Two crested geckos (Ziggy and Manila) both finicky with Repashy CGD

[thorrshamri]

I have also kept without problems breeding groups in horizontal enclosures- they were at least 45cm/ 18" high and 60cm/ 24" long though. These guys are much more adaptable than it is usually said in care sheets. Now, care sheets are mostly aimed at beginners and contain -at least supposedly- the most "efficient" methods. Now, practice leads to different views.

About Nekton-Rep: apparently it has been criticized as some hobbyist claimed it did not contain the said quantities of vitamins mentionned on the jars. I dust insects with it once a month. Vitamins, as you point out, do not all have the same "resistance" to natural oxydation from ambient air and time. So, a given vitamin will still be present in sufficient amounts while another one will have been altered.

Using drinking water has IMO a major drawback: you cannot check the precise intake actually absorbed by geckos. I think when supplements are dusted on insects, which are eaten within minutes, it is different- and probably better.

Using human vitamins supplement- why not, though the needs are completely different for a human and for a gecko. Thus, to make things right, you would have to purchase each vitamin separatedly and use proper doses for geckos. I am not saying it's a bad idea, it is just less handy than pre-made mixes.

 

[WildWildMidwest]

Thorr, I like your perspective: you're full of practicality, low on dogma. You've helped me decide what to do, which is: apply Nekton-Rep to bugs monthly, and dust bugs with Repashy SuperCal MeD most other times. We'll keep a small capful of CGD available nightly in case they develop a taste for CGD, but I'll try not to panic if they don't.

Do you add any supplements to your fruit mush?

Both of our crested geckos are now avidly taking crickets and nibbling CGD, albeit just a couple of licks of CGD per night, so it's starting to look like things might turn out well. Removing a couple of the hides from Manila's enclosure was good for her assertiveness. She still hasn't taken any dubia roaches, but maybe that's just a matter of time. Small dubias can be pretty slow moving and I'm not sure how they smell to a gecko. I see Manila stalking her territory more, and generally looking for trouble. Both our cresties definitely like to explore the ground level along with seeking different perches. So perhaps we're through the worst of Manila's settling in. Meanwhile, Ziggy remains as mischievous as ever.

 

[thorrshamri]

Do you add any supplements to your fruit mush?

I have tried to, many times. It seems geckos don't like the supplement/fruit mash mix, they prefer fruit alone.

Not sure what you mean by "dogma" (I'm a huge fan of the movie "Dogma" but this has nothing to do with our conversation :biggrin: ). I certainly question some theories and points of views. Anyway, not everyone has the same methods with a given species of captive geckos. What works for your own animals on the long term is part of my philosophy F.e. advised tank sizes for many species are certainly well beyond the real territory surface/volume used by these species in the wild. Most do not take into account parameters such as how active is the species you want to use, how and where exactly they live in the wild. Geckos spending 95% of time in burrows or rock crevices don't need much space, and when you say you keep such 5" long species in 1' cubic enclosures, people often think it is far too small. Theory is needed, just to avoid so-called "ultimate truths" found on the Internet on more or less reliable websites. F.e. I knew someone who thought keeping 1:6 crested geckos together was fine, in a 4'x2'x4' enclosure. Even in that supposedly large room, some of the 6 females gradually stopped eating because they were bullied by more dominant females and would not lay any eggs, while keeping them in smaller groups (I would not go beyond 1:3) and in far smaller tanks give much better results.

Back to our nutritional discussion, you can add a small dish with powdered calcium to your enclosure. It cannot harm, and I have already seen some cresteds using such dishes. Not saying they all do that, but if they use it, it is purely instinct-related: just like leopard geckos try to get from sand the calcium they are needing when kept under improper conditions, if cresteds need calcium, they will find it and use it.

