# Breeding Crested Geckos



## Liam17 (Jul 20, 2008)

Hey,

I have got a few crested geckos and will have some more coming during the summer (hopefully) I intend on setting up a small breeding project as there are very few breeders in my area. (I had to have mine shipped to me)

Can anyone give me the basic details of feeding the young? I understand incubation period temp and humidity but so far I have found nothing about feeding hatchlings.

Also can eggs be marked with a spot of paint, to tell them apart, or would this damage them in anyway?

Hope to here from some one soon

Liam :2thumb:


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

FEEDING THE YOUNG SHOULD BE BABY FOOD CRESTY DRY MIX AND CALCIUM ,,USE THE BABY FOOD TO MAKE THE MIX INSTEAD OF WATER LIKE YOU WOULD FOR ADULTS. SMOTHER THE YOUNGS FACE IN THE MIX AND THEY WILL LICK IT OFF. THEY WILL TAKE IT FROM YOUR FINGER . THAT WAY YOU KNOW THEY ARE GETTING SOMETHING AND THEN YOU CAN PUT IT IN A SMALL DISH,,I USE THE LIDS FROM BABY FOOD JARS...SMALL DUSTED CRICKETS AS WELL BUT THAT USUALLY TAKES A WEE WHILE:lol2:


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## Liam17 (Jul 20, 2008)

Cool thanks, i had a young one and did that for him, he was 7 weeks when i got him. But babies you just monitor their eating, they dont need force feeding then?

Cool thanks



PETERAROBERTSON said:


> FEEDING THE YOUNG SHOULD BE BABY FOOD CRESTY DRY MIX AND CALCIUM ,,USE THE BABY FOOD TO MAKE THE MIX INSTEAD OF WATER LIKE YOU WOULD FOR ADULTS. SMOTHER THE YOUNGS FACE IN THE MIX AND THEY WILL LICK IT OFF. THEY WILL TAKE IT FROM YOUR FINGER . THAT WAY YOU KNOW THEY ARE GETTING SOMETHING AND THEN YOU CAN PUT IT IN A SMALL DISH,,I USE THE LIDS FROM BABY FOOD JARS...SMALL DUSTED CRICKETS AS WELL BUT THAT USUALLY TAKES A WEE WHILE:lol2:


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## retri (Mar 5, 2008)

Babies should eat CGD fine, but as said above, use baby food to mix the CGD, and keep them in small faunariums all sperate, that way you can monitor who is eating by the poo.


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> FEEDING THE YOUNG SHOULD BE BABY FOOD CRESTY DRY MIX AND CALCIUM ,,USE THE BABY FOOD TO MAKE THE MIX INSTEAD OF WATER LIKE YOU WOULD FOR ADULTS. SMOTHER THE YOUNGS FACE IN THE MIX AND THEY WILL LICK IT OFF. THEY WILL TAKE IT FROM YOUR FINGER . THAT WAY YOU KNOW THEY ARE GETTING SOMETHING AND THEN YOU CAN PUT IT IN A SMALL DISH,,I USE THE LIDS FROM BABY FOOD JARS...SMALL DUSTED CRICKETS AS WELL BUT THAT USUALLY TAKES A WEE WHILE:lol2:


id seriously not recomend that but its for reasons of keeping the cresties with instincts to help them survive.. and make good hunters etc... also it can cause issues with associating handling with being covered in food.. and frankly many cresties dont appreciate that.. i know as ive dealt with some who had issues eating because of this.. 2 males and 1 female.. one male in particular seriously disliked it but the owner had been told thats what to do...

anyways i took him on and managed to sort the issue out...

ok soooo....

hatchlings need to learn they must eat sleep and drink in the first few weeks.. if they make it past that then they should know what to do... if not somethings up and things can be altered to help them..

more low dishes of food in viv

or letting them lick cgd off a damp cotton bud... so they dont associate having food smoethered on their noses and faces.. .with hands etc.. and they can CHOOSE to eat.. instead of having it covered over them

Im also one for not helping a hatchling out of an egg... i feel if they cant make it out the egg then theres something not quite right.. but thats by the by in this thread...

IM not a hard person by any means and ive resuced sick lizards and snakes etc and nurrsed them sometimes for months to help them get well along with intensive vet treatment..

but when it comes to new babies i feel strongly they have to learn to fend for themselves of course with a watchful eye from the owner and intervention of something goes wrong.. but dont smother as a matter of course... even tbe most sick cresties wil usually lick from a damp cotton bud.. theres no need to cause food stress with sticking it over their noses and faces

a light drop is ok.. smothering... i feel isnt.. 



if you dont even give them the chance to feed themselves and use the smother method what are you teaching them???

that this is how they feed.. which frankly would make the transition over from smothering to normal feeding possibly very difficult.. now it has worked for some i do know this... but ive dealt with problem feeders due to this method... 

