Crested gecko not sticking

F

Frankiesmoma

New member
Hello.

My crested gecko Frankie (10 months old - 15 Grams) Has not been sticking lately.
I have not seen him stick to glass or anything in about a month now besides once directly after shedding and then he stopped sticking again the next day. He was recently shown that he has lack of bone density in the tips of his fingers(mbd) but there are no deformities and his case is minor. He’s been getting liquid calcium 2x daily 0.01 mL and then Pangea cgd 3 x a week which I have to kind of force him to eat, repashy calcium plus gets sprinkled on the cgd 2x week and also on the bugs he gets once a week which he gets gutloaded crickets, roaches, ect. Ive been giving him the extra repashy calcium and the liquid calcium for about 2 weeks now. I notice no difference in his stickiness, he is able to climb fine though is the thing, he climbs his vines and even climbs on the mesh on the top of his enclosure, but he isn’t sticking, I don’t know if it’s so much he lacks finger strength because he is able to grip onto leaves vines and mesh fine, so why would his stickies on his fingers not work? Humidity is 50 - 60 during the day and 70 - 80 (sometimes goes to 90%) at night. I’ve tried everything from soaking him, making sure he’s hydrated, cleaning his feet pads, he’s perfectly hydrated and clean, the glass could be cleaner but even when I take him out he doesn’t stick to anything at all like a wall or a mirror or something, no stick, so it’s not just his enclosure glass, anyways, thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Hi ~

How long have you been using your current bag of Pangea Reptile's powdered diet? Could it be expired?

Perhaps Frankie's not getting adequate vitamin D3 or getting excessive multivitamins?

Early this week I ordered Pangea's complete diets directly from Pangea. Pangea told me that most Pangea complete diets last:
  • 18 months unopened
  • 12 months opened & refrigerated, IF zipped back up
  • ONLY 6 months after opening when NOT refrigerated
Only Pangea's Fig & Insects Complete Diet was different, but not much different.
  • 24 months unopened
  • 12 months opened & refrigerated, IF zipped back up
  • ONLY 6 months after opening when NOT refrigerated

It seems like you're adding supplements in different ways. Instead of adding Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins 3x per week, how about adding Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3 (only) @ 1 (-2x) per week instead.

Vitamin D3 is a fat soluble vitamin. That means that an adequate single dose sticks around in Frankie's body all week long to metabolize ANY plain calcium that he takes.
 
Last edited:
F

Frankiesmoma

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
Hi ~

How long have you been using your current bag of Pangea Reptile's powdered diet? Could it be expired?

Perhaps Frankie's not getting adequate vitamin D3 or getting excessive multivitamins?

Early this week I ordered Pangea's complete diets directly from Pangea. Pangea told me that most Pangea complete diets last:
  • 18 months unopened
  • 12 months opened & refrigerated, IF zipped back up
  • ONLY 6 months after opening when NOT refrigerated
Only Pangea's Fig & Insects Complete Diet was different, but not much different.
  • 24 months unopened
  • 12 months opened & refrigerated, IF zipped back up
  • ONLY 6 months after opening when NOT refrigerated

It seems like you're adding supplements in different ways. Instead of adding Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins 3x per week, how about adding Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3 (only) @ 1 (-2x) per week instead. Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3 provides more vitamin D3 per serving than does Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins.

Vitamin D3 is a fat soluble vitamin. That means that an adequate single dose sticks around in Frankie's body all week long to metabolize ANY plain calcium that he takes.
Click to expand...


Hello! I recently bought all new bags of Pangea about 2 months ago and put them all directly in the fridge immediately after opening, that’s what he’s been consuming recently, before that I had Pangea that was non refrigerated for 6 - 7 months after opening so I through that out and got the new stuff, he doesn’t eat much Pangea, it’s rly hard to get him to consume it all he wants is bugs so I’ve got to force it onto him but putting it on his nose or he will launch at it thinking it’s bugs, but then he always try’s to wipe it off he is just really displeased with it and he hates the repashy more, he used to eat the Pangea just fine until he got a little older all he wants is insects nothing else. Idk if I’m force feeding the right amount of Pangea onto him, ive only been doing the repashy calcium plus for 2 weeks now, and the stick was off before that, I assume it was off due to lack of nutrients like you are saying because he didn’t eat much Pangea for a long while once he went into his crazy bug phase and there was a 2 month period prior to this non sticking where the only bug I offered was non dusted non gut loaded calci worms which I thought was okay and I know it’s not suppose to be a stable but it’s all I had on hand for a while but now i have a ton of different bugs for him.