Just as a reminder, from Seipp & Henkel "Rhacodactylus: Biology, Husbandry... " (2000) probably the best book written on this genus, studies in the wild have learned us a lot about cresteds diet in the wild and feeding habits:

-sit-and-wait predators
-pollen eaten in subsequent quantity when in season
-opportunistic predators: smaller lizards, including young specimens of their own species, are readily eaten, young skinks of the Austrocaledoniscincus genus, and youngs of the smaller genuses (Bavayia...). They do eat baby rodents too.
-a wide variety of invertebrates was found in their stomachs, including spiders, orthoptera, caterpillars...
-prey insects are far less readily available in the New Caledonian patches of primary forests than in other tropical forests such as the Papuan New Guinean or Amazonian one. Thus, cresteds literally eat what is available and what is moving preferrably to non-moving food.

Now in captivity, many will tell you f.e. baby mice are not recommended since they may cause gout. True. But, again, it is all a matter of finding the right balance.

Many breeders on this side of the ocean (and in the US too) have noticed that cresteds only fed on CGD are smaller and weigh less than counterparts of the same age fed on insects with proper supplements and fruit. This has been noticed on a large scale with a significant sample of animals. How can one turn opportunistic predators which have a very broad nutritional spectrum into geckos which are fed just one same type of food, that is the question...without mentioning the impact of the very small genetic pool on their correct assimilation of such or such nutrient or micro-nutrient. Genetic issues are hard to prove on a given individual (unless keepers pay for DNA comparative analyses, which I doubt). Yet they are necessarily a big part of the problem with crested geckos when you think permits issued by New Caledonian wildlife services are for less than 200 specimens, all these permits having been delivered to scientists for study purposes and none for the gecko business, on the 1993-2006 period. All the captive cresteds are ancestors of that small population, in addition to the genetic selection to obtain such or such traits in offsprings.

Add to this that cresteds are not particularly agile hunters (I have seen many missing their prey quite often, this never happens with faster arboreal species or even with leaf-tail geckos), you will have a clear overview of the problem They do react to prey movement but are just somehow clumsy compared to other species- roaches for example may be too fast for them, depending on the roach species you use. Or, you have to sadistically smash these roaches a little, just enough to keep them alive and reduce their mobility :evil:

 

[WildWildMidwest]

I have wondered about the clumsiness which we witness every time our cresties hunt. How can any predator survive in the wild with a hit ratio < 30%? Perhaps the answer is they seldom hunt on the forest floor and are adapted for arboreal hunting primarily. Still, it's a question about whether this clumsy behavior is native or inbred. There are many examples in nature of "clumsy" behavior that doesn't make sense to human intellects, such as snakes that apparently go to sleep when laid on their backs, and so-forth. Most likely there's a biologic reason for such behavior. Species are in tough competition with each other for every resource, not least for foodstuff. Hit ratios of leopards (felines) can sometimes be quite low depending on prey and conditions, but leopards seem to be doing quite well globally compared to other big cats.

Dubia roaches aren't known for their speediness. I was looking at alternative roach species before buying dubias. "Red racer roach" didn't make the cut. Dubias just seem to sit there if the gecko doesn't grab them up when they first hit the tank floor — so not much visual stimulation. The flip side, though, is if one gets away I might be able to catch it before it takes up residence in our home.

I'll try putting in a calcium dish. I read about that technique for other gecko species, especially ground-dwelling geckos, but less so for cresties. I assume you use D3 supplemented calcium (Miner-All), or does D3 turn them away from eating calcium from a dish?

Seipp and Henkel's book sounds wonderful. It was reissued in 2011 but is currently unavailable — now on backorder at Amazon. I'll try to grab a copy when it becomes available.

 

[WildWildMidwest]

Many breeders on this side of the ocean (and in the US too) have noticed that cresteds only fed on CGD are smaller and weigh less than counterparts of the same age fed on insects with proper supplements and fruit. This has been noticed on a large scale with a significant sample of animals.

I will not in any way dispute your observation about CGD yielding smaller geckos than diverse-food peers. I'm sure it impacts breeding programs in time to market, hatch rates, and so-forth. As a hobbyist and pet owner (as opposed to a researcher, breeder or zoo keeper) this may not be all bad news. There's much goodness in a pet that remains 8 inches or smaller in urban living and for people who don't have hundred-bedroom homes.

