How/where to feed my gecko crickets

[Piccola]

I bought crickets today for the first time (new crested gecko) and I'm gut loading them now. I was wondering, where should I feed my crested gecko? I'm hesitant to let crickets loose in the tank because I don't think he'll find them but he backed away when I tried to give him a cricket with feeder tongs. And no, I did not shove the cricket in his face. Should I let a cricket or two go in the tank or would it help to move my gecko into a carrying tank with some crickets for a bit?

Thanks for your help.

 

[acpart]

I recommend just putting a few crickets in the tank and letting your crestie go for them. It's really fun to watch cresties dive bombing for crickets. You don't even have to worry much about the crickets bothering the crestie since they'll eat the CGD if they live long enough to get hungry.

Aliza

 

[Piccola]

I recommend just putting a few crickets in the tank and letting your crestie go for them. It's really fun to watch cresties dive bombing for crickets. You don't even have to worry much about the crickets bothering the crestie since they'll eat the CGD if they live long enough to get hungry.

Aliza

That does sound like fun, thank you! He's been looking bored (sorry to my biology professor for anthropomorphizing!) at night when he climbs around, this will give him something to do.


Update: I dumped a cricket in there immediately after reading this, and he had it in his mouth in about half a second. It was fun to watch. I gave him a sec before adding another, which he ignored. I added a third and am going to let him do his business as he pleases, but right now he seems content to be licking his chops.

 

[Spazvicious]

Are you making sure you're supplementing the crickets with calcium? Crickets don't have enough calcium on them to make your lizard get bigger, so they need a calcium supplement powder on them for when your crestie eats them. A gecko's diet is the main source for living a healthy life.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

You can also feed in a different like tote or something?

 

[acpart]

Some geckos can be acclimated to being fed in a different enclosure and will come to associate that enclosure with food. I have been hesitant to do that because many geckos also become stressed in a new environment and don't eat.

Aliza

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Are you making sure you're supplementing the crickets with calcium? Crickets don't have enough calcium on them to make your lizard get bigger, so they need a calcium supplement powder on them for when your crestie eats them. A gecko's diet is the main source for living a healthy life.

Good! You need a phosphorous-free calcium supplement with D3 to lightly dust the prey. I like the Rep-Cal brand. Herptivite is the vitamin supplement, also by Rep-Cal.

 

[Spazvicious]

Yeah, I've had a sample dish of the Rep-Cal brand. It was just a little container I paid 3 bucks for. It lasted me about 4 months for just the little dish. It's worth the buy, in the long run, it's cheaper than the crickets themselves.