Feeding pinkies

[CDN-Cresties]

I was just wondering if any of you have tried feeding pinkies to your cresties. I have read on other forums that some crestie owners do this once in a while to pack some weight on females. Is this a safe practice? I just like to hear your opinions. Thanks in advance.

[sara]

I don't think it's a great idea. Just because they will eat them, doesn't mean that they should. I think it's way too much fat and protien for a crested to handle.
Another thing to think about when feeding pinks to geckos is the mess they can make. One of my leachies likes to whip them around her cage until it finally tears apart and sprays mouse guts everywhere, then she swallows it.:eek: Not the most peasant thing to see, or clean up for that matter.

[little_dragon_]

I've never offered my Crested Geckos a pinky before but I don't see any harm in it. I would personally stick to a large silk worm as a treat or for gravid females.

[CDN-Cresties]

I wasnt planning on feeding pinkies to my cresties. I just wanted to hear some opinions on this subject.

[wyz]

I tried it once and didn't want them... heck, they don't even want silkies :)

But if they would take it, I don't think something like once a month would be that bad. no scientific experiment to back me up, just a feeling.

WYZ

[DragnDrop]

Never tried it with cresties and I would think it's not recommended.

Think about wild cresties -- their diet is 50-75% fruit, the rest soft bodied bugs and tiny snails, arthropods, whatever is soft bodied. They didn't develop strong jaws to properly chew their prey. Even crickets are just crunched once or twice, enough to stun them, maybe keep them from fighting back or crawling back up and out, but they certainly don't properly chew their food. If they eat something that's strong and not killed outright, they'd suffer major damage. Even a live pinky could put up a fair struggle from a crestie throat and stomach perspective. If they'd just give a pinky a bite or two, then swallow, it would still be very alive, not likely a safe meal. I realize a frozen/thawed pinky is dead and probably quite mushy, but even our CB cresties are working with instinct, no knowledge of the great advances our technology can afford them in the meal department. So chances are if you feed them a pinky, instinct says to pass, it's too dangerous to tackle.
Other rhacs like leachianus and gargoyle might benefit, they even eat like a predator of pinkies and stronger prey animals would. Even though they too eat mostly fruit in the wild, when they have a larger insect, they know how to eat it. They don't chew any more than a crestie would, but they have stronger jaws and larger teeth. And when they grab a bigger than average insect, they'll hold it in their mouths for a while, jaws clenched tight. That's a typical approach to holding the prey until it dies before swallowing. I've seen cresties do the same thing but not near long enough to kill anything larger than a cricket, and even then they don't seem to apply much if any pressure. It's more like they're just holding it there while deciding whether to eat or let it go.

If you do decide to try pinkies, I would suggest the smallest thawed one you can find. All that meat protein is probably not easy for a largely fructivor gecko to digest. Don't be surprised if it's regurgitated --- and don't ask me to come clean up the stinky mess either ;)