New crested formula?

[Kyle Barker]

I am curiouse who is trying the new crested diet developed by Sandfire dragon ranch. I am very interested to see how well it works out. Also interested to see if anyone is trying out the gargoyle and leachie formulas. I have talked to some people about using it for day/banana geckos instead of fruit, and it seems promising.
Thanks for your input,
Kyle

[Jazzey]

Hi Kyle,

I was hunting for that formula but have not been able to find it!
What pet store is selling it?
Jazzey

[Zoom]

I have some but so far I have only tried it once. You have to mix it with water and then let it "gel". Anyway I did that and then mixed it with some peach baby food ( I had read some where to do that) and my crested did not touch it. I'm going to keep trying it though.

[beth wallbank]

Sandfire Dragon Ranch sells it by the pound. The easiest way to mix and store it is in ice cube trays then freezing it. It is said to be full of all the essentials for the cresteds so that no dusting or crix are needed to be offered. I have heard mixed reviews, but some of the top crested breeders swear by it.

[sara]

I've tried it... my cresteds hate it but i'm not going to let them get off the hook that easy. ;)
I'm really picky about what I feed my leachies so I think i'm going to pass on that formula for a few years and see what happens.

[Kyle Barker]

Cool thanx. That ice cube deal is a great idea.
Jazzey: I dont know of any pet stores that carry it, they dont seem to carry many usefull items. I have a friend that got a few pounds of the crested and a few of the gargoyale, and hes going to send me some to try with my cresteds, and day geckos.

I have also heard a couple people say its hard for them to start eating it, unless they were brought up on it, any thoughts?
Thanks,

kyle

[cyberfrog]

My pair ate it the first night I put it in. They have eaten it every day since. I have had 0 problems with it so far.

[cyberfrog]

Oh, and PetCo carries it.

[RaVeNo888o]

i dont have a gecko yet but want one.. im interested in the crested food. since it is supposed to provide the vitamens and stuff , if i were to get some cricks every few weeks or so, would i still have to gut load them or could i just buy them and put them in the cage for the cresteds to eat?

what i was thinking is that i could use the formula for the most part and then give pieces of friut, crickets and silk worms everyonce in awhile, and babyfood. If i did this wouldi have to worry about suppliments?

[sara]

The cgd is a complete source for nutrition so you don't have to suppliment it with other food sources, but it's totally up to you. If you do feed crix as well then continue to load them up, otherwise they will just be filler. Since you are only planning on using the other food sources occasionally, I don't think you will have to worry about supplimenting them.

[CDN-Cresties]

The only place that i have found the CGD in is Reptile only pet stores, i have yet to see it in a Super Pet. The key to getting them hooked on the diet is to put a little bit on thier favorite food item, then gradually incresing the amount in each feeding.

The only problem is that some cresties take to it quickly while other dont but there should be no problem once they are established on the diet. Hope this helps :D

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

is it costly? how does it compare to other forms of feeding in that respect?

[CDN-Cresties]

Well its not that bad, 10 buck for a jar that makes a 1/2 pound of food, thats the same price as 100 crix. The CGD last longer than the crix. Overall i think it is a good buy.

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

cool, thats good news...how long would you say that the 1/2 pound would last, for one crestie.
also, not on topic of the food, but lets say i got one (likely female) would it be safe to eventually get another female and house them in same cage? with the difference in time that i got them would this cause problems between the two? even with age difference?

[CDN-Cresties]

Hmm,i have no idea how long one bottle of CGD would last but i would say quite a while. Two females in one enclosure should be fine as long as they are the relatively the same size.

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

the price here is 5.99
here are the ingrediants for those who are interested

"Banana powder, honey powder, hempola hempseed meal, bee pollen, calcium caseinate (source of isolated protein), fig powder, wheat germ meal, alfalfa leaf meal, brewers yeast, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, yeast culture, spirulina algae, rosehips powder, kelp meal, haemotococcus algae, marigold extract, rosemary extract, yucca extract, natural mixed tocopherols (as a preservative), vitamin A acetate, d-activated animal sterol (source of vitamin D3), dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried lactobacillus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium thermophilum fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product and dried bacillus subtilis fermentation product."

i got the info from petco, here http://www.petco.com/product_info.asp?familyid=11002&sku=4385483292&tab=5&dept_id=2522&c1=2517&c2=2522&c3=&ct1=Food&ct2=Geckos&ct3=

[CDN-Cresties]

So RaVeNo888o, are you getting a crested gecko? I hope so, the crested gecko scence here in Canada seems dead. Hopefully it picks up because cresties are amazing geckos. :D

-Steve-

[alan]

i thought the love of crested geckos are still growing? I bought mine two months ago and I enjoy them a lot :D Planning to get another pair or so in the near future but I am waiting for the right price and the right morph :D

[CDN-Cresties]

Yea i didnt mean dead as in no one is interested, i meant that im surprised that more people havent got into yet. Sorry i should of stated that. What morph are you looking for Alan? Im currenlty looking for some dark fires with a nice contrast of brown and orange/yellow.