Now if I can get him to eat the Pangea 3 x weekly should I sprinkle repti calcium on it 2/3 of those feeding? My vet said I should do the calcium powder at least 3x a week , then I do a bug feeding every Sunday which the repashy calcium plus goes on, so is it safe to sprinkle calcium with d3 onto the Pangea? If it stays in his system an entire week is it okay to supplement it 3 times in that week? Also putting it on top of the Pangea which already has d3 and calcium , is it okay? My vet told me just to use the repashy but I was thinking to use something else for the Pangea too because Pangea already has vitamins.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can get this gecko to consume his Pangea willingly and happily? And is 3x a week Pangea and 1x a week bugs appropriate for him? Or should he eat more, and should I give bugs 2x a week instead because he likes them a lot?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Frankiesmoma said:
Hello! I recently bought all new bags of Pangea about 2 months ago and put them all directly in the fridge immediately after opening, that’s what he’s been consuming recently, before that I had Pangea that was non refrigerated for 6 - 7 months after opening so I through that out and got the new stuff, he doesn’t eat much Pangea, it’s rly hard to get him to consume it all he wants is bugs so I’ve got to force it onto him but putting it on his nose or he will launch at it thinking it’s bugs, but then he always try’s to wipe it off he is just really displeased with it and he hates the repashy more, he used to eat the Pangea just fine until he got a little older all he wants is insects nothing else. Idk if I’m force feeding the right amount of Pangea onto him, ive only been doing the repashy calcium plus for 2 weeks now, and the stick was off before that, I assume it was off due to lack of nutrients like you are saying because he didn’t eat much Pangea for a long while once he went into his crazy bug phase and there was a 2 month period prior to this non sticking where the only bug I offered was non dusted non gut loaded calci worms which I thought was okay and I know it’s not suppose to be a stable but it’s all I had on hand for a while but now i have a ton of different bugs for him.

Now if I can get him to eat the Pangea 3 x weekly should I sprinkle repti calcium on it 2/3 of those feeding? My vet said I should do the calcium powder at least 3x a week, then I do a bug feeding every Sunday which the repashy calcium plus goes on, so is it safe to sprinkle calcium with d3 onto the Pangea? If it stays in his system an entire week is it okay to supplement it 3 times in that week? Also putting it on top of the Pangea which already has d3 and calcium , is it okay? My vet told me just to use the repashy but I was thinking to use something else for the Pangea too because Pangea already has vitamins.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can get this gecko to consume his Pangea willingly and happily? And is 3x a week Pangea and 1x a week bugs appropriate for him? Or should he eat more, and should I give bugs 2x a week instead because he likes them a lot?
Click to expand...
The most important goal is for Frankie to be eating reliably.
  1. Will Frankie eat dusted bugs and worms?
  2. If so, I recommend only feeding him dusted bugs for 3 feedings per week! It is important to feed those bugs a dry diet 24/7 to cover the basics. Also offer some veggies like carrots to provide moisture. (I'll post a comprehensive veggie/fruit list soon.) Sometimes geckos go off certain foods for whatever reason.
  3. What bugs & worms do you have?
  4. What exact gutload diet are you feeding the bugs & worms?
  5. Many crested geckos did good before powdered diets were a thing. :)
17342539_1319514908116112_444175116466682477_n.jpg
(click to enlarge)​

Sometimes keepers confuse Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins with just plain calcium. Please list all supplements Frankie's getting with the EXACT brand name & product name: For example: Repashy's (Calcium Plus multivitamins), Zoo Med (---), liquid calcium (contents), other (which other), & how often.

All supplements differ.
 
