Im Really Worried

[molson101]

I got my Crestie about 2 weeks ago. The first week he ate good on crickets and CGD. But now he is not eating at all. I do not see taht any of his food is gone. I even tried feeding him waxworms because I herd that like all lizards like them. But whenever I put a cricket or a wax worm in his feeding cage he will not eat it. He will either ignore it or walk right over it or past it.

[stephanbakir]

Give him a few days, maby he isnt hungry?
is he bloated or overly skinny? hows his tail

[Wolfus_305]

Hi
I have a crestie too. I feed him a bit of a home made smoothie on a little dish. when i first got him i didn't think he was eating because it looked like none of his smoothie was gone, but 3 years later he's still alive, he's got to be eating a bit of it, it's just not noticeable. Are you 100% sure that your guy isn't eating at all?

[molson101]

He isnt eating crickets and the first week he was eating like a pig and no i am not 100 percent sur. But when I tried giving him smoothie he walked right through it and got his whole body soaked in smoothie. He hasnt eaten waxworms or Crickets for 6 days. Its really wierd plus what makes it wierder is that most people say there lizards love wax worms and he wont even try one hhe walks right over it or runs right past it.

[molson101]

He isnt that skinny he is a bit skinny but not alot and his tail is tottally fine.

[molson101]

Any body going to anwser come on i need help

[stephanbakir]

I believe we did answer as well as we could, if you want a more specific answer your gona need to give us more variables

[Wolfus_305]

my guy doesn't like worms... of any kind and the crickets usually end up escaping his tank, i think he catches a few though. i'm pretty sure they are nocturnal since it's impossible to find my guy unless it's dark out, unless he's losing a lot of weight or looking very unhealthy i would guess he's eating smoothie and it's just not noticeable becaue he doesn't eat all of it or a big portion of it. keep an eye on him and keep us updated. make sure you mist him because he won't drink from a bowl

[reptile65]

What substrate are you using? I would recommend using paper towels as this makes it easier to check for poop. If he's pooping, he's eating. You will most likely never actually see him eat his CGD because they generally eat at night. This is a very common concern with crestie owners, but I really wouldn't worry about it as long as he isn't losing weight and still seems healthy. Like I said, just check for poop in the enclosure and you'll be sure he's eating.

[molson101]

Thanks you guys rock I will make sure to keep u up to date.

[molson101]

Tryed giving some wax worms in a bowl and a cricket in abowl last night but he wouldnt eat em. I kept them in there for the night because I know they are nocturnel and didnt eat on of them.

[stephanbakir]

Could be he just isn't hungry. If the temp/humidity are fine unless he's really sick he will eat when he's hungry.
If you are really worried you could get him checked by a vet. (make sure you aren't cycling his temps seasonally if you don't plan on breeding him) If you are it could be he's just horny and some cloaca might be in order?

[reptile65]

Tryed giving some wax worms in a bowl and a cricket in abowl last night but he wouldnt eat em. I kept them in there for the night because I know they are nocturnel and didnt eat on of them.

I personally wouldn't give my cresties wax worms. They are high in fat, but they don't have much nutritional value. Also, there's always the chance that they can get "hooked" on them and not want to eat any other insects. I'd just stick with occasional crickets but keep CGD as the main staple.

[molson101]

I know that wax worms arent good but I thought that mabye atleast he will eat
some thing.

[mistersprinkles]

post every single thing about your setup. Also where you got the lizard, how old, etc. Could be a lot of things. Could even be that he's getting the wrong wavelength of UV and it's started to affect him. Whatever it is, you can probably fix it with a trip to the pet or hardware store.

Definitely avoid loud noises and holding the lizard while it is 'off'. :).

[reptile65]

Could even be that he's getting the wrong wavelength of UV and it's started to affect him.

Cresties do not need UV light...

[molson101]

K he has some fake plants a piece of drift wood and the reptile vine in there. I use coconut soil for the substraite and I have a light on top. I also have a heat pad on the bottom of the tank. The humidity is like 60-70 percent and its like 75 degrees in there. He is like 5 months and I got him at a store called Big Als. My dad always got his reptiles there and they survived well.