That said, the greater question is how an ethical pet owner best assures his little friend's well being and quality of life. Would I want to put myself in Ziggy or Manila's place, eating the same powdered mush every day for 15+ years? Yeah, I know — I shouldn't anthropomorphize geckos — and maybe they can't dream of anything better than eating CGD every day for the rest of their lives (assuming they dream of anything). But our cresties' behaviors suggest that CGD powdered mush isn't, in their opinions, pure Heaven-on-Earth.

 

[thorrshamri]

There are many New Caledonian insects which are rather slow, and found in significant quantities in wild crested geckos' stomaches such as beetles, slow-moving grasshoppers, caterpillars...this is maybe one of the explanations of their "clumsiness" with crickets or fast-moving roaches.

Have you tried subadult locusts? Usually, cresteds tend to ignore those found in pet stores but it does not hurt to try. Early stages of Giant Madagascar Hissing roaches may work too, though they are rather chitinous and adult roaches of that species (Gromphadorrhina portentosa) far too big for cresteds.

And I have to agree with what you said about CGD.

 

[WildWildMidwest]

Good news — Manila settled in! She's a roach eater! Here's what worked: I found a freshly molted 3/4 inch dubia that was fluorescent white and soft to the touch. I dropped it in Manila's terrarium last night and, voom, it was gone! Now any small roach in her tank doesn't stand a chance. She loves 'em! Subadult locusts are another interesting idea. We'll have to try them.

I'm sure my wife won't tolerate giant Madagascar hissing roaches in our home. Dubias are enough to cause nightmares. We wake up certain there are ten big breeders crawling under the sheets every night. Ewww!

I ordered Repashy SuperCal MeD, Nekton-Rep and three cans of Zoo Med Tropical Fruit Mix (flavor experimentation, not for regular feedings.) Our fresh mango and papaya are almost ripe, maybe 1-2 more days. I continue to offer a small capful of CGD each night, and a tiny amount seems to be missing by morning — say 2 licks, though I'm not always sure it isn't just evaporative losses or CGD thickening up. I see no reason why our cresties can't continue to have CGD available as part of a broader diet. Our roach colony scours all CGD remnants, so nothing is wasted.

Thank you for getting us through New Gecko Keeper Syndrome (NGKS). We deeply appreciate how tolerant and helpful you have been.

ADDENDUM: Oops, I just saw a 3/4 inch black roach crawl out from under paper towels in Manila's tank. I'm not sure if that's the freshly molted roach from last evening, now blackened, or more likely the un-molted roach I dropped in the previous night. Maybe Manila prefers her delicacies chewy rather than crunchy. I'll still take any progress I can get, even as my overconfidence is slightly tarnished and NGKS remains symptomatic. I hope the roach nightmares go away soon... very creepy. I never realized I had a phobia before.

 

[PaintedMenagerie]

This thread has me really confused. I thought crested geckos were fruit eating geckos, feeding too many insects with high phosphorus diminishes calcium levels, and that RCGD was the most nutritionally complete diet available. It is based on solid nutritional science.

I have a friend who rescued a small group of Cresteds from a guy who only fed insects. All of the geckos exhibited MBD and one in particular was severely stunted, only about 12 grams and he is full grown. These animals would not eat CGD either, being accustomed to insects.

If you give a child a choice between cake and peas, he's going to choose the cake everytime. It seems to be the same with geckos.

In order to convert them over to CGD, she began to syringe feed them CGD with a small bit of honey for palatability. This is not meant to mean that the syringe was forced into their mouth. A tap on the chin stimulates the tongue and they take it readily. After about a week and a half of this plus free choice CGD in the enclosure, all the animals were eating it on their own.

Converting them can be done insect free.

