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

[potatoeschicka]

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

Hello im the proud owner of a crested gecko and he seems to have trouble with climbung now and he doesnt seem to be able to put his nails in or out im worried please help

 

[lauraleellbp]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean- can't put his nails in or out? Geckos don't have retractable claws like cats do...

Do you mean his feet seem paralyzed, or just that he's not putting his toes down flat with the rest of his foot?

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Checking in about the claw issue:

Some geckos with both claws and setae (the hairlike structures on the toepads) do alternate between clawed and "non-clawed" climbing depending upon the surface. "Flying" geckos (Ptychozoon kuhli) are one example.

 

[potatoeschicka]

What i meant was that he can not climb anymore he cant hang on to anything it seemed like he was able to retract his nails im ALMOST positive he was able to. like he used to be able to climb up the couch hanging on with his claws now he just slides right off

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

What i meant was that he can not climb anymore he cant hang on to anything it seemed like he was able to retract his nails im ALMOST positive he was able to. like he used to be able to climb up the couch hanging on with his claws now he just slides right off

There is a possibility that some shed has remained on his toes. You could place Potatoes in a perforated humidity chamber for on hour or so to see whether any unshed skin on his toes loosens up. Just take a plastic container with a lid, poke holes in it so your crestie can breathe, place a damp washcloth on the bottom, spray the container and the crestie. Then place this near a low wattage desk lamp for at least 20 minutes and check to see if there is any stuck shed with gentle motions with a q-tip. Or, alternatively, you can float this container in a basin of just warm water.

What are you feeding Potatoes?

 

[lauraleellbp]

Make sure to only use lukewarm water for a crestie (in the 70s F), not water that's warm to the touch.

Here's a good youtube on how to give a crestie a sauna like Elizabeth just explained:

Crested Gecko "Bath" - YouTube

What does your humidity cycle look like in your enclosure throughout the day? How often are you misting? Could you post up some pictures of Potatoes' enclosure?

 

[potatoeschicka]

I feed him crested gecko diet i got from petsmart and gutloaded dusted crickets a few times a week his humidity is kept at tropical like care sheets told me to keep him at i spray when i get up in the morning when i get home from school and before i go to bed and that keeps him at tropical i also have a heating pad in his cage.He has a 20"Lx10"Wx12"H glass terrarium with a screen cover a repticarpet plastic leaves type thing stuck to the glass wall half a cocanut a log type thing coverd in bark (from a tree). Potatoes is kept in the 70 range during the day and about 65 at night i got those temps. from a care sheet so give me some heads up if im doing anything wrong

 

[potatoeschicka]

I would have posted pics but idk how srry

 

[lauraleellbp]

Petsmart unfortunately does not carry and brands of foods that are actually healthy for crested geckos (though they do have some junk that is marketed at them). There are only two brands of foods that have been properly formulated to be healthy for crested geckos and those are Clarks and Repashy. You can find both of those online. The Repashy is usually easier to find, I get my own from Pangea Reptile Supplies Home Page.

You need an accurate (digital) hygrometer so you can actually start monitoring your humidity. Crested geckos need 80-90% humidity at night, drying down to 40% during the day. Both too much and too little humidity can cause them issues with shedding, as well as make them prone to other health issues such as respiratory problems. It takes a bit of trial and error to figure out how to properly manage humidity, and some people need to mist two or three times a day, while I personally only need to mist once a day since I live in a humid climate.

There's several different ways to post pics- I personally upload them to Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and then copy and past the link with the

 

[potatoeschicka]

Thanks a bunch where should i get one of those digital hygrometers? and what do they usually cost i want to provide the best care i can for him. i was wondering about the food also because i got him last november and he doesnt look like he has put on any weight since then if anything maybe a little smaller what is a healthy weight for a young crested i dont know the exact age but it is still unsexed so it is fairly young

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I feed him crested gecko diet i got from petsmart and gutloaded dusted crickets a few times a week his humidity is kept at tropical like care sheets told me to keep him at i spray when i get up in the morning when i get home from school and before i go to bed and that keeps him at tropical i also have a heating pad in his cage.He has a 20"Lx10"Wx12"H glass terrarium with a screen cover a repticarpet plastic leaves type thing stuck to the glass wall half a cocanut a log type thing coverd in bark (from a tree). Potatoes is kept in the 70 range during the day and about 65 at night i got those temps. from a care sheet so give me some heads up if im doing anything wrong

Hey ~

I definitely think you might be having humidity issues with your setup for a variety of reasons!

I don't think an under tank heating pad is a good idea for cresties. I would recommend heating the tank with only overhead lighting, if necessary. Many room temperatures are just fine for cresties! Perhaps more experienced crestie owners have different feedback.

Remove the under tank heater and the repticarpet. Get some Eco Earth - a cocopeat substrate for the bottom of your tank. It comes in "bricks". You add maybe 5 quarts of water and the brick expands to make much cocopeat fiber .

They like sanseveria to climb---planted in a pot. That and the cocopeat fiber substrate on the bottom helps with the humidity.

How old is he? Older cresties prefer vertical tanks.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Thanks a bunch where should i get one of those digital hygrometers? and what do they usually cost i want to provide the best care i can for him. i was wondering about the food also because i got him last november and he doesnt look like he has put on any weight since then if anything maybe a little smaller what is a healthy weight for a young crested i dont know the exact age but it is still unsexed so it is fairly young

Petsmart carries a nifty little digital hygrometer/thermometer by Fluker Farms which monitors minimum and maximum temps and humidity for about $25 and sticks in place with velcro. Just make sure you remove this from the tank before spraying so as not to damage it. Also make sure that the highs and lows make sense. I bought one that needed to be replaced. Fluker's was most responsible and stood behind their product.

