I need help on finding a feeding schedule.

[kellywong86]

Hey guys, so I just bought a baby crested yesterday and I have been reading all over online trying to figure out what is the best feeding schedule. I have the crested gecko diet already and I fed him the diet mixed with baby food and some water... is that right? (Or do I mix it with only water) and 3 crickets.

How often do I feed the diet and crickets? And do I offer them the same night, or do the diet one night and the crickets the next. My next question is about gut loading and sprinkling your crickets with repto-cal. I bought that stuff but I am reading that if I have the diet no more supplementation is needed... can I dust the crickets once a week, or do I do it every time they are fed? I would like a diet that produces optimal growth, as we all like to see our baby's get big!

So if somebody could please clarify this for me that would be great... thank you!

 

[gbhil]

Mix it with only water. My schedule for raising up hatchlings -

MRP diet available at all times.
Dusted crickets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Soft overripe fruit Tuesday and Thursday.

I keep it up right until they are ready to move into an adult enclosure. ~12 weeks for some, up to 18 weeks for others, depending on growth rates. Most will wait a little longer to put them into a bigger cage with other animals but this works for me.

 

[dactylus]

Mix it with only water. My schedule for raising up hatchlings -

MRP diet available at all times.
Dusted crickets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Soft overripe fruit Tuesday and Thursday.

Pretty much the same here;
MRP at all times, (made up quite liquid for first few weeks)
Fruit and crickets every other day.
No water dish, (encourages them to drink MRP), light mist every day.

 

[Supreme Gecko]

One thing you may wish to do is keep the decorations to a minimum the first month or so. This will allow you to monitor the 'output' from the gecko. You will see some marks in the MRP food but if you see the poop, you will know they are eating.

 

[mh728]

Crickets every other day? They must hardly even touch the CGD.

I wouldn't feed crickets so much for the young ones. I feed CGD every other day and they get calcium/d3 crickets once a week, occasionally twice a week. The older ones do get more crickets.

*EDIT* Oh and I second what SupremeGecko said about decor.

 

[Missmichal]

I heavily gutload my crickets, offer them to my cresteds daily. Even though the 2 cresteds dont eat them right away the crickets begin to live off the MRP diet and eventually eat the cricket. I also rub a little bit a food on my cresties noses everyday and let them lick it off to ensure they are eating the MRP diet by itself. My female gecko loves an occasional mealworm.