[bnhardin]

I'm having a bit of trouble making sure my crestie is eating. I have the Repashy mixture and I put a new dish of it in his enclosure every night. I never see him eating it and I have yet to see any poop. I tried offering some organic banana baby food and I didn't see any poop then either.
This has been going on since September 4th. I bought him full grown from a breeder (he's 19 months old now), so I know he knows how to eat. Any suggestions? Please help!

[lauraleellbp]

Just keep waiting. It's very normal for Cresties to go on hunger strikes after they've undergone major changes.

I'd just try to keep him as quiet and peaceful as possible (minimal handling- no more than absolutely necessary!) to help him adjust and feel more comfortable in his new home.

I would not offer baby food (even organic)- just stick with the Repashy for now till you're sure he's eating. Is he on paper towels right now to make it easier to see poop?

Also- you might want to run down your basic husbandry for us just to help make sure there's nothing else up; viv setup, humidity, temp, and a picture might all help.

[bnhardin]

I have him in a 30 tall with tropical soil as the substrate and a lot of sticks for him to climb on. I mist the tank down only at night and the temperature is kept between 75 and 77 degrees (F). I put the Repashy in at night right after misting at about 10pm and I change the water in his water dish twice daily. When I first got him, I would see small waste deposits on the sticks he uses the most, but I haven't seen any since.

[lauraleellbp]

Your basic husbandry sounds very good. FYI Changing his water 2x a day certainly won't hurt... but once a day should be fine, also. Just a little less work on your end.

Do you own a scale you can weigh him on? If you've got him on soil it's typically really hard to see poop in that. Weighing him once a week and keeping records of that over time is really the best way to tell whether or not your Crestie is eating and growing, as it can be really hard to tell just by looking.

Remember that their stomachs are only about the size of one of their eyeballs, so they don't eat much at a time. Very easy to not notice that food may actually be gone.

[Yoshi'smom]

Another tip: I've heard that most cresties like old food.... It simulates their diet in the wild. They eat overripe fruit that has fallen. I would leave the dish in there and extra day or two before changing it. Otherwise everything sounds ok husbandry wise.

[stellarawesome]

I agree with the above post, sometimes my geckos are more interested in their food on the second night.

If you're misting well, I might try to back out of the cage and not change the water dish soo much. He's probably getting most of his fluids from the water on the leaves and walls of the tank.

I'd try mixing up food and putting it in the tank. Leaving it in the next night and then taking it up the third night and replacing it with new.

I would think if he's refusing to eat right now, I'd try to keep out of his area as much as possible. You may be missing some of the poop if its getting tossed into the soil. If you're certain you haven't seen any poop within the next week or so, I'd switch to paper towels if at all possible.

[bnhardin]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I found poop in his tank this morning! I really appreciate it