Weight - How to beef up a crestie?

andyfairweather · #1 12-05-2011, 07:14 AM

I have recently moved my 2 year old female crested gecko (She-Ra) in to a new much bigger home. I plan on giving her a friend or two to keep her company however I would like her to beef up a bit first. She is currently 32g but would like her to be well over 35g (nearer 40g) before I put any others in with her.

Any ideas how I can chunk her up, she is a very slow grower and mainly just eats CGD, I do feed her crickets occasionally.

Will she even still grow at 2 years old?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Debbie · #2 12-05-2011, 12:23 PM

She will grow, don't worry. Just give her the food and she will get bigger at her own rate. No need to "beef her up".
Gaining more weight by getting fat is not a good idea. So just let her be for a few more weeks and she will be at the weight you want her to be.

**Riverside Reptiles** · #3 12-05-2011, 12:32 PM

I agree with Debbie 100%. If you feed crickets or roaches as part of her diet, make sure that you're gut loading them with a high quality gut load. The quality of your feeders will translate to your gecko and help add healthy weight as opposed to just fat.

Dirtbagxchaz · #4 03-26-2012, 08:02 AM

I've been told non fat yogurt will help with weight gain. Just mix it with your CGD. I've tried it personally and mine seems to love it. Too soon to confirm weight gain but, as I said, heard it from a more experienced hobbyist.

thehotchik1000 · #5 03-26-2012, 10:52 AM

I personally wouldn't use any products that are dairy. I just don't see where that would come in contact with them in nature. I would also wonder how well they would actually digest dairy products. I agree with Ethan. If you want to beef her up use good quality feeders. I gutload with laying hen feed. I just put some in a container top, wet it with water and let the crix and roaches have at it. It's great in calcium, great in protein and makes the feeder an actual meal instead of shell and water.

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Supreme Gecko · #6 03-26-2012, 06:14 PM

As we move into Spring and temperatures warm up, we are feeding more and more crickets and mealworms. Extra protein (with gutload and dustings) are the ticket.