F

Frankiesmoma

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
The most important goal is for Frankie to be eating reliably.
  1. Will Frankie eat dusted bugs and worms?
  2. If so, I recommend only feeding him dusted bugs for 3 feedings per week! It is important to feed those bugs a dry diet 24/7 to cover the basics. Also offer some veggies like carrots to provide moisture. (I'll post a comprehensive veggie/fruit list soon.) Sometimes geckos go off certain foods for whatever reason.
  3. What bugs & worms do you have?
  4. What exact gutload diet are you feeding the bugs & worms?
  5. Many crested geckos did good before powdered diets were a thing. :)
View attachment 50205
(click to enlarge)​

Sometimes keepers confuse Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins with just plain calcium. Please list all supplements Frankie's getting with the EXACT brand name & product name: For example: Repashy's (Calcium Plus multivitamins), Zoo Med (---), liquid calcium (contents), other (which other), & how often.

All supplements differ.
Click to expand...


Hello! Thank you for the help!

To answer your questions:
[*]Will Frankie eat dusted bugs and worms? Yes, he will eat any and all dusted bugs provided to him.
[*]If so, I recommend only feeding him dusted bugs for 3 feedings per week! It is important to feed those bugs a dry diet 24/7 to cover the basics. Also offer some veggies like carrots to provide moisture. (I'll post a comprehensive veggie/fruit list soon.) Sometimes geckos go off certain foods for whatever reason. My question: What dry gutload do you recommend? Would feeding the bugs Pangea for dry diet work as well? And if he gets bugs 3x a week should I still be feeding him cgd and hope he eats it?
[*]What bugs & worms do you have? I currently have crickets, discoid roaches(I live in florida), hornworms, BSFL, and mealworms. I want to buy him some silkworms in the future and I’m building him a bioactive so he will enjoy the isopods too.
[*]What exact gutload diet are you feeding the bugs & worms? In the past I fed both repashy bug burger and repashy superload, I had to dump it because it was expired, currently for the dry basis I feed this dry to my roaches made from fresh blueberries which I bought from the roach seller, and then all my bugs get fresh fruit and veggie, they typically get the following; escarole, bok choy, mustard greens, collard greens, watercress, green pepper, carrots, butternut squash, mango, orange, papaya, apple, pear, and sweet potato because I happen to have sweet potato sometimes I eat it too.


Supplements Frankie gets:
Repashy superfoods Calcium plus Vitamin and Calcium supplement
3x a week (sprinkled on bugs and Pangea) / I’ve only been doing it 3x a week for the past 2 weeks before that he didn’t get calcium plus for about 2 months, and prior to that he got it once a week just on the bugs (first 8 months I had him) -only bugs I didn’t put it on was calciworms-

Liquid calcium glubionate prescribed daily every 12 hours 0.01 mL
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Hello! Thank you for the help!
You're welcome!

To answer your questions:

[*]Will Frankie eat dusted bugs and worms?
Yes, he will eat any and all dusted bugs provided to him.
That's great! Let's ONLY feed Frankie dusted bugs right now 3x per week!!!


[*]If so, I recommend only feeding him dusted bugs for 3 feedings per week! It is important to feed those bugs a dry diet 24/7 to cover the basics. Also offer some veggies like carrots to provide moisture. (I'll post a comprehensive veggie/fruit list soon.) Sometimes geckos go off certain foods for whatever reason.
My question: What dry gutload do you recommend? Would feeding the bugs Pangea for dry diet work as well? And if he gets bugs 3x a week should I still be feeding him cgd and hope he eats it?
  1. Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload
    Here's a healthy dry diet/bedding for mealworms/superworms and for bugs too! After you get mealworms or superworms, replace the bedding they come in with already ground Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload dry insect & worm diet (1-775-359-1085). Let's keep those worms in 6 quart plastic Sterilite tubs with bedding & ventilation at room temperature, NOT in the refrigerator.
    OR
  2. Repashy's Bug Burger OR
  3. Repashy's Superload
At this time I do NOT recommend feeding the bugs or worms Pangea's complete diets.


