Crested Geckos Potatoes/"Tater" & Degas: breeding plans?, toe problems, behavior

potatoeschicka

potatoeschicka

New member
Yes he just shead this morning and i have seen him climbing twice already this morning.His toe pads look a lot better and i will get one of those digital thermometer very soon. Right now the temps are in the low to mid seventys and it goes no lower than about 65 at night but it gets slightly lower than the seventys at night. i will get some snake plants but what if he trys to eat the soil for the plants should i cover the top there the pot and soil is with some thing? How big do those plants usually get are they hard to maintain?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
potatoeschicka said:
Yes he just shead this morning and i have seen him climbing twice already this morning.His toe pads look a lot better and i will get one of those digital thermometer very soon. Right now the temps are in the low to mid seventys and it goes no lower than about 65 at night but it gets slightly lower than the seventys at night. i will get some snake plants but what if he trys to eat the soil for the plants should i cover the top there the pot and soil is with some thing? How big do those plants usually get are they hard to maintain?
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Excellent to hear he shed and is climbing :D. I like that a lot.

I doubt that he will try to eat the soil. Place his live food in a semi-tall container so that they won't escape.

Snake plants come in several different species. For his current tank, you'll want the short ones. If he starts climbing as he should, he should have a vertical 10 gallon. Then you'd want the taller snake plants. Snake plants like to dry out. They are a hardy plant!
 
potatoeschicka

potatoeschicka

New member
okay thanks! i have noticed he just seems to hide under the log and cocanut and he doesnt climb much unless i have had him out. when i put him back he stands in the middle and when i close the top he runs and leaps into or on the glass and climbs then. is that usual for them to hide instead of climbing?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
What time of day is this? Cresteds are nocturnal. He could be more active with more places to hide in addition to his regular caves.
 
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potatoeschicka

potatoeschicka

New member
okay when i wake up at night i notice him standing on top of things and jumping around. he acts like a goof he balances on the edge of the water bowl. he jumps into the glass of the tank is he supposed to do that is it a quwirk or something?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
potatoeschicka said:
okay when i wake up at night i notice him standing on top of things and jumping around. he acts like a goof he balances on the edge of the water bowl. he jumps into the glass of the tank is he supposed to do that is it a quwirk or something?
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I really don't think his behavior is strange or unusual. I just added "behavior concerns" to the title of this thread so it might attract the attention of folks who have more experience with cresteds than I do.

:idea: With the snake plants, he will have more places to climb and feel safer because the tank will be fuller.
 
potatoeschicka

potatoeschicka

New member
ok thanks i am going to get some snake plants from a friend and that will help i think he likes to jump so... i think he is fine im not too woried.
 
lauraleellbp

lauraleellbp

New member
OK I just posted over in your other thread, but I'm going to add some things here as well.

Yes, do cover over the soil (large river rocks can work) as it sounds to me like he's eating it due to not having proper food. Please be sure to pick up either Repashy or Clark brand Crested Gecko Diet ASAP.

Your gecko does NOT look fine in those pictures, and you really do need to make some changes in your husbandry- especially in getting him some proper food, but also with the enclosure changes I went through in your other thread.

I have heard of crested geckos eating paper towel only on VERY rare occasions, and those likely were accidents from people who fed crickets inside the enclosure rather than in a separate enclosure to make sure a crestie doesn't accidentally bite down on some when chasing a cricket. Most Cresties are not coordinated hunters in the least, so it's pretty common for them to chomp down and eat other things. I feed crickets only in a separate bare kritter keeper or give them bugs that cannot climb out of glass feeding bows.
 
potatoeschicka

potatoeschicka

New member
I know i thought he looked really thin the top of his head is really bony and seems to be less active i am worried about him. i am getting the proper food straight away and i am getting the plant and digital thermometer i am very concerned how long does it usually take for them to put on some weight?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Lizzy ~

I like to feed bugs (crickets & dubia) in either those teacups without handles that Asian restaurants use or the 6 oz Pyrex (or competing brand) custard cups. The custard cups allow the crestie, leo, velvet, and whomever to see the prey, but the prey cannot escape.

To keep crickets from jumping out of those glass or ceramic dishes just cut off their back legs at the knees. Another glass feeding dish I use for sticky-footed geckos is a 10 ounce bar glass and those ~16 ounce plastic hexagon cages that used to be sold for bettas.
 
lauraleellbp

lauraleellbp

New member
potatoeschicka said:
i have a heat lamp because my house has very leaky windows and it gets quite chilly i dont intend to use it during the summer.
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You MIGHT need a heat lamp (possibly... most people don't), but if you do use it, keep in mind that you probably will have to mist more frequently, as it will really dry out an enclosure very quickly. Make sure you don't just get a digital thermometer, you need to also pick up a hygrometer or a combo hygrometer/thermometer to make sure the tank isn't getting too dry. Shoot for 80-90% humidity at night, drying down to about 40-50% during the day.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
potatoeschicka said:
I know i thought he looked really thin the top of his head is really bony and seems to be less active i am worried about him. i am getting the proper food straight away and i am getting the plant and digital thermometer i am very concerned how long does it usually take for them to put on some weight?
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Gaining weight overnight just happens to humans ;-) who enjoy carbs like ice cream and sweet potato fries :biggrin:. With more of a fruit-based diet Potatoes should begin to fill out. Depending upon how long he has had a protein-based diet, switching over to Repashy's or Clark's might not be easy.

How often do you spray his tank?

How is his climbing these days?
 
potatoeschicka

potatoeschicka

New member
i spray about twice a day. he seems to stay under the log alot i dont notice him out and about at night. We tried to feed him a fruit type supliment and he totaly wanted nothing to do with it. i am ordering off of pangea and getting all of my supplies
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
potatoeschicka said:
i spray about twice a day. he seems to stay under the log alot i dont notice him out and about at night. We tried to feed him a fruit type supliment and he totaly wanted nothing to do with it. i am ordering off of pangea and getting all of my supplies
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Important: How is his climbing?

Fluker Farms produces a nifty hygrometer/thermometer which sticks to the inside of the tank with velcro, so it is easily removable. Remove hygrometer when spraying. It is about 1.5 inches high x 3.5 inches long. Petsmart carries it for about $25.

For what it is worth, my mature male crestie is no fan of Repashy's MRP...sorry Allen.
 
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lauraleellbp

lauraleellbp

New member
In making the switch to CGD, sometimes it can help to take a cricket and dust it with dry CGD or dunk a cricket in wet CGD to get a crestie used to associating the taste of CGD with a known food.

Given your gecko's current state, I probably would not go "cold turkey" with the CGD and deprive him totally of other foods till he eats it as can work with geckos with a bit more meat on their bones. Instead, I'd baby him a bit and handfeed if needed, and possibly mix a bit of organic honey into the CGD for a week or two to see if the extra sweetness will entice him.

IDK that I'd consider him dangerously malnourished at this point, but if he loses more he might fit into that category.
 
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