so i want to maybe feed her just fruit and crickets but not sure if this is okay? any help would be appreciated 

oh and also her tank reaches 28 degrees celcius during the day at the top and 19 at night is this okay?

Thankyouuu


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2011)

Not sure if this care sheet is of use?  Crested gecko Care Sheet


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## Chromisca (Sep 28, 2010)

I'd stop giving her the waxworms, they're literally squirming twinkies for reptiles. Very faaty, and very addictive. As far as the CGD goes, I haven't heard much about Zoo Med's diet, but I think most people use Clark's or Repashy's Cresto Gecko Diet. You could try using one of those and see if she prefers one better. 

Now, I've never owned a crestie, but have read a lot of information on them, so this doesn't come from experience, but I think 28 C is way too hot. From what I've read, most people house their cresties at room temperature as they don't take to hot temperatures very well. The universal room temperature is 68 F (or 20 C). The only time I've heard of supplemental heat being used, is if someone's house gets quite chilly in the winter and they've used something to boost the temps up a bit in their gecko's viv.


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## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

The care sheet was interesting but didnt have anything about food on it

And okay i will try maybe room temperature but she doesnt seem to mind the heat to much, when i got her at the pet shop a heat source was used nearly reaching 30 celcius which i thought was far to much.

I keep hearing different temperatures from 28 to 26 to 20 so unsure


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## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

and okay i will stop the wax worms thankyou and maybe try some better powdered diet food


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## Chromisca (Sep 28, 2010)

From what I gather, room temperature is completely acceptable and it's closest to the temperature in their native environment. Apparently, they don't tolerate warmer temperatures very well at all, and do better in an environment that's a bit too cool, than a bit too warm. 

Reptiles are excellent at masking illness and injury, and you may not realize there's a problem until it's too late.


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

how long have you had her? 

you really should get her eating her powdered diet cause it contains all the nessessary vitamins and stuff that she'll need to grow up healthy

how often do you feed livefood?


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## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

Ive had her for 2 weeks now and I think she does eat a bit of her powdered diet but i can never be 100% sure. I usually feed her a cricket every other day so maybe 3/4 a week?


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

well, as long as you dust the insects with nutrobal you should be fine, and when they are young, they normally eat tiny amounts anyways  some just prefer CGD, others prefer livefood 

temps are also fine btw


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## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

okay thats a relief  she does seem to love the crickets :mf_dribble:
thankyou


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## kelsey7692 (Jul 28, 2010)

How much of the CDG are you giving her? Baby Crested Geckos have a VERY tiny stomach, so they can only eat a tiny amount each night. It is likely that it is eating but a very small amount so you are not noticing. I would use milk bottle tops as food bowls, and put a very thin covering of food inside it. This way, you will easily be able to see the lick marks and tell whether it is eating or not. The CGD is very important and it contains the relevant nutrients and vitamins to keep the gecko healthy.

In my opinion, live food no more than twice a week for a Crestie, and dusted of course too. In the wild livefood only makes up a small percentage of the Crested Geckos food, so really they should be eating a lot more CGD than live. I would stay away from the waxworms too.

I would also replace the Zoo Med CGD with something else (Clarks or Repashy.) Zoo Med really is the best brand of CGD. Make sure GGD is available everyday, even if livefood is being offered.

Also, is it normal for reptiles for lose their appetite and not eat as much as normal when they are moved into a new home. This is know as a 'settling in period.' It is best no to handle a new arrival for a couple of weeks after bringing it home, especially babies, as this helps it to settle in and get used to you, before you start trying to handle it. It helps to build trust. The best thing to do it spray and feed without directly handling the gecko so it gets used to these movements first.


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

she'll grow up faster on livefood diet then with a pure powder based diet too  good luck with her!


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## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

okay i will try a milk bottle cap sounds like a good idea  though i only give her half a teaspoon of CGD and half of fruit puree anyway. and ill cut the waxworms too, sorry phoebe! 

thanks for the advice!


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## hclarky21 (Sep 15, 2011)

which is the best CGD food?


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## kelsey7692 (Jul 28, 2010)

I personally use the Clarks (Papaya Flavour) but Repashy is just as good. I use a childrens medicine spoon to measure my CDG. Each geckos gets the small spoon (2.5ml) of CGD mixed with the same amount of water. They never finish it off and they're 11mths and 1y5m, so it shows how small their stomachs are. Also, a pure livefood diet is not the best way to go about things. I would always recommend that about 70% of the geckos diet is made up of CGD and the rest livefood. The CGD contains the nutrients and vits that they need, so it is quite important


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## Chromisca (Sep 28, 2010)

imitebmike said:


> she'll grow up faster on livefood diet then with a pure powder based diet too  good luck with her!