[Wolfus_305]

Is he losing weight? because if he isn't, i think you just aren't noticing the smoothie he's eating. I was very worried at first because I thought that my crestie (Gary) wasn't eating, buut 3 years later and he's still alive... he has to be eating some time, though in the morning his smoothie never looks touched.
Make sure he isn't losing weight would be the fist step. like previously mentioned the next step would be to look around the tank for poop. if he's pooping the he's eating.

Keep us updated
Good luck!

[molson101]

I dont think he is losing that much weight. I think a little bit but not much. But he is eating the smoothie just not alot because he is losing a bit of weight. I would really like to get him eating crickets again.

[Wolfus_305]

Is there a reason that you think he's not eating crickets? Make sure you're feeding him at night, my guy won't even come out if there are any lights on in my room

[molson101]

Im feeding him at night and thecrickets are still there in the morning.

[Wolfus_305]

Every single cricket? alive? are you sure you're trying to feed him the right size?

[molson101]

Im juat feeding him one and he wwont even eat it and yes they are the size between his eyes. He just wont eat them.

[mrherpdotca]

I agonized over a beardie not eating much and not gaining weight. My viv set up was top notch and many advised me that it was relocation stress. 6 weeks of little weight gain and I took her to the vet and had a fecal done.
Turns out she had a common parasite to other reptiles but rare in beardies. Entameoba Invadens. If my gut feeling didn't drive me for a vet visit she would likey be dead by now.
Get it checked out man.

Chris

[molson101]

Thanks but you guys can stop helping me ( by the way thanks for all the help ) because he is eating his CGD. I just dont notice it. Because last night I was watching him with all the lights off and he was eating but I have done this before and he didnt eat. So mabye he is eating just not enough. Because he is getting skinnyer so I might bring him to the vet just to get him checked out.

[reptile65]

Do you have a digital scale? The easiest way to determine if he is losing weight is to periodically weigh him. You would preferrably want a scale that measures in 0.1 gram increments.

[molson101]

No I dont I just can see that he is getting skinnyer

[Marica]

Any updates Moslon?

I'm a new gargoyle gecko owner as of last Saturday, and though I did research cresties as well I'm no expert. I've been bombarding the breeder of my guy with tons of questions this past week.

One question I asked the breeder was how much CGD should I mix up and her reply was that considering his size (he's not quite a year) his stomach is probably the size of a pea, so I've been mixing up about a 1/4 tsp CGD per serving. I don't think my guy ate the first few days, though I was told he may be stressed for the first week or so and not eat, but last night I tried putting some CGD on his nose as suggested to see if he'd lick it off, but he actually licked it straight off of my finger. Which flavours of CGD have you tried? I've heard they can be quite picky, and may prefer one flavour over another to point of refusing. Not sure if it makes a difference, but have you tried placing his food at different levels in his cage? I've also read and been told that they won't always go after worms as they are not active enough to bother hunting. And, I've also read that while it's beneficial to supplement the CGD with crickets, it's not absolutely necessary - they will just grow slower on a CGD only diet. I'm going to try my first cricket feed this weekend and have been debating putting him in a feeding tub since his cage is quite large, I've been worried that he might not find his food. Also, not sure if this is just a garg thing, but I was told they like slightly larger prey than typically recommended for their size.

Some questions about your setup: What are the temps in his enclosure? Is there a temp gradient? With the 2 heat sources it might be too warm for him. I like the fact that gargs/cresties are okay with room temp. Though the room I have mine in is quite cool, so I did end up getting a 15W Sun Glow to bump it up a little at the top. Since they're mostly arboreal I can't see that he'd be getting much heat from the UTH esp with the coconut substrate, which (I'm just speculating) may be may be more likely to mold with too much heat and too much moisture. Also, you may want to let the cage dry out a little more during the day. I was told to do a heavy misting in the evening to get the humidity to 70% as this is when they're the most active and will want to drink the water droplets, then a light misting in the morning and let it dry to about 50% through the day. Constantly high humidity in such an enclosed environment can lead to respiratory infections.

If you're interested in weighing your crestie, I picked up a food scale from Canadian Tire for about $25 a few years back and it works great.

[Pareeeee]

try dabbing some CGD on his nose - usually they will lick it off because they hate the feel of it. How warm is his enclosure? My Rodney stopped eating when it got too hot I. our apartment in the summer. Also, sometimes my crestie won't eat a couple days before a shed.