baby crestie, growing too slow?

[Thrush]

Hi all!

I was wondering if my crestie is growing abnormally slowly, he seems a little scrawny and he hardly eats. He'll take a couple licks of apricot baby food, or cgd, on his own, but otherwise I have to touch it to his lips and make him lick it off. he's about 31/2" long and I think he's about 2 1/2 months old. any comments? how big are yours at that age? I also alternate with a fruit mix that I've pureed and frozen (mostly peaches, pears). I have him in a critter keeper right now with paper towel substrate and some fake leafy vines.
Thanks in advance
Thrush

[CDN-Cresties]

he'll grow slowly on that diet you are providing him. Their stomachs are so tiny that it doesnt take them much to get full. I'd recommend some crickets if you wish to see your crestie grow quicker. Just make sure they are dusted and the appropriate size.

[DragnDrop]

Some cresties, particularly males aren't too anxious to eat for the first while, but they do like their bugs. I would agree that trying small crickets might be the way to go. Even picky eaters can't seem to resist the moving targets.

[Thrush]

I have tried crickets many times, and he only ate one once, the first day I got him. and I have tried various sizes of crickets too.
But it did eat a small amount of cdg yesterday, so that's good.

If anyone has anymore ideas for food for my skinny crestie, please let me know.

[CDN-Cresties]

Are you watching your crestie while he hunts for crix? If so that could be a reason why. I have a few cresties that are shy hunters. If thats the case. Count how many you put in and count them again the next day to see how many are left.

[concept3]

I agree with CDN, do not watch him, make sure it is dark at night where he is and put 4 or 5, 2 week crickets in with him./ Im sure you will find the next day some or all are missing/

[Thrush]

I have kept two crickets in with him for over a week, and he didn't touch them. I know he saw them, since one actually walked over his tail and he freaked out. He was in a medium sized critter keeper, so he could find them quite easily. He's just not interested. I replaced the crickets with new ones and no go.
I got him to eat some cgd yesterday, but I almost feel like I'm force feeding him, since I keep having to touch his lips with the food, and wait for him to lick it off indignantly. It is definitely dark at night, since he's in my room. Any more thoughts?

[HeatherRose]

What about other feeders? Small mealies, silkworms etc. I find they're easier to start babies off on, they're easier to catch too...

Like Steve said, their stomachs are soooooo tiny. He should grow well with CGD, just slowly.

Good luck Colleen :D

[little_dragon_]

Try using some egg cartons for cover. He might not feel secure in his surroundings.

[ydnic]

okay, i`ll bite

Whats CGD?

[CDN-Cresties]

CGD = Crested Gecko Diet :)

What are your temps like? Humidity? Could you take a pic of te enclosure?

[HeatherRose]

One more thing... if you're concerned about growth, Gargoyle Gecko Diet contains a bit more protein than Crested Gecko Diet. It's the one with the darker purple lid. It smells less like mud too :p

:D

[ydnic]

aaaaaaaaaahhh...makes sense. I didn`t think those prepakaged food at the pet store were all that good to be feeding - I guess you learn something new everyday!

[Bartman]

I hate those prepared foods, but the cdg is just powder you can mix with baby food that gives them all the nutrients they need and is usually highly suggested for cresties.

My good friend breeds tons of cresties and he feeds his mostly babyfood/cdg and not too many crickets. He was comparing his cresties to Hilde's cresties and noticed, even though they were the same age, that the ones on more crickets were growing much bigger.

[little_dragon_]

Also a very good vitamin supplement for crested geckos is the leopard gecko icb dust by t rex. Shake those crickets! It seems to contain more benifical ingredients for cresteds then it does for leopard geckos.

[ydnic]

thanx

[Thrush]

Thanks for the comments,
I have just moved the little guy to a larger rubbermaid with two live plants (pothos etc) and his fake vines. Already I noticed an increase in humidity, but not much change in eating habits. I got some more cgd into him today, but it's such a small amount! At least he's still quite active when he's out. I think I'll try some mealworms, but the only silks around are pretty big... (at HeronGate they usually have lots of larger silks, where do you go Heather?)
I'll try to take some pics soon.
Thanks again for all the imput,
Thrush

[HeatherRose]

I've never even been to HeronGate mall hehe. I live right downtown... I usually go to Little Critters @ Billings Bridge, PetSmart or Super Pet. The silks at Super Pet are HUGE, and 1$ each! How much are they at Heron Gate?

[Bartman]

I pay 80 cents for silks..they are so expensive!

[DragnDrop]

Originally posted by Bartman
My good friend breeds tons of cresties and he feeds his mostly babyfood/cdg and not too many crickets. He was comparing his cresties to Hilde's cresties and noticed, even though they were the same age, that the ones on more crickets were growing much bigger.

I remember that incident. When he asked me at the show how old mine were, he couldn't believe it. He thought mine must be way older judging by the size. The difference was the extra protein mine were getting in their diet. I feed them crickets, but also mix some yogurt in with the fruit. This way even the lazy ones who don't feel like hunting live prey will at least get enough protein if they only eat fruit. It does make a big difference in hatchlings, especially in the first few months.

[Thrush]

the silks are a buck each at the pet patch at heron gate as well :(

[Ducksarefun]

Hilde, what kind of yogurt do you use? Plain? And do you mix half and half or more fruit?

[DragnDrop]

Originally posted by Ducksarefun
Hilde, what kind of yogurt do you use? Plain? And do you mix half and half or more fruit?

Doesn't really matter much, though they do like fruit flavoured yogurt more. I posted my 'recipe' a while back. It's a few posts down in this thread (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58485&perpage=15&highlight=yogurt&pagenumber=1)

It's not a precise recipe, each batch is a bit different but the basic ingredients are always the same. I make a big batch since I've got a lot of Rhacs to feed (even use the day-old leftovers for fruit fly gutload). If you're not feeding an army, cut back on the ingredients if you don't want a freezer full of it for a while. It's quite tasty, I'll even have some once in a while, and my dogs and cat love it too.