[CaitlinBrooke]

I had posted a topic about my new and first crested asking for new names on another forum. Someone told me that my gecko is being neglected and if I keep it up, she's as good as dead. I don't understand how she is being neglected. I just adopted her a few days ago from a very educated owner of many rescued geckos so it's very unlikely she was mistreated there. This gecko( sidney) is young, about 6 months, I was told. Is she underweight or unhealthy looking?

Her living conditions for the next week is a large kritter keeper with plenty of fake leaves and bamboo as well as a place for her to hide. She's being misted twice a day and the temperature in here isn't too cold nor too warm. She's on the cgd.
I am upgraded my turtle's 10 gallon to a 40 in a day or two. The gecko will then have the 10 gallon as well as more things to climb on and hide in.
Am I doing anything wrong? Is she too thin? Any suggestions?

[acpart]

I'm not a crestie expert - I have one - but she looks fine to me. The care sounds OK too. If someone thinks you're neglecting her, they should be good enough to point out some specifics and then you can check that. It's always possible that someone somehow misunderstood what you were saying about it. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

Aliza

[CaitlinBrooke]

Originally Posted by acpart

I'm not a crestie expert - I have one - but she looks fine to me. The care sounds OK too. If someone thinks you're neglecting her, they should be good enough to point out some specifics and then you can check that. It's always possible that someone somehow misunderstood what you were saying about it. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

Aliza

Thanks
I asked the poster that had negative things to say exactly what I was doing wrong and he didn't respond. I did a LOT of research before getting her so I'm quite sure I'm doing everything I'm supposed to. Should you be able to noticeably see a difference in the amount of food? She's tiny so I'm using a soda cap to feed her and I usually don't see much of a difference. Is that normal or could she not be eating enough?

[lauraleellbp]

Their stomachs are about the size as one of their eyeballs, so it's normal to not notice food missing. She looks slightly on the thin side, but definitely not concerningly so at this point, especially as at this age it's common for juvies to go through a growth spurt and "thin out" a little (kind of like many human teenagers lol). It's not absolutely necessary, but since she's established on CGD now, you might also offer her some gutloaded and dusted crickets one a week or so to encourage her to put a little weight on.

Keep in mind that as we enter the cooler seasons, like most other reptiles, cresties do not eat or grow as much. As long as your temps don't drop below the mid 60s F at night, she should be fine.

[CaitlinBrooke]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Their stomachs are about the size as one of their eyeballs, so it's normal to not notice food missing. She looks slightly on the thin side, but definitely not concerningly so at this point, especially as at this age it's common for juvies to go through a growth spurt and "thin out" a little (kind of like many human teenagers lol). It's not absolutely necessary, but since she's established on CGD now, you might also offer her some gutloaded and dusted crickets one a week or so to encourage her to put a little weight on.

Keep in mind that as we enter the cooler seasons, like most other reptiles, cresties do not eat or grow as much. As long as your temps don't drop below the mid 60s F at night, she should be fine.

Phew thank you very much. I plan on giving her a treat of a cricket every two weeks or so, so that she doesn't stray from her cgd too much. I was already slightly worried because I haven't seen her eat yet, I don't open her kritter keeper much though and I tend to leave her alone so not seeing her eat makes sense and shouldn't worry me. She's very small so it's also understandable that she appears thin.

[For The Sake Of Revenge]

Originally Posted by CaitlinBrooke

Phew thank you very much. I plan on giving her a treat of a cricket every two weeks or so, so that she doesn't stray from her cgd too much. I was already slightly worried because I haven't seen her eat yet, I don't open her kritter keeper much though and I tend to leave her alone so not seeing her eat makes sense and shouldn't worry me. She's very small so it's also understandable that she appears thin.

Do you find feces usually? Thats a good indicator of whether or not your crestie is eating. My now 2 month old crested gecko does what you describe, you don't really notice much CGD gone, but you do regularly find poop. I'd agree with giving her some crickets or roaches if you have them. I have another crestie who is slightly older and the total opposite who downs CGD lol. It just depends on your gecko :P

[lauraleellbp]

Agreed, looking for poop and regularly monitoring weights (I personally weigh all mine once a week) are the best way to be sure whether or not a gecko is eating.

[CaitlinBrooke]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Agreed, looking for poop and regularly monitoring weights (I personally weigh all mine once a week) are the best way to be sure whether or not a gecko is eating.

What kind of scale would I buy for that?

[Ozymandias]

gram scale is really all you need this is the one i use

http://www.amazon.com/Weighmax-Digit...644222&sr=8-42

[CaitlinBrooke]

Originally Posted by Ozymandias

gram scale is really all you need this is the one i use

http://www.amazon.com/Weighmax-Digit...644222&sr=8-42

Thanks! I'll definitely get one