I have a Crestie mystery!

Drew1405

New member
Hey folks,

I have a bit of a mystery surrounding my Crested Gecko which I got about 3 weeks ago. Some of the more experienced people on here though may have come across this before though and can help me explain what's what since I am totally new to Geckos and reptiles in general.

I awoke one morning this week and looked into the Cresties viv to discover what I thought was runny poop down one of the glass doors. I found this odd because where it was positioned at the top of the door, meant my Crestie would have had to have most likely climbed the glass, which I have never seen him do or else climbed one of the walls and crossed the roof to get to be above the glass. Never seen him do this before either and I also find it odd because there is nothing up above the doors to interest the Gecko.

Anyway this "poop" was runny but had dried by the time I saw it that morning. It was white and had just a tiny bit of brownish areas in it. Any poop I had found before was just a little black lump so I assumed this poop might be because he is on just the CGD with a wax worm as a treat once a week. The black poop I found was way back when I bought him so I assumed that poop was from whatever they fed him in the shop.

Tonight though I was looking in the tub where my wax worms are kept. I've had that tub as long as I have had the Crestie (3 weeks). All the remaining worms have now turned into moths which I expected (although not that fast!). However I also noticed this "runny poop" stuff in the tub with the moths!

So naturally I then thought this "runny poop" on the glass of the viv can't be poop after all!

I was stumped!

Then I remembered... the morning I found the stuff on the glass I had put my head into the viv and looked up above the glass to see what I could see. I spotted this black lump stuck to the wall right up at the height of the roof of the viv. When I looked at it, it reminded me of one of the chips of Orchid Bark that I use for substrate. I assumed somehow maybe a piece had stuck to the Crestie and made it's way up there with him and got stuck there. Sounds stupid now I know! lol!

So tonight after discovering the runny poop in the tub with the moths, I suddenly realised that black lump on the viv wall could be a moth. So I recounted back through the wax worms I have offered to my Crestie. His first one he never ate so it turned brown and I took it out. His second one he never ate, but the next day it was gone completely so I assumed he ate it. As for the third one he was offered, he took it right away and devoured it!

So I am now assuming the one that I thought he ate, maybe he didn't after all and the worm crawled away to hide and turn into a moth.

But here's the mystery... why did I see the moth still there in the viv AFTER seeing the "runny poop"? And why is this same runny poop in the tub with the moths??

I had even thought the "runny poop" on the glass was actually the insides of the moth or something, thinking maybe the Crestie had eaten into it and that's how the messy stuff got onto the glass... but that can't be true as the moth was still there AFTER the stuff ended up on the glass.

So am I now right in thinking when a wax worm turns into a moth, it leaves the messy stuff behind, and that's why it's on the viv glass AND in the moths tub? But if so how did the messy stuff get up so high on the glass? Surely the moth would have morphed into the moth on the ground then flown up to the roof of the viv?

So many questions! Will I ever be able to solve this weird mystery?! lol! Anyone who can shed light on this please let me know! :D

Incidentally, the black lump which could be a moth in the viv is not there anymore so I can't inspect it closer to see was it a moth after all. And if it's not there now... it's either been eaten by my Crestie or else it's hiding elsewhere, which is going to be a pain as my Crestie is due a full clean out in a weeks time and this moth is probably then going to get out of the viv and into my room! lol!

I've already had a cricket on the loose somehow in my house even though I keep crickets in a cricket keeper which is escape proof! I had to invest in a cricket trap to lure any others that might have escaped and could be in hiding somewhere!! Crickets (and moths) creep me out but I only bought them and am trying to get used to them for my reptiles sake! lol! Worms I can deal with no problem!
 
Last edited:

thorrshamri

Moderator/The French Viking Moderathorr
First of all, DON'T feed any gecko waxmoths, unless it is VERY occasional- once a month or so, and a single waxmoth (adult or larvae) at a time.
Waxmoths are very addictive and you run the risk to see your gecko ignoring any other food item. On top of that, it is completely unbalanced as regards the Calcium/Phosphorous ratio, and is way too fat- waxmoths are known to cause liver diseases when given too frequently or too much.
I honestly don't see how anyone couldn't make the difference between a waxmoth, whatever its development stage, and a poo.
A loose poo indicates a digestive issue. Keep in mind it's not because your gecko is CB that it cannot be infested with intestinal worms or other internal parasites. Insects are very often intermediate hosts for such parasites, even if you buy them from specialized stores. I would put your gecko in a simple, quarantine-type set-up for a couple of weeks, using only paper towels as a substrate, and see if more loose poos come out. In the case you notice another loose poo, go to a vet asap with the poo in a sterile jar and ask for a search for internal parasites. It could also be due to an improper diet. Honey tends to give diarrhea, as well as some fruit. But as it is nearly impossible to know what the exact cause is, I would go for a fecal sample. If it is positive, I would advise you change your insect supplier and follow the treatment recommended by your vet to the letter.
 
Last edited:

Drew1405

New member
The problem I have though is that I don't know if this loose poo is actually poo or not :/

That is what I thought it was at first but then after finding the same thing inside the tub of moths (which obviously the Gecko has never been near) then it made me think it was some kind of weird liquid either from the moth or the wax worm before it turned into a moth.

What I mistook the black lump on the wall of the viv for was an Orchid Bark chip, not a poo. I thought the chip had got stuck there possibly by moisture or something. It was only after seeing a wax moth for the first time in my life (in the tub) that I realized the similarity with the black thing on the viv wall. So when I went to look again it was gone.

So I'm none the wiser to what has happened here or even if I have a problem or not.

My Crestie get's CGD put in every other day and has only had 3 wax worms in total. He's gets one a week and that is simply for the reason that I don't want him being addicted to them. The reason I also chose to give wax worms was to give him something more solid that CGD all the time in case that did give him runny poo. I would never give him the wax moths. I only believe that might have been a wax moth because one of the worms was unaccounted for as I never saw (only assumed) he'd eaten it during the night.
 

Popdada

New member
from what I have read...and seen from my own crested urates are white and poo is the brown lump... and yes crested can an will climb the glass walls... most likely your gecko took a leek on the door..
 

Drew1405

New member
I don't feed them anything as yet... I only discovered the wax moths in the last few days. I had a tub of wax worms that had gone brown and i'd forgotten about. When I looked a few days ago they had turned to moths. Being totally new to all this, this is the first time I have had wax worms and also the first time I've seen them turn into moths.
 

Muffins94

New member
If you put them into the fridge it slows down the process. Keeps them alive and as actual worms longer. As for the mysterious "substance" that was, I don't know. I'm learning all I can about cresteds before I get one. So hopefully you figure it out!! Maybe try no more worms for a few weeks and see if it comes back?
 

Popdada

New member
I don't think the goo in your wax worm tub... And the goo in your tank are related... So forget about the wax worms... Do you think this came out of your gecko or did he walk in his cgd and smear it around..? If you think it came out of him you need to see a vet...
 

Izzy's Mom

New member
What I'm seeing in the photo looks like normal gecko 'pee' to me :) Mine all love to urinate on the glass... which is a gross habit, but totally normal. Usually poop will look like a brown lump (like most animal poo), but when they urinate it will have a white blob and some runny yellowish liquid that will drip down the glass.
 

Kristy

New member
Yup, my crestie pees on the glass too.That's what it looks like. But that was a lot of urine in that pic!
 
Top