[*]What bugs & worms do you have?
I currently have crickets, discoid roaches(I live in florida), hornworms, BSFL, and mealworms. I want to buy him some silkworms in the future and I’m building him a bioactive so he will enjoy the isopods too.
This represents an excellent assortment!


[*]What exact gutload diet are you feeding the bugs & worms?
In the past I fed both repashy bug burger and repashy superload, I had to dump it because it was expired, currently for the dry basis I feed this dry to my roaches made from fresh blueberries which I bought from the roach seller, and then all my bugs get fresh fruit and veggie, they typically get the following; escarole, bok choy, mustard greens, collard greens, watercress, green pepper, carrots, butternut squash, mango, orange, papaya, apple, pear, and sweet potato because I happen to have sweet potato sometimes I eat it too.
i don't know how well balanced your blueberry-based dry diet made by the roach seller is.


Supplements Frankie gets:
Repashy superfoods Calcium plus (multivitamins) Vitamin and Calcium supplement 3x a week (sprinkled on bugs and Pangea) / I’ve only been doing it 3x a week for the past 2 weeks before that he didn’t get calcium plus for about 2 months, and prior to that he got it once a week just on the bugs (first 8 months I had him) -only bugs I didn’t put it on was calciworms-
2119013-center-1.jpg
(click to enlarge)​

Liquid calcium glubionate prescribed daily every 12 hours 0.01 mL
How long does your vet wish you to continue the calcium glubionate?

Frankie might have some imbalance of plain calcium versus vitamin D3? Without adequate vitamin D3 in Frankie's body, I don't know how useful calcium glubionate is.

Plain calcium needs adequate vitamin D3 in order to be metabolized.

Can you switch to Zoo Med's supplements instead? Let's order or buy at some pet store:
Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3 +
Zoo Med's Repti Calcium withOUT D3 (plain calcium) or NOW brand plain calcium from Amazon (plain calcium NEVER expires) +
Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins withOUT D3

repticalciumwd3.jpg 5774.jpg 5777.jpg
(click to enlarge)​


Don't feed any Pangea until Frankie recovers his sticky feet!

Lightly dust ALL Frankie's bugs & worms like this:
Mondays > > bugs or worms lightly dusted with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
Wednesdays > > bugs or worms lightly dusted with pure precipitated calcium carbonate withOUT D3 (Zoo Med's Repti Calcium or NOW's human-grade pure calcium carbonate)
Fridays > > bugs or worms lightly dusted with Zoo Med's ReptiVite multivitamins withOUT D3
 
Last edited:
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
PS:

I have used those Zoo Med products for years. I'm very happy with the results. I don't know how the vitamin A acetate (retinol) level contained in both Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins with & withOUT D3 compares with the retinol level in your Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins. It would be interesting to find out. I'm pretty certain those companies might tell us.

An "adequate" dose of retinol @ 1x feeding each week promotes both healthy skin & eyes. A little bit of retinol is sufficient.
 
F

Frankiesmoma

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
Hello! Thank you for the help!
You're welcome!

To answer your questions:

[*]Will Frankie eat dusted bugs and worms?
Yes, he will eat any and all dusted bugs provided to him.
That's great! Let's ONLY feed Frankie dusted bugs right now 3x per week!!!


[*]If so, I recommend only feeding him dusted bugs for 3 feedings per week! It is important to feed those bugs a dry diet 24/7 to cover the basics. Also offer some veggies like carrots to provide moisture. (I'll post a comprehensive veggie/fruit list soon.) Sometimes geckos go off certain foods for whatever reason.
My question: What dry gutload do you recommend? Would feeding the bugs Pangea for dry diet work as well? And if he gets bugs 3x a week should I still be feeding him cgd and hope he eats it?
  1. Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload
    Here's a healthy dry diet/bedding for mealworms/superworms and for bugs too! After you get mealworms or superworms, replace the bedding they come in with already ground Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload dry insect & worm diet (1-775-359-1085). Let's keep those worms in 6 quart plastic Sterilite tubs with bedding & ventilation at room temperature, NOT in the refrigerator.
    OR
  2. Repashy's Bug Burger OR
  3. Repashy's Superload
At this time I do NOT recommend feeding the bugs or worms Pangea's complete diets.