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

ya, creastie im pretty sure im gonna get one, sooner rather than later. I hope to get one at that Totally Pets Show at the hershy centre if a breeder will be there (are any of you guys going to that?). good call on the cresties :-) as the one that suited my needs. Are most of the morphs generally around the same price? how much does one usually go from a breeder in canada?

[CDN-Cresties]

First off let me say Congrats on your decision :D

It depends on the seller, some people choose to sell cresties at the same price no matter what the morph, while others sell according to morph. Im going to the show as well. You can most likely get a nice crested gecko for under 125 dollars, plus you can alway negotiate. Good Luck on finding one!!! :D

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

hey thanks man, if it werent for you i would probably be in the leo forum right now lol...

well, maybe ill see you there. Is the $125 for a baby or juvie or what? I really dont mind what colour it is, even normals look awesome to me, but i do like the reds and oranges. If i dont get one at totally pets, im sure i can make it down to the november herp show

[CDN-Cresties]

125 is for a baby or juvie, it all depends where you go really. All crestie morphs are amazing to me, but right now i have 3 oranges, 1 yellow, and one buck/olive cresties. Trust me, you wont regred your decision :D

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

thanks...i need to get some money. Im goin to univ in sep and i got a loan from OSAP, but right now im not sure how much of the loan is spending money. Im trying to get a job but nobody seems to be hiring at the moment. Tried at the pet store across the street from my dad but not hiring.

[CDN-Cresties]

Cool me too, what univ do you go to, im at York Univ.

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

im going to the new one in oshawa, University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
i also got into ryerson but decided on UOIT. what year are you in? goin into 3rd?
i think my buddy is goin your york.

hey whats your opinion. Since im only getting one for now, what is better, a male or female?

[alan]

Basically I am just looking for any type of fire. It's no urgent because I want to start a crestie breeding project and I am still waiting for the verdict on the sex of my pair. In a perfect world they'll turn out 1.1 and I'll look for a female or just another pair. They are only three months old so I won't have any idea until November. So till then, I'll just wait and see if there's any good deals out there. :D
I am kinda interested in their genetics though, Steve you mentioned in another post that you might get a red by breeding two buckskins together? So I guess cresties genetics are nothing like leos? The pair I got are buckskins with one being tan and the other one changing from tan to dark brown. What will I get if they are 1.1 and are being breeded together?

Oh, by the way, I went to York too, graduated last year :D

[RaVeNo888o]

im not really in a hurry either, i plan on getting one withing a month or two, probably at one of the shows. I need some time to get a cage together and stuff. I like the fires but even normals look awesome i think.

[CDN-Cresties]

Alan,
Crested geckos are polymorphic, it's always a surprise to see what colour and pattern the hatchlings have. Not only can cresties have a different colour from thier parents but alos thier clutch mates.

This is awesome, but i also read articles on how cresties are selctively bred for colour which makes me believe that breeding a red with a red increases the chances of red babies and so on. I could be wrong but thats the impression that i get. :D

-Steve-

[alan]

But I guess I do need a fire to have a chance to get a fire? Unlike Leos, there are not as many informations on their genetics on the net. Do you have any links on such topic?

[CDN-Cresties]

Alan,
I read this on this forum, just go looking for it, it use to have a pic attached to it but it no longer works. Im sure the Rhac book coming out in augest should mention something on it.... hopefully :)

-Steve-

[alan]

Thanks Steve, but what's the Rhac book?

[CDN-Cresties]

Its a manuel on the care of Rhacodactylus- Cresties, leachies, gargoyles

-Steve-

[alan]

Oh, ic. Thanks :D

[RaVeNo888o]

figured i would post a link right to the forum for the diet at sandfire dragon ranch's site. Allen actually answers your questions, so you know the answers will be right
http://pub4.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=313319572

[Eric Klees]

I retail bottle of the CGD diet will last 1 month for an adult crestie.

[CDN-Cresties]

How long for 1 baby?
Thanks

-Steve-

[RaVeNo888o]

oh awesome, i wasnt expecting it to last that long.

[Eric Klees]

Well, its all in how much you feed the gecko and how much it eats. The first bottle might not last you a month (if you over feed each feeding alittle till you hammer out how much the animal eats)

For example. I have a hard time figuring how much I actually need since I have so many animals from hatchling to adult and laying females. I bought 5 pounds (2 2.5 lb containers) from Allen Repashy back in late may and I am just into the 2nd container.

[RaVeNo888o]

ya, i read a few people asking allen why their cresteds are barely eating, but he said that they may eat very little of the diet (compared to other food) because that is all they need to get the nutrients and stuff they need since the diet is so rich.

[Eric Klees]

Thats right, but not what I meant. What I mean is how much to mix up in general. I know ho much to put down for each animal... Just that I dont know how much to mix at once for all of them, get it?

So I mix on the light side and mix more as I need it.