Re: crested geckos

Question
QUESTION: pleasecould you advise me on feeding habits of crested geckos, i have a 6mth old and have it since monday, it started of eating 4 crickets in tuesday, with us hand feeding 1, then wed it ate 4, then went down etc, we have tried it with cgd again just hand feeding with it licking v.little of my finger, just wondered it what is norm of how much they shld eat and how best to feed them, i,e just put crickets in the tank, and same with the gcd.

ANSWER: Hello Gemma,

If you just got your crested gecko, it will most likely be going through some relocation stress right now.
What are your tank temperatures & what type of UVB lighting are you using for him?
You can leave crickets in the tank for short periods of time, but not overnight as crickets can & will bite them overnight if left in overnight.
At 6 months, he should be fed daily, with a good calcium dusting at least 4 times per week.  If he is not interested in the crickets at the time, then try some meal worms or some phoenix worms either one.  He will enjoy those & you can put those in a small dish & leave them in overnight.

Tracie

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QUESTION: i was just wondering on how much to feed my crested gecko i.e how many crickets should she eat, and also we are trying her with the crested gecko diet but i don't think she wants to take it cos we are feeding her off our finger, also i ws wondering about handling her, we always get her out around 8pm and let her have a climb over us while we spray her tank and get the crickets and try her with the cgd food, the reason we get her out is because she is always sleeping in the leaves and it seems if we didn't get her out she wouldn't realise we have put the crickets in etc.

ANSWER: Hello Gemma,

That is fine to get her out each evening, for awhile.  I am sure that she enjoys getting out & moving around outside of her tank.  
You can offer her crickets daily, at least 5-10 appropriately sized for her & she will eat what she wants.  You can take out what she doesn't eat later on.  If she doesn't care for the other food then you donl't have to feed her that, you can just stick with the crickets or mealworms, no problem.
How is she doing otherwise, adjusting well?  Is she eating more regularly now?

Tracie

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QUESTION: Thank you for your reply, yes she seems to be settling quite well, as she didn't seem to want some crickets for a couple of days we gave her a tiny bi of baby food, she licked it right off our finger, then when she had enough etc we put her back in her tank, then tonight we got her out as usual, and tried her again with crested gecko diet but have decided she definately doesn't like it, we then hand fed her a cricket and she took it and also put two in her tank to see what she would do, she did seem to watch them about but as yet no ate them but she showed interest at least, when i spoke to the pet shop where we got her from he did suggest becouse of the cold weather we are having at mo she may be not eat as much and that crested gecko don't seem to have a bottomless pit like bearded dragons etc, so we have decided to keep to 3 crickets for now to see how she goes.  

Answer
Hello Gemma,

Good that she is settling in pretty good now!  When they are getting used to a new place they normally don't eat a whole lot until they start to feel more comfortable.  Good that she is eating a little bit.  At least she is showing more interest in food anyway, so, it shouldn't be too long until she starts to eat normally.  
The cool weather can affect them, also.  They can slow down like bearded dragons during the winter months.
Make sure the crickets are appropriately sized for her, too.

Let me know how things are going.

Tracie