New babies and eating

[ColleenT]

hey, everyone.. if you got your crestie as a baby, how did you start them eating, or did you just leave food in there and hope for the best?

I have been using the crested diet by T rex and they seemed to like it mixed the applesauce babyfood, but not the other flavors. should i try to get them eating without the crested diet, first, just so they will eat something?

i have been trying to show mine the food dish, and give them a taste, and when i check on them, they don't seem to be trying it, so i usually pick them up, touch their nose in it, and let them lick it from their nose. i have a smaller critter keeper in the tank, so they can find the food, and i even tried two tiny crickets, today, and they did not want them. my eye dropper did not work well, so maybe a small syringe?

any suggestions? i also know that some reptiles do not eat when they first arrive, due to stress, but since they ate on their first day, i was hopeful that they would keep eating. thanks. Colleen

[ColleenT]

Oh, Yeah, and how much should a baby gecko eat? like a half a teaspoon?

[HeatherRose]

Geckos are nocturnal, so they'll eat more at night! They're VERY active at night :)

Try putting a few crickets in the enclosure before you turn out the lights or nighttime :)

Also, with babyfood, I'm not sure how the CGD affects it, but it goes bad pretty fast so I wouldn't leave it in the enclosure...mine never eats it that way anyway. :)

They MIGHT eat half a teaspooN! they have tiny bellies, they're so small :D Mine usually refuses after it seems full :)

I use a syringe full of babyfood, sometimes they go for it, sometimes I dab it on their nose...works better for different flavours anyway :)

Good lucK!

[scott hough]

I just put a bit on my finger and hold it near their mouth. If they don't go for it right away, I put a tiny pit on their nose and when they lick at their nose I leave my finger close (so close that when they lick their nose, they pick up a bit extra). Usually they go for it right away.

[RaVeNo888o]

the first time i hand fed my crestie he would just lick the friut off but this time after he licked a few times he would jab at it and take whole mouthfulls and do the thing where he lets go and quickly bites down again like with the cricks.

[ColleenT]

ok, today they took some banana flavored baby food and Crested diet mix and then they ate some crickets, so i am happy. i just want them to learn to like the babyfood, b/c i would like to eventually wean them off crickets and give them crickets as an occasional treat. the one baby eats much better than the other, so i hope he(or she) grows an appetite soon.

[HeatherRose]

Nice! Mine loves banana too.....

be careful with banana, it's got a lot of potassium and too much is bad for cresties and most other reptiles I believe....I think it was part of the reason I had some issues with my gecko :| Now I'm using mixed fruit flavour :)

I only use it once and a while, which sucks 'cause I think it's their fave :P

I've heard of cresties being only on heavily-supplemented babyfood.....even meat flavours for extra protien...good luck ;)