 

[thorrshamri]

This thread has me really confused. I thought crested geckos were fruit eating geckos, feeding too many insects with high phosphorus diminishes calcium levels

...unless, as stated on most care sheets and forums, you gutload insects with proper sources of calcium and add proper supplements.

, and that RCGD was the most nutritionally complete diet available. It is based on solid nutritional science.

Any scientific reference please?
How can you tell that about geckos which may live over 20 years of age whereas CGD has only been on the market for a few years?
Seriously, do you have any clue about their diet in the wild?

I have a friend who rescued a small group of Cresteds from a guy who only fed insects. All of the geckos exhibited MBD and one in particular was severely stunted, only about 12 grams and he is full grown. These animals would not eat CGD either, being accustomed to insects.

Did that guy supplement the insects and gutload them?
How about genetics- was the lineage of the geckos known?
On hundreds of captive specimens, a smaller size and lighter weight was noticed on cresteds fed CGD only.

If you give a child a choice between cake and peas, he's going to choose the cake everytime. It seems to be the same with geckos.

If you give anyone the same diet every day... :biggrin:

In order to convert them over to CGD, she began to syringe feed them CGD with a small bit of honey for palatability. This is not meant to mean that the syringe was forced into their mouth. A tap on the chin stimulates the tongue and they take it readily. After about a week and a half of this plus free choice CGD in the enclosure, all the animals were eating it on their own.

Converting them can be done insect free.

Hmmm...so you suggest a diet without any insect and more or less obliging the cresteds to eat CGD? That may work if they are hungry. But IMHO not the best method with feeding them. It's just that people figure out if something is on the market then it's alright for reptiles. I know many people still using cedar or pine chips as substrates for reptiles, these being readily available from pet stores, yet such wood has toxic phenols and may be deadly on the long run for reptiles and other pets. People are also seduced by the idea to avoid keeping bugs, crickets, roaches...as feeders for their geckos. In a way, this is laziness. And certainly not the best way to feed them on the long run.

 

[cassicat4]

Not to nitpick, but Repashy CGD has actually been in production and marketed as a complete diet since 1996 - a little more than "a few years".

It's been tested on thousands of geckos since then, by the three biggest names in crested geckos who have studied and researched the species extensively - both in their native and captive environments - Frank Fast, Allen Repashy, and Philippe de Vosjoli.

You'll find hundreds of web pages touting CGD as complete nutrition which eliminates the need for feeder insects (just like you'll find hundreds touting the feeding of mashed fruit and insects instead). None of the CGD-only sites say you shouldn't feed insects, just that if you choose to do without, your gecko will thrive nonetheless. The RCGD was formulated based on the nutrients and food items they would naturally ingest in the wild.

If there are scientific articles confirming this (complete nutrition negating need for insects), I'm not aware. The research the Big Three have done mostly speaks for itself, so there may not have been a pressing need.

The CGD is not just one food item - it's a mixture of many. It would be like taking your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, throwing it in a blender, then drinking the mixture every day. Assuming you included the necessary foods for a balanced diet and/or vitamin supplements to make up for what's lacking i.e. protein if you avoid all meat products - you would be getting your complete nutrition, and wouldn't need anything more. Granted, you are human, and as such, you crave variety because food means much more to people than simply survival. Animals - not so much. Many are very instinctual - most reptiles, for example, only seek variety in order to meet all of their nutritional needs. It's not out of desire for something different. And many reptiles - if they can achieve all of their nutritional requirements with a sole diet - won't seek anything more. Some crested geckos, for example, won't even touch feeder insects - CGD is all they'll eat. I wouldn't call that "obliged".

That being said, there are some geckos that absolutely love crickets - they have a strong instinctual need to hunt, so providing them with crickets in addition to their CGD would definitely be to their benefit. I have a couple Rhacs that go crazy for crickets, so I would never feed them solely CGD for that reason alone.

But it could be done if necessary - hence why it's been marketed (and never disproven, to my knowledge) to be "Complete Crested Gecko Nutrition". While I personally feel you would be depriving your gecko of its instinct to hunt, I don't feel you would be depriving it of vital nutrition.

