feeding method 4 cresteds

Zero · 08-10-05, 06:32 PM

hi, im going to be buying a few cresties in the next month or so and i was wondering what are ur personal feeding method ( CDG, crix, baby foods ) what kinds of baby foods do u use? (brand, flavour, etc.),do u mix anything into ur baby food? when do u use CDG, do u ever mix CDG into anything? how often do u use ur CDG (if u use it at all). do u mix anything into hildes mix? what kinds of yougurt do u use( low fat, no sugar etc.)

newticus · 08-11-05, 01:49 PM

CGD is a great idea in my opinion. BUT i have found my cresteds don't like it a whole lot. I don't recommend babyfood as it usually has too much sugar in it. I feed mine mainly crickets currently for growth but they also get a fruit puree. You can use most fruits except citrus. Mangos, banana, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry, fig, ect work well. It's also good to have at least a few different fruits in the mix to try and cover their nutrient base. If you want to go the CGD way but have young cresteds and want more protein for growth you can use GGD (gargoyle gecko diet)

labomb · 08-12-05, 03:52 AM

the sugars in the baby food are not added, they are what come naturally in the fruit. so whether you puree yourself or give the babyfood, I don't see too much difference. But watch the types of babyfood, when you start getting the mixtures, read the label carefully. sometimes they contain yogurt, milk and/or cereal. I mix CGD with babyfood or hildes recipe when I give it to them, be sure to add some water or it will harden.

But I mostly feed crickets, nearly every night, sometimes I wait until after they have eaten some of the fruit mixture that I may have added calcium to.(calcium is a must!! add it to the babyfood or dust the crickets 2/3 times a week, whichever your cresties are prefering to eat) If I find crickets left in with my adults, then ofcourse I skip a night of crickets. My juveniles never leave a cricket behind. they eat everyday. And I do feed everyday contrary to what alot of people say about being able to skip feedings. I prefer my cresties to choose which days they don't want to eat, only the adults occasionally skip a feeding by their choice, not mine.
As far as my experience with cresties, they all are different in their preferences of eating. I have adults that are lazy and eat mostly fruit, but they loved the crickets when they were younger. One adult of mine just starting going after crickets again after not touching them for several weeks. I have a Juvie that is HUGE, she eats EVERYTHING I put in with her, she licks the fruit clean, and never leaves a cricket behind. She is 8-9months old and twice the size of a couple of my adults.

HerpAddict · 08-12-05, 08:33 AM

Back in the day when I was using baby food, I would only buy the organic ones, because they have nothing in them but the fruit. Some of the gerbers, or whatever other brands there are don't add sugar or cereal, but you just have to read the label. If anything has citric acid added to it, then cresteds probably won't eat it, because they don't like citrus.

No matter what, if you are feeding them crickets, make sure you gutload them, and take care of the crickets properly. I starved cricket is just a bit of exoskeleton...mmmm exoskeleton...NOT! I buy 1000 crickets every 2 weeks, and with having that many, I have to put new food and carrots in there every day, as that's how quick they go through it. The other key to keeping crickets well is to make sure they have tons of places to crawl, otherwise they will trample each other to death/stress out. Also, humidity kills them! I learned that the hard way when out a/c broke for a day and a half, our house got super humid, and then next thing I knew, about 500 crickets were dead!

I do use Hilde's recipe. I use Danone (not fat free!!) for them. It has 1.4% Milk Fat, and no aspartame or artificial sweetners. Don't give them any artificial sweetners, sugar is fine because their bodies know how to digest sugar, as it is found in the fruits they eat. I normally buy strawberry yogurt, as it's my favorite kind, so I can eat some after making the smoothies.

Everytime I put out smoothies, not everyone eats them, but I know they all like crickets, so my supplementations go on the crickets and not the smoothie.

Good luck with your cresteds!!!

Zero · 08-13-05, 10:23 AM

thnx every one for the replies, I own reptivite vitamins, it contain all the vitamins (d3, a, b, c and so on ) this will be ok to dust my crickets with, aswell sprikle on the mix or babyfood.

thnx

Travis

labomb · 08-15-05, 03:20 AM

make sure your cresties are getting calcium w/o d3 at least a couple times a week. that is in addition to the vitamin supplement. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! MBD is a real threat. although treatable, it is scary to see the little critters go through it. I actually watch and make sure each of mine are eating the food containing the calcium whether it be a cricket, or the fruit, to make sure they are getting it in them a couple times a week.

Zero · 08-15-05, 02:42 PM

thnx

yes, i also watch my other reptiles eat.

Travis