Feeding Info

[danyarp]

I'm just curious about how often and what size people are feeding their cresties? I'm wondering if maybe I'm feeding them to big of crickets they are getting 3/4. about 8-10 every other day. Who knows maybe I'm feeding them to much? They seemd to have done pretty good on that. However I find that they won't touch baby food! Any other suggestions about feeding.

Also I have one crested gecko and he's skinny!! He's about a year old and I can't seem to make him gain weight. He's not to the point where I'm concerned about him, because hes very active in the cage! Any ideas for you guys? I'm wondering if next time I'm back home I should take him with me and have a vet check him out...again though he's not acting sick or anything.

Appreciate any and all advice.

[HerpAddict]

Males do tend to be a bit longer and leaner than females. It depends on how skinny they are...and that's hard for others to judge without a picture or weight, etc.

Each crested will eat differently, and as far as mine go, I just watch to see how many left over crickets there are the next day to see if I need to add more in. Inevitably they probably won't be able to eat ALL the crickets you feed them in one night, which is why it's good to do what you do and feed every other night. When I used to feed everynight, I would have a hard time judging how many to feed. I also find that my guys will generally eat a lot one night, and then take the next night to digest, so they won't eat much if anything on the second night.

To get mine to eat babyfood (I use smoothie, but same idea), I don't feed them crickets for two nights in a row (sometimes more), and then introduce the smoothie on the third night. That way they have empty bellies and will eat whatever they get their hands on. Of course some of my guys love the smoothie, and would probably eat it anyways, but for the ones that are harder to convince, I find it works better to let their bellies get empty first.

Going by weight, I would say that on a 'pork out' night, my adult females can eat anywhere from 5 full size crickets, or about 10 halfs.

I think the consensus is that you should do what works for you. If your guys eat everything you give them, then you might want to up it by one or two every other night. If they seem to just have a couple left, then you are probably fine. If they have more than that, then you could probably cut back by a little bit. As long as everyone is happy and growing with all the right nutrients, then you have the right recipe for your clan.

I hope this helps, sorry it got long-winded!