BUT...I'm also a firm believer that there's not just one way of doing things. There are some people who can maintain their geckos on a balance of feeder insects and mashed fruit alone, there are some who can do it on CGD or a mix of CGD and feeder insects, and there are some who have conjured up their own formula involving specific types of baby food, fruit, and insects. You have to do what works for you and your geckos, and as long as your geckos are being provided with the nutrition they require, then how you go about it is your choice. But I do believe RCGD can be fed solely if you so choose, and the geckos will thrive.

A couple links - based on the works of the Big Three:

Crested Gecko Diets: Crested Gecko MRP Diet | moonvalleyreptiles.com
Crested Gecko Care Sheet

 

[WildWildMidwest]

PaintedMenagerie, I don't think anybody here is disparaging Alan Repashy's efforts to concoct synthetic herp food — just to say there are other nutritional alternatives. As the late Julia Child was fond of reminding us, freshness makes all the difference. What else do our little guests have to look forward to besides fresh meals once a day? CGD is certainly light years ahead of the desiccated reptile garbage being sold as "food" on most pet store shelves, but is CGD really a complete substitute for the New Caledonian rainforest omnivore?

On the topic of fruit, I offered both our geckos minced fresh kitchen-ripened papaya three times this week but neither crestie appeared to have any interest in papaya. I sweetened the deal tonight with a few slices of fresh strawberry laid nearby. We'll see what's left in the morning.

Our geckos still don't eat much CGD. What we offered them previously was the T-Rex version sold in chain stores. I read it's different than version 3.x CGD. I bought a couple 4 oz bags of Repashy CGD version 3.1D, which arrived late last week. I mixed a capful of 3.1D tonight and placed it next to the fresh fruit in each terrarium. We'll see if either gecko shows interest in CGD or fruit. They were each offered dubia nymphs earlier in the evening but neither gecko had an interest.

Ziggy made his first get-away this evening. He slipped through an opening in his tank cover and went on the lam. I found him stuck behind a wall picture in my son's bedroom. The little wanderer is back in his terrarium shaking a sticky fist at us for interrupting his adventures.

 

[thorrshamri]

Though I admit with great pleasure these three "names" widely contributed to the knowledge of New Caledonian Geckos, what Cassicat says is rather a North American-centered approach. How about Willi Henkel, Robert Seipp, and other European researchers who worked in the field and studied these geckos habits, behavior and nutrition?

Inert food (i.e. CGD) vs moving prey. This is one of the keys of the debate. Provided these geckos react to moving prey, reducing their diet to an inert one is a Biological nonsense. They do react to the smell of ripe fruit and pollen, but this is only a small part of their nutrition in the wild- about 20% of the total, according to the authors mentioned above.

How about their proven intake of small vertebrate prey?

Oddly enough, when you search for independent lab results about CGD, there is none. Lab tests have only been made by the manufacturers themselves. This is not what I would exactly call a "proven formula". In order to prove f.e. there is no long-term side effects, or no weariness about a monodietary system, tests should have been made over several years, which, as you probably know, was not the case. Any tests on comparative longevity between a large enough group of specimens fed only on CGD and another group fed on insects and fruits? Any similar test about long-term anorexia, organ failures or nutritionally induced diseases? None, at least not that I am aware of. I think there is some sort of confusion with the diet of more evolved and very different pets, i.e. dogs and cats. Analogies are certainly made by a number of keepers with ready-made food for geckos and ready-made food for carnivorous mammals. Like you said, crested geckos are omnivorous, opportunistic predators in the wild. "If ready-made food works for my dog, then why not for my gecko?" I think this is the more or less conscious comparison made by many owners, who, again, are reluctant to keep/breed live insects.

Objectivity in such a debate can only be achieved through scientific and neutral evidence. If more cresteds are sold by those who breed cresteds and make ready-made food at the same time, this objectivity is subject to caution.

