My one week old crested is not eating!!

Naughty Nat · 03-01-04, 08:32 PM

I would like to know how long does it take before a baby starts eating crikets??? I started giving him a little baby food, and he's eatting it a little. But I have 1 or 2 crikets walking around and he's not eatting !!!!

I'm so worried and it's making me sad.

I also have two more comming in one month, this would be good information. But I mostly need it NOW.

Help, any suggestions and opinions please.

JeffT · 03-01-04, 08:34 PM

Are the crickets smaller then its head? He will not eat them if they are too big. Did you hatch him yourself?

Naughty Nat · 03-02-04, 12:37 AM

He hatched alone. As for the crickets...they are small but now I'll try to get ones that are smaller then he's head, like way smaller just to be sure.

DragnDrop · 03-02-04, 06:58 AM

Cresties are known to eat very little, and hatchlings seem to almost live on fresh air and sunshine. If you're feeding him a tiny bit of fruit, that might be all he has room for. Some don't go for hunting live bugs but others prefer them. If you cut out the hand feeding, he'll have to hunt crickets to eat. As long as he's getting some food, don't worry too much. They eventually start pigging out, but the first few weeks some of them hardly touch food.

AnthonyC · 03-02-04, 06:01 PM

I agree. It's nearly impossible to tell that they're eating anything at all for the first few weeks. I just give 'em some babyfood with CGD mixed in and wait until they're about 3 weeks before I bother giving them crickets.

JeffT · 03-02-04, 06:29 PM

No I meant did YOU hatch him, or did someone ELSE hatch him. Just wondering because it sounds like you bought him but 1 week old is very young to be selling.

Naughty Nat · 03-02-04, 10:58 PM

No,no I hatch them. What do you mean by giving him baby food with CGD??? Calcium???

Dani33 · 03-02-04, 11:20 PM

He means Crested Gecko Diet - here's a link :
http://www.giantgeckos.com/images/cgdiet.jpg

RaVeNo888o · 03-03-04, 01:11 AM

my crestie doesnt seem to want to eat lately either, except he is 7 months old..he still sheds, but hasnt really eaten like he used to for prolly the last month. I used to drop in a mealie and he would pounce on it and thrash it around then eat it..now he just kinda watches them walk by. and its always tough to tell with the fruit/CGD if they are eating. I bought some cricks to try and trigger a feeding repsonse from their movements, but he doenst seem to be going for those either.
any suggestions? his temps are low to mid 70's and i mist his tank every evening.

AnthonyC · 03-03-04, 05:19 PM

Cooler temps can make any Crested eat less. I keep mine with a hot spot of 80F during breeding season, but when kept at 68-74 or so, they seem to not eat as much.

Also, males will begin to eat less than their female counterparts, once they reach sexual maturity...at least from what I've seen.

DragnDrop · 03-03-04, 07:08 PM

I find males don't eat much once they're mature. Females seem to always be ready to at least take a nibble of something I offer. It's not a reliable method of sexing young ones, but along with physical characteristics, it can help sometimes. I've tested my theory a few times - seems the ones more willing to eat or nibble between regular meals have been mostly females. The ones who don't do the munchies between meals seem to be mostly males. Has anyone else noticed this with their juvies?

Naughty Nat · 03-03-04, 07:35 PM

I have notice something like that with my male adult. He's not eatting and he's letting the females eat. He was fat and now starting to get small.

Cedille · 03-03-04, 07:44 PM

My male, also, always defers to the female. He seems to let her eat first and then take the crickets she doesn't want. (Not so much an issue with baby food since they always have plenty of that)

I've noticed also that new hatchlings aren't too interested in food for the first couple weeks. I wouldn't worry as long as there's food there for him to eat when he decides to!

dj_honeycuts · 03-05-04, 02:28 AM

I also find that when the temps in my tanks are in the low to mid 70s that both males and females stop eating as much.

My boys are rude little pigs though. I have a couple that, even though the females look like they are ready to burst, it is a total early bird gets the worm situation. I guess I need to borrow someone else's males to teach them a lesson in manners! LOL

Naughty Nat · 03-06-04, 09:18 PM

He's now 2 weeks old and still not eating. There's little crickets smaller then it's head and nothing. I'm readding this post and I'm not really scared about it but I'm wonderring how can I give him calcium or he doesn't really need calcium???
He will eat some baby food off my finggers every now and then.