 

[potatoeschicka]

I have tried the cocoa substrait you are talking about i dont think he liked it much becasue he would burrow in it i have never seen any other cresteds do that i didnt think it was normal is it? My gecko isnt verry old at all i dont actually know its real age but it is still unsexed so i figured pretty young i didnt get him a tall cage because when i got him he couldnt climb and we were going to get him one when he started to climb but now he doesnt climb any more. my mother is concerned about the sauna she thinks we will freak him out and he will lose his tail i tried telling her that wasnt the case but she doesnt believe me because the gecko in the video doesnt have a tail that isnt the case is it?

 

[lauraleellbp]

Giving a gecko a sauna shouldn't cause it to drop its tail as long as you don't close the lid on it or something. The gecko in the video didn't drop its tail from a sauna, I think she either came to JB that way or dropped it during a breeding squabble or something, I don't remember. Burrito is one of JB's oldest geckos. lol

I personally prefer paper towels for juvenile cresties over Eco Earth, as there's less risk of impaction.

If your gecko spent all its time burrowing in the substrate then it sounds to me like you've got some serious humidity problems, or there's not enough places in its enclosure for it to hide. Please work on getting some photos up? Pics both of him and of his enclosure might help us identify what's going on.

Temps in the 70s F are ideal for Cresties, but a drop down to 65F at night is fine. As long as you're sure that the heat mat isn't raising the temp higher than 80F down at substrate level, that's fine too.

Do you provide a shallow water dish filled with about 1/2" of clean water at all times? Do you have any sort of humid hide in his enclosure?

It really sounds to me like your guy may have hydration and shed issues, and if he hasn't been climbing since November, this isn't a good sign. My recommendation continues to be to give him a sauna, as it may help and certainly can't hurt. Most of my cresties get saunas about once a week, as that's where I put them while I'm cleaning their cages. I've never had a gecko drop its tail in a sauna and I'm currently running about 30+ in my collection (though there's never any guarantee, of course).

I have a pretty detailed Crestie caresheet on my website- Crested Gecko Caresheet - Geckos in Tails

Please make sure you and your mom have made time to read through some current and reliable caresheets- most of the info you get from pet stores unfortunately is extremely inaccurate. I'd also highly recommend the caresheets at Pangea Reptile Supplies Home Page, JB's Crested Gecko Info, and Ciliatus.com - The Ultimate Crested Gecko Resource - Home.

 

[potatoeschicka]

No in november he didnt know how to climb i dont think then in late december he started climbing and then he stoped. when i first got him i think he was burrowing because i didnt have the proper heating but i have a heat lamp and everything now so that is ok i have heard horror storys about paper towels have you had any problems with them? Yes he has a water bowl with clean water what do you mean a humid hyde? i dont have one of those. I gave him a sauna today and he seems to be doing better and is trying to climb. I read a lot of care sheets off the inteernet before i got him but i will read the ones you advised

 

[potatoeschicka]

i am havin gissues with the pics but i will get some up as soon as i can

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

No in november he didnt know how to climb i dont think then in late december he started climbing and then he stoped. when i first got him i think he was burrowing because i didnt have the proper heating but i have a heat lamp and everything now so that is ok i have heard horror storys about paper towels have you had any problems with them? Yes he has a water bowl with clean water what do you mean a humid hyde? i dont have one of those. I gave him a sauna today and he seems to be doing better and is trying to climb. I read a lot of care sheets off the inteernet before i got him but i will read the ones you advised

Not being able to climb since you got him raises a RED FLAG! Crested geckos hatch with the ability to climb. Climbing comes second nature to them.

Do you see any built-up of old skin on his toepads?

Have you tried putting his crickets in a sturdy container? That way he can get them and there would be no worries about impaction.

Have you changed your heating from the heat pad to a heat lamp?

Remember it is really not a "sauna" that you want. Just coolish temps for his soak like Laura and the video suggest

(Please use periods in your posts. It will make your posts not only an easier read for USA members, but also for members for whom English is not their native language )

 

[lauraleellbp]

What horror stories have you heard about paper towels? Most breeders I know of prefer paper towels because they're easier to keep clean, it's easier to monitor for poop to know whether or not they're eating, and they are not as likely to injest it when burrowing or feeding. As a crestie grows, the risk of impaction decreases somewhat, but I personally always recommend that young cresties get started on paper towels.

I explain how to make a humid hide on the caresheet on my website- basically it's a container with a hole for access where you keep up the humidity either with some damp eco earth, moss, or paper towels. I use eco earth in humid hides for my larger geckos, but paper towels with hatchlings, and just change them out on a weekly basis when I change their paper towel substrate.

 

[potatoeschicka]

i had over head lighting within t he first week i got him. i have heard about the geckos getting really sick from eating the papertowels. pics Pictures by lizzy2l - Photobucket

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

i had over head lighting within t he first week i got him. i have heard about the geckos getting really sick from eating the papertowels. pics Pictures by lizzy2l - Photobucket

Thanks for sharing both those pictures.

What temperatures are you getting with the overhead lighting as measured by a digital thermometer? Depending upon the room temperatures where the tank sits, the temperature in his tank may or may not be too warm. (You can get digital thermomters for under $20 at Radio Shack.) The dial-type thermometers like you have shown on the side of the tank are often very inaccurate.

Is your crestie climbing yet? Please tell us about his toe pads? Do they have remaining shed on them? Without more info GU is handicapped to help.

It is extremely important for you to add some potted plants to the environment pictured above! Those will assist in increasing the tank's humidity. That is far too dry for the likes of a crested gecko and may explain his difficulties climbing. What you have pictured above is more like a tank for a leopard gecko :-(. Two potted plants like sanseveria (snake plants) would even be better than one.