If I mentioned about individuals fed only on CGD having a lower size and weight at the same age than their counterparts fed on insects and fruit, it is not only my own experience. It has to do with thousands of animals observed by very qualified breeders who do not use such ready-made food, including in the US, including by some who are around in the hobby for more than 30 years. Just saying. Oh, and quoting exceptions cannot be set as a rule. There will always be people saying that thanks to CGD they have a bigger crested. Fine. Genetics are also part of the problem. Now have you ever seen wild cresteds or even F1 ones? I can tell you there is as much difference between them in terms of size and bulk when you compare them to cresteds offered on the pet trade as F15 or F20 animals than with colors on the first captive generations of veiled chamaeleons and of F30 animals...so in spite of a probably shorter lifespan and exposure to internal parasites, wild cresteds thrive on a diet that has been proven adequate not over 18 years, but over milleniums

 

[thorrshamri]

P.S.: are you somehow aware of the very short efficiency of some vitamins other than in whole prey? Vitamin C for example is altered by oxygen from ambient air within 30 minutes and is hereafter no longer efficient. It does remain unaltered in live prey though. The same happens when you smash oranges to make yourself a homemade orange juice. If you don't drink it within minutes, then the vitamins are all gone.

 

[WildWildMidwest]

Without knowing specific reptilian vitamin C requirements, I'm not going to worry overly about vitamin C oxidation. I doubt anybody in the world knows the specific biochemistry of vitamin C metabolism in crested geckos. Most mammals seem to be pretty good at synthesizing and holding onto vitamin C in its reduced and oxidized states, and interconverting ascorbate and dehydroascorbic acid as needed. Vitamin C oxidation does not equal vitamin C destruction. Bats, guinea pigs, capybaras and certain primates (tarsiers, monkeys, and apes + humans) seem to be among few exceptions to the rule of autogenous vitamin C synthesis. Even so, it doesn't take much vitamin C in a primate diet to prevent scurvy. Reptiles could be completely different, but I have to believe it's an unknown at this point.

My two cresties turned up their snouts at fresh papaya and thinly-sliced strawberry last night. Zero-for-three on the papaya; zero-for-one on strawberry. Ziggy ate most of his CGD 3.1D in the cap next to the papaya and strawberry. As an experiment, I may try offering him CGD 3.1D in one cap and T-Rex CGD in another.

Manila didn't eat anything last night. I'll stop offering her papaya soon. It's too much effort for something she doesn't want. I can't keep preparing fruit every night for the one time per year Ziggy or Manila wants it. Too much effort and expense.

I wonder if crested geckos "fall back" on fruit eating when preferred options aren't available, or when their bodies tell them they're missing some nutrient the fruit offers.

Our mango is ripe now, so maybe we'll have better luck with mango. I'll try offering mango 3-4 times and see what happens. If the geckos continue to reject fresh fruit in favor of CGD 3.1, then I have my answer.

.... Will report back as more data emerges ....

 

[WildWildMidwest]

Today is the end of our geckos' quarantine. Some books (Adam Black) advocate a 90 day quarantine, and I'm sure that makes sense for commercial breeders. In our case 28 days is probably adequate. I built a screen separator and I plan on introducing Ziggy to Manila's 20 gallon long tank on opposite sides of the separator. We may eventually remove the screen and let them co-habitate, but not anytime soon. Ziggy is less than half of Manila's weight. We prefer both geckos to keep their tails and not sustain bites.

I performed a deep clean of Manila's terrarium yesterday and found several very-much-alive roaches under her paper towels and reptile carpet. I was appalled to see a 3/4 inch dubia nymph clinging to the undersurface of Manila's screen lid a couple nights ago. How did it get there? Did any others manage to escape?

