Gender & thoughts on feeding

[matrixtcd]

Here's some pics of my crested. Purchased as a baby in June of '09.

I'm fairly certain he's a male, but the dark patterning makes it difficult to see the pores. The bulge looks sizable enough to guess male though. Opinions?

I see a lot of pictures of chubby crested geckos on this forum, and am wondering if something's wrong with my guy - as he doesn't seem quite as thick. But perhaps he's just not old enough yet. He gets one medium cricket (about 3/4" long) dipped in CGD paste every other day, and is offered a small water-bottle cap full of CGD on the days when he doesn't get a cricket - but usually doesn't touch it. Opinions?

For reference, it's about 3/4" from the tip of his snout to the back of his eyeball.

 

[Soul Eater]

Personally it's hard to tell from the angle in those pictures. Definately can't see pores from that far away either.

I suggest you stop feeding crix every other day and maybe just once a week. Im sure he likes the crickets and doesn't mind the cgd but if he isn't eating cgd on the off days, he may be used to the pattern and is just waiting for the cricket days.
Choose a day to feed crix and stick to that day. The rest of the days, do the cgd thing. I'm sure he'll eat out of it quite a bit more if you do this.

 

[matrixtcd]

Personally it's hard to tell from the angle in those pictures. Definately can't see pores from that far away either.

I suggest you stop feeding crix every other day and maybe just once a week. Im sure he likes the crickets and doesn't mind the cgd but if he isn't eating cgd on the off days, he may be used to the pattern and is just waiting for the cricket days.
Choose a day to feed crix and stick to that day. The rest of the days, do the cgd thing. I'm sure he'll eat out of it quite a bit more if you do this.

The problem with this recommendation is that I tried that very regimen for the first two months or more - he would wait out for the crickets every time - and never eat even 1/8th of a teaspoon of the cgd. It seemed he was simply eating enough to survive of the cgd until he got crickets. After that I went a month without crickets at all - he still ate the same amount, as if he were waiting for crickets. So I figure if he's getting one medium-sized cricket coated with cgd every other day - it's just as good as if he were eating that same amount of cgd (probably <1/4 teaspoon) 3 to 4 times a week, plus getting 3 to 4 crickets per week, which would probably equate to the same weekly nutrition intake as your regimen, more in fact if he avoids the cgd when offered without the crickets (which he does lol). It's kind of my way of forcing cgd into him. Am I way off base? What specifically isn't beneficial with the way I'm doing it?

 

[Soul Eater]

Huh, well if you tried it all I could say is try for a longer period? But now that you explain it a little more in depth, it sounds ok to me. As long as he's getting what he would be if he was on a normal owners regimen then, IMO, he should be fine. Just make sure he doesn't completely try to reject the cgd.

I haven't experienced ANYTHING like this. I feed my geckos wax worms, crix, some baby food every now and then as well as fruit blends and sometimes yogurt blends, and their cgd MUCH more commonly. They get their weekly bug feedings once a week (Last week it was wax worms) and the rest are cgd. There are some weeks when I dont get a chance to go to the store and get any bugs that I do feed them other treats like the fruit blends and baby food. None of my geckos have rejected cgd for any other forms of food. =/
The only thing ANY of them has ever rejected were crix and bugs all together. So I'm not sure with your guy's case. It might be better for someone more experienced to place their input in this but that, above, was my opinion -shrugs-

 

[matrixtcd]

Huh, well if you tried it all I could say is try for a longer period? But now that you explain it a little more in depth, it sounds ok to me. As long as he's getting what he would be if he was on a normal owners regimen then, IMO, he should be fine. Just make sure he doesn't completely try to reject the cgd.

I haven't experienced ANYTHING like this. I feed my geckos wax worms, crix, some baby food every now and then as well as fruit blends and sometimes yogurt blends, and their cgd MUCH more commonly. They get their weekly bug feedings once a week (Last week it was wax worms) and the rest are cgd. There are some weeks when I dont get a chance to go to the store and get any bugs that I do feed them other treats like the fruit blends and baby food. None of my geckos have rejected cgd for any other forms of food. =/
The only thing ANY of them has ever rejected were crix and bugs all together. So I'm not sure with your guy's case. It might be better for someone more experienced to place their input in this but that, above, was my opinion -shrugs-

Oh, no I totally appreciate the input, my intention isn't to ask for opinions then shoot 'em down, it's simply that I'm just as baffled as you are that he won't chow down on the cgd. I think the shop I got him from fed crickets almost exclusively, and I vaguely remember mention of using Lee's diet (never heard of it) - possibly Clark's. So it could be that he just grew accustomed to the sweeter stuff and now is not a huge fan of the cgd. Because if I coat the crickets in the cgd, he'll chow down. However, for awhile I had him on a reflexive feeding response to small mounds of cgd placed on the handle-end of a plastic feeding utensil (knife, fork, spoon, whatever I could find). I'd just put some cgd on the tip, stick it near his face, and he'd strike at it, scraping the cgd into his mouth and eating. But this was only after I had trained him to strike at a cricket half-buried in the cgd in the same manner. After eating a bite or two in this manner, he would realize there was no cricket anymore, and either not strike, or strike, scrape everything in, then push it out of his mouth and scrape it off using whatever object was nearby lol. So now it's just easier if I get the crickets soaked in cgd and have him eat them that way. This way I can ensure he's eating pretty much just what I want him to eat. I sometimes wonder if I could increase the cgd to insect ratio by using those canned pre-cooked crickets, but I've read a few negative things about those, so I've avoided them.