[*]What bugs & worms do you have?
I currently have crickets, discoid roaches(I live in florida), hornworms, BSFL, and mealworms. I want to buy him some silkworms in the future and I’m building him a bioactive so he will enjoy the isopods too.
This represents an excellent assortment!


[*]What exact gutload diet are you feeding the bugs & worms?
In the past I fed both repashy bug burger and repashy superload, I had to dump it because it was expired, currently for the dry basis I feed this dry to my roaches made from fresh blueberries which I bought from the roach seller, and then all my bugs get fresh fruit and veggie, they typically get the following; escarole, bok choy, mustard greens, collard greens, watercress, green pepper, carrots, butternut squash, mango, orange, papaya, apple, pear, and sweet potato because I happen to have sweet potato sometimes I eat it too.
i don't know how well balanced your blueberry-based dry diet made by the roach seller is.


Supplements Frankie gets:
Repashy superfoods Calcium plus (multivitamins) Vitamin and Calcium supplement 3x a week (sprinkled on bugs and Pangea) / I’ve only been doing it 3x a week for the past 2 weeks before that he didn’t get calcium plus for about 2 months, and prior to that he got it once a week just on the bugs (first 8 months I had him) -only bugs I didn’t put it on was calciworms-
View attachment 50207
(click to enlarge)​

Liquid calcium glubionate prescribed daily every 12 hours 0.01 mL
How long does your vet wish you to continue the calcium glubionate?

Frankie might have some imbalance of plain calcium versus vitamin D3? Without adequate vitamin D3 in Frankie's body, I don't know how useful calcium glubionate is.

Plain calcium needs adequate vitamin D3 in order to be metabolized.

Can you switch to Zoo Med's supplements instead? Let's order or buy at some pet store:
Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3 +
Zoo Med's Repti Calcium withOUT D3 (plain calcium) or NOW brand plain calcium from Amazon (plain calcium NEVER expires) +
Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins withOUT D3



Don't feed any Pangea until Frankie recovers his sticky feet!

Lightly dust ALL Frankie's bugs & worms like this:
Mondays > > bugs or worms lightly dusted with Zoo Med's Repti Calcium with D3
Wednesdays > > bugs or worms lightly dusted with pure precipitated calcium carbonate withOUT D3 (Zoo Med's Repti Calcium or NOW's human-grade pure calcium carbonate)
Fridays > > bugs or worms lightly dusted with Zoo Med's ReptiVite multivitamins withOUT D3
Click to expand...





Hello!


You have been very helpful, now I just have some more questions!

Oh also my vet wants him on calcium glubionate until the bottle runs out it’s looking like it will run out in about a month or a little over a month.



Is it okay to feed crested geckos only bugs? Especially while recovering from mbd(to be fair he has a minor case)



Should I get him uvb? If so would the feeding schedule you gave me change at all?



Once he recovers his stick which I’m hopeful he will, what should he be eating then? Should I go back to Pangea 3x a week and bugs with repashy calcium plus once a week? Only problem is he doesn’t eat enough Pangea so that’s how his d3 level got low in the first place I’m assuming.. is that right? I don’t know if he ever will eat enough of his Pangea he’s just not crazy about it.





And finally why should I keep him off Pangea (and repashy calcium plus)completely for now?
 
F

Frankiesmoma

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
PS:

I have used those Zoo Med products for years. I'm very happy with the results. I don't know how the vitamin A acetate (retinol) level contained in both Zoo Med's Reptivite multivitamins with & withOUT D3 compares with the retinol level in your Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins. It would be interesting to find out. I'm pretty certain those companies might tell us.

An "adequate" dose of retinol @ 1x feeding each week promotes both healthy skin & eyes. A little bit of retinol is sufficient.
Click to expand...


I looked on the back of my repashy and it says Vit A 200,000 min iu/lb


And I think reptivite is either slighter more or slightly less than that I’m not sure!
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
To change "Reply With Quote" into a question & answer format delete the words [Q UOTE= +] and [/Q UOTE] from the beginning & end of that quote.

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