I have to disagree with this. Yes, the animal will grow faster, but its lifespan will be cut short. Think of it like power feeding in snakes. For me, my pets are like my family, and I want them with me for as long as possible


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## kelsey7692 (Jul 28, 2010)

Chromisca said:


> I have to disagree with this. Yes, the animal will grow faster, but its lifespan will be cut short. Think of it like power feeding in snakes. For me, my pets are like my family, and I want them with me for as long as possible


Livefood diets would also be un natural for the geckos. Their main diet should be fruit/CGD.

I completely agree with you, you want your pets to grow up in the healthiest way possible, not feeding them so they grow to full size in the shortest time possible :whistling2:


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## dunkvs125 (Sep 2, 2011)

Hi I am also a new Cresty owner,
only had the little thing a week!
It loves Repashy's Cresto Gecko Diet, i mix it it a milk bottle top and next morning its nearly gone! also give it a few crickets, twice a week, i pop the little chap in a empty small tank with them, and he hunts them down, real cool to watch!
Just love him/her!!!!


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## Kae (Aug 28, 2011)

Chromisca said:


> I have to disagree with this. Yes, the animal will grow faster, but its lifespan will be cut short. Think of it like power feeding in snakes. For me, my pets are like my family, and I want them with me for as long as possible



Why will it cut their lifespan short? I have never seen any reference to this in any of the texts I have read, or even the thousands of posts? 

"Livefood" is not unnatural for Crested Geckos, they would happily eat any invertebrate that comes within striking distance in the wild, so occasional feeding in captivity of crickets won't be an issue. 

The emphasis should always be on the CGD diets (Clarks and Repashy specifically) as they offer a balanced, complete approach and mimic the over-ripe fruit that Cresties would eat naturally. But to suggest livefood is unnatural? Nah :Na_Na_Na_Na:.

Andy.


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## Kae (Aug 28, 2011)

dunkvs125 said:


> Hi I am also a new Cresty owner,
> only had the little thing a week!
> It loves Repashy's Cresto Gecko Diet, i mix it it a milk bottle top and next morning its nearly gone! also give it a few crickets, twice a week, i pop the little chap in a empty small tank with them, and he hunts them down, real cool to watch!
> Just love him/her!!!!



Are you dusting your crickets with a Nutrobol type complete powder?


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## Trissai (Apr 25, 2010)

I've been told not to go above 25-26*C as its not good for the crestie, Mine is also on papaya clarks diet, she loves it. I feed mine dubia roaches dusted in calcium with D3, easy to eat and is apparently one of the best nutritional value live foods - once the colony is set up as well its pretty much self sufficient for a crestie.


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## Chromisca (Sep 28, 2010)

Kae said:


> Why will it cut their lifespan short? I have never seen any reference to this in any of the texts I have read, or even the thousands of posts?
> 
> "Livefood" is not unnatural for Crested Geckos, they would happily eat any invertebrate that comes within striking distance in the wild, so occasional feeding in captivity of crickets won't be an issue.
> 
> ...


Kelsey wasn't suggesting feeding occasional live food was unnatural. Because, you're right it's not... They said feeding ONLY live food so they animal grows quicker is unnatural, which it is. 

As far as feeding an only live food diet shortening the lifespan, this to me, is common sense. You'd be feeding them an unnatural diet that their digestive systems will have to work overtime to process. In the end, this can lead to all sorts of health issues, which in turn will shorten their lifespan. 

You wouldn't feed a child certain foods to make them grow quicker, why do it to your pet?


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

livefood is not unnatural, as long as it is supplemented correctly, it is fine to feed

CGD is far more unnatural you know 

and i doubt there is any actual evidence to suggest that it causes the shortening of lifespan, cause right now, people are not even sure what the lifespan of a crested gecko is


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## Kae (Aug 28, 2011)

Chromisca said:


> Kelsey wasn't suggesting feeding occasional live food was unnatural. Because, you're right it's not... They said feeding ONLY live food so they animal grows quicker is unnatural, which it is.
> 
> As far as feeding an only live food diet shortening the lifespan, this to me, is common sense. You'd be feeding them an unnatural diet that their digestive systems will have to work overtime to process. In the end, this can lead to all sorts of health issues, which in turn will shorten their lifespan.
> 
> You wouldn't feed a child certain foods to make them grow quicker, why do it to your pet?



Fair enough, it wasn't clear you were talking about a diet only consisting of live foods. 

As for digestion, this wouldn't be the issue, but the lack of a balanced diet would be. 

Temperatures above 26/7C aren't the issue as suh, as long as you have a heat gradient, this is the important bit, just like any reptile, heat gradients should always be provided.


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## UKCrestie (Sep 9, 2011)

Temps in New Caledonia (where cresties originate) top out at 30degrees in the warmer months - but average 24degrees over the year. A heat gradient is reccomended if you can, I use heat cable outside of the tank to create warm spots of around 26degrees, the rest fo the viv fluctuates between 19degrees and 23 degrees over the year. Hope that helps : victory:


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