 

[Izzy's Mom]

What specifically did you read that was bad about the canned crickets? I've been using almost the same feeding regimen that you have (since my 7 month old seems to have the same taste as your guy does :?), but I have been dipping the small-sized dead crickets in the CGD paste instead of using live ones. I do offer live ones when I can get them, but those ones I just dust with calcium+D-3 powder. I try to make sure that the dead crickets get a LOT of the CGD paste on them so that it's about 50:50 ratio of crickets to CGD. So far, so good... Mine doesn't eat the CGD if I leave it in the cage, but he will lick it off my finger if I hand-feed him, which I try to do several times per week.

 

[matrixtcd]

What specifically did you read that was bad about the canned crickets? I've been using almost the same feeding regimen that you have (since my 7 month old seems to have the same taste as your guy does :?), but I have been dipping the small-sized dead crickets in the CGD paste instead of using live ones. I do offer live ones when I can get them, but those ones I just dust with calcium+D-3 powder. I try to make sure that the dead crickets get a LOT of the CGD paste on them so that it's about 50:50 ratio of crickets to CGD. So far, so good... Mine doesn't eat the CGD if I leave it in the cage, but he will lick it off my finger if I hand-feed him, which I try to do several times per week.

I don't remember where I read it, but someone raised the question of whether one knows exactly how all the crickets in the can died, they could've been ill or diseased or something and just tossed into the same batch of live crickets to be cooked, something to that effect. They also made mention of the idea that the crickets lose their nutrition once they're dead and cooked and dried out like that. I have just always gone with live because I figure it has to be more nutritious overall, and that way I can control what they've been gutloaded with (repashy gutload). Sometimes the live ones can be difficult to hand-feed to the gecko. For the ones that refuse to sit still, I just drown them in the cgd, then pull them out and feed them to him. I don't use a calcium powder or anything. I figure since the cgd is already balanced, it's best just to use it. Plus the large can I have will go bad before I've used it all, as I only use 1/2 teaspoon at a time to dip crickets into, so I may as well use as much of it as possible.

 

[Izzy's Mom]

Hmmm... I would never have thought that the dead crickets would be 'cooked'... does it say that on the can? I wonder if I could find out anything about how they kill them. Usually stuff like that they just flash-freeze or something. I know what you mean about them going bad though... so I figured out a great way to preserve them. I dumped the whole can out and spread them flat on a piece of foil and froze them. Then, I just keep them in a baggie in my freezer and take a few out and pop them in a cap full of hot water for a few seconds and they thaw out perfectly. Then I dunk them in CGD and they're ready to go!

 

[StickyFeet.]

Have you only tried feeding the Crested Gecko diet, or have you tried the Repashy MRP mixes?

Honestly, Everything I own simply HATES the normal Crested Gecko diet. They wont touch it, so I don't try to force them something they don't like. The MRPs are good because you have the base, with optional nectar flavours such as fig, banana, strawberry, peach, rose, passionfruit etc. Honestly, that would be my next try if you have no luck getting him to eat.

You can also try the Clarks diet, I have had quite a bit of success with that and everyone loves it. I also use the Fruit N' Yogurt diet with proper supplementation and everyone chows down.

Here's a link to the Fruit N' Yogurt diet if you want to check it out;

Homemade Crested Gecko Diet Gecko Brothel

 

[Izzy's Mom]

StickyFeet - I checked out that Repashy MRP two part diet and I'm thinking of ordering some. What would you say is the best flavor to choose? Do your geckos prefer one over another? I was thinking Peach or Mango would be good, but I'd like some input with someone who's tried it before.

 

[Spyral]

I've had good luck with the 2-part system. The flavors we've tried with our crew are cherry and rose. But that's what I chose because I would eat those flavors! :biggrin: I don't quite have my geckos' tastes fully figured out.

 

[StickyFeet.]

I tried almost all of the flavours to be honest, some of my guys LOVE certain things and some of them do the whole head rear, what did you just try to give me thing lol

The rose, peach, mango, fig and banana have been big hits with my guys. Depending on how many geckos you have, I'd try to get atleast 2 flavours to give them variety, and just in case they don't like one of them. They can be like people, where they simply just get sick of the same thing all of the time.

 

[Spyral]

It seems that some geckos are slower to adjust to new foods, flavors and textures than others. Even ones that have eaten CGD forever. And keep in mind they don't always eat every day or on your schedule.

Rule out any possibility of illness, since that can reduce their appetite.

Some tips I have seen have been

* Move from regular CGD to the 2 part (because of flavor)
* Do NOT offer crickets or mix anything else into the CGD
* Mix the CGD with more or less water (because of texture)
* Reduce the cage size

I would go in that order. Moving to a new cage may be drastic unless the crestie is losing weight. If you keep them in a big naturalistic vivarium, it might be best to put them in a small Kritter Keeper with paper towel substrate to check for poops. Pooping means they're eating, even if you don't think they are!

If they are just being stubborn, it is important to not use baby food or sweeten the mix because they may always hold out for the sweet stuff, which is not as good for them as CGD. IMO, I would rather they skip a few meals in order to get them on CGD than to give them an improperly balanced diet which can lead to MBD and other health issues.

You can try hand-feeding them if you are worried about weight, but this can lead to them only eating when you "baby" them.

If they start eating CGD on their own (no sweeteners, no hand feeding) you can introduce dusted crickets once or twice a week as a treat. Just follow the directions on the CGD on how to mix CGD if you are also feeding insects.

Good luck! :cheer:

 

[soultrader62]

hi all...i'm a newbie...need some help....plzzz

hi all.....im new for having a gecko as a pet.....how to i.d the gender of it?...pls help anyone it is a tokay gecko