Last evening I introduced Manila to a 3-inch deep, 10x12 inch black plastic throw-away food tray which I've been using to feed roaches to Ziggy. The black tray was a big success with Manila too. She immediately pounced on a large nymph and gobbled it down. The black background highlights calcium dusted roaches nicely, especially when geckos are brought in on a stick. They immediately turn their heads and ambush from above. The take-away lesson is no more roaches in the terrarium. Dubias are too slow-moving and reclusive to be noticed and reliably eaten in the terrarium. Presented in a translucent plastic cup, dubias merely play dead — which works; Manila and Ziggy ignore them. Ceramic feeding dishes work better for Ziggy than Manila, though nymphs find a way out if Ziggy doesn't eat them within a couple minutes. Also, ceramic makes a hard background for Ziggy's lunging snout. Lightweight plastic is a far more forgiving background for clumsy gecko attacks — the thinner plastic the better.

Until I find a better method, all future dubia feedings will be conducted in our disposable 10x12" black plastic tray. I am looking for 2 ounce, thin black plastic cups which I've seen somewhere... but where? Fast food catsup cups?

Fresh papaya was a complete bust: 0 for 6 attempts. Neither of our cresties recognized papaya as food. Mango was definitely preferred, though they only nibbled a little before it dried out. There's no way to know what these geckos ate as hatchlings... probably not fresh papaya.

I hope my ramblings help other new crested gecko owners avoid common mistakes. Recognizing that everyone's situation is different, and acknowledging that roaches in the terrarium may work well for some people, I can't imagine crested geckos would have much success stalking dubias in a heavily planted terrarium. Perhaps that's where B. lateralis (Turkistan/red runner roaches) have the advantage of attracting more gecko attention than dubia roaches. I just can't risk B. lateralis escapes, since Turkistan roaches tolerate cold environments much better than dubias. My neighbors would hate me if our street became Cøckroach Lane.

 

[cassicat4]

For quarantine, I have read a variety of things, ranging from 30 days minimum, to 90 days, to even 6 months. It really depends on the reptile and as you mentioned, the keeper, whether they're a hobbyist or breeder.

For captive bred geckos who are not being exposed to any other reptiles in your house, I believe 28/30 days is fine.

I have a variety of reptiles, and as a result, for me personally, I opt for 60 days for any captive-bred animals, and 90 days for wild caught. Due to the potential for WC animals to carry a host of diseases that may manifest over time due to the stress of captivity, I choose to be safe rather than sorry. And because any reptiles I acquire will eventually be transitioned to my reptile room, I still opt for 60 days for CB ones to be safe as well.

Something I have noticed with my geckos (that may throw a kink in your experiments with different fruits) is that they have both slowed down in their appetites due to winter. Their enclosure temps have remained the same, but like many reptiles, they can sense changes in ambient/seasonal temps and some react as such. It's very cold here right now, for example, and most of my reptiles have reacted by either brumating or significantly decreasing their appetites and sleeping more.

If yours are feeling the effects of winter slowdown, then what you're seeing that appears to be lack of interest in the particular fruits may have more to do with lack of interest in food in general. I don't know, but I do know I have a few reptiles that have appeared to go off a favorite food at feeding times, but will eventually take to it if I continue offering it. If you do want to be offering particular fruits, I wouldn't give up on trying, but you may want to wait until closer to spring when their appetites bounce back before doing so, so there's less chance of waste. It's hard to accurately gauge appetites and how much and what items one should be feeding when there are other factors at play that are having an influence.

When you offer fruit, do you ever mix it in with the Repashy? I know many owners do, and it does seem to work to get them to eat it.

 

[WildWildMidwest]

Hi, Cassi. I believe you are correct that a biologic clock affects our geckos' eating preferences and quantities. We will have a better sense of what those changes are after we've been gecko owners a couple of years. Our little guy, Ziggy, is a pretty good eater regardless of what we do. Maybe this will change as he ages.

I have not specifically mixed fresh fruit with Repashy CGD, but I put it side-by-side with CGD in the same cap so the scents intermingle. I did not want to coerce our geckos to eat something they were opposed to, nor to make CGD unpalatable by combination.

I read dietary preferences change as geckos grow older. This is probably true for all animals to some extent. We'll learn what those preferences are as time passes. It's part of the journey.