ive seen cresties HATING the smother method and basically wiping it off their faces , backing away and wriggling.. shaking their heads and wiping away what they can on palnts and leaves in their tanks.. and struggling to get away from the owner..

its not good to reinforce that each time a hand goes near them they will be subjected to this..

this can make them more difficult to handle them if they associate your fingers and hands with something forced


all that said ive seen cresties who dont mind the smother method but not many..

most hate it... and it stresses them and its invasive and goes against their natural desrie to feed when they WANT to not when you administer food..

my friend had an adult that WOULDNT eat because she had been told to smother the face in CGD..

i took him gave him some peace and quiet to eat as he pleased and within 4 night he was eating all his CGD and munching on crix

theres no need to somether the face in cgd..

a wee bit licking off ingers to help bond.. but thats it really..

a crestie that isnt eating on its own at all should be seen by a vet really..

a smal shallow dish is fine for feeding youngsters..

and place a few round the tankso they can find it easily...

as long as u can see little poos it means they are eating..

as for force feeding liam its really not a good idea with cresties.. their jaws are way way too delicate and can snap easily with force feeding..

hope that helped xxxx


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Totally agree with Sparkly on this one - this girl knows her onions where cresties are concerned and I would certainly always follow her advice if I wasn't sure.


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

brittone05 said:


> Totally agree with Sparkly on this one - this girl knows her onions where cresties are concerned and I would certainly always follow her advice if I wasn't sure.


 
LOL

i am a boring cow...

i read up on cresties every day .. loads of roums lots of breeders differing opinions.. and also have dealt now with 8 cresties with various issues.,.

and sadly lost two with serious health problems they had b4 they came to me..

i boringly stay up late to document interaction.. types of feeding and behaviours and try various tests with combinations of amounts of cgd compared to crix etc... i watch if they are stressed from red/ blue lighting...

or if being near a window makes them hide..

and i watch for detailed differences in each animal..

I have noticed females who are gravid want to be in sunlight more... but id liek to talk more to other breeders to see if they have also experienced that

ive found only cgd with one female casued NO weight gain in 6 to 8 weeks.. and she was 17 grams to start with

whilst my other females fed on cgd and crix twice a week gained 5 to 6 grams..

im a BIG BORE lol,,

but i try my best

both with hands on dealing with feeding or health issues and just generally having fun caring for these wee cute critters


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

With my babies i just give them a shallow pot of CGD and leave them to it, i change food ever other day and mist them every day.


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

blondesarah said:


> With my babies i just give them a shallow pot of CGD and leave them to it, i change food ever other day and mist them every day.


 
sounds perfect.. the only time u need to worry is if ure weighing them and one isnt gowing at all..

cresties can grow slowly though.. I get annoyed that people expect them to all grow the same rate so if you have a 10 month old thats 5 grams or 10 grams heavier than the others it means the smaller one is ill..


some cresties can take a huge growth spurt in what seems 2 weeks whilst others slow down..

there is an avergae growth chart but this is average.. to get average you need first to have some below and some above...

if youre at all worried at any point try the little damp cotton bud trick...

to see if they are eating the food... if so do as sarah says and leave little shallow lids( u can use milk lids they are shallow enough) around the viv in different places rather that just one.. that way they will be likely to find it fine 


crickets once or twice a week is good too..

but i know of someone who overfeeds crickets and especially for females if breeding it can cause overproduction of eggs and weaken both the eggs and the female due to laying too many clutches


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## chris_walton (Dec 20, 2007)

good god that sparkle is a fountain of knowledge im so glad i read this now:flrt::flrt:


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

chris_walton said:


> good god that sparkle is a fountain of knowledge im so glad i read this now:flrt::flrt:


erm...

im not really just when it comes to cresties really ,,, and thats cos i spend WAY too much time researching and observing and dealing with wee not well cresties for other people LOL

i cant even do my times tables and im not joking !!!!


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## chris_walton (Dec 20, 2007)

well if i ever need help with crestie im coming to you


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## pfsb (Jun 19, 2008)

*sorry.*

sparkle u really know your stuff, but so far everyone thats poken about this has said crickets only once or twice a week. young cresties especially in their first 2 months will eat everyday to every other day and this needs to be crickets for the protein (which promotes quick growth). cresties are naturally insectivorous and will seek fruit in the wild as a supplement to their diet not a staple.
ive bred cresties and raised the hatchlings with cricks most days (only about 4 at a time so they dnt get overwhelmed) and then baby food twice a week. 
im sorry im not trying to say what your saying is wrong im just adding my opinion to it thats all.


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

hi thats fine 

i never get annoyed at other opnions.. its good to know various ways tried and tested.. and no reason why i cant try in future your method versus my methos and see the results...

im not adverse to having my mind changed and i like ot hear different views

one thing i had to explain to someone once was not to overfeed crix ..

they fed adults crix every day

the breeding females if fed calcium crix every day can become over calcified resulting in over laying if gravid too many clutches etc.. 

also too MUCH calcium crix can be just as detrmental as none


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