Crested Gecko Feeding

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I just bought a one year old crested gecko. The man at the reptile show, where I bought him, recomended feeding him what he called "superworms." I put about three in a special feeding bowl so the worms couldn't get out. That was yesterday afternoon. It's been over 24 hours since I've bought him and he hasn't eaten any. I googled what crested geckos eat, and I read they don't like worms, especially large ones. I have some crested gecko diet in his cage right now, but he's more interested in escaping his cage. What do you reccomend I feed him? I just don't want him to go hungry. Thank you so much!

ANSWER: It may take him a few days to settle in, before he'll eat.  Don't handle him for about a week.

Feed him Crested Gecko diet, he doesn't need anything else.  It's nutritionally complete.  He'll eat when he's used to his new home.  (Some people offer a few crickets each week, but this is unecessary.  I have to wonder about the integrity of the person you bought him from, telling you to feed superworms...)

What type of cage do you have?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the advice! I'll leave him alone for a while and see if he comes around. His cage is about ten gallons in size and the lid is a wire mesh one.

Answer
Hm, that's a little small for a crested gecko, and it's not really the best design, either.  I would recommend switching to a vertically oriented vivarium, such as a Zilla Acrylic Atrium, that has plenty of air flow.

Cresteds need a high humidity, and a high air flow environment.  Enclosed tanks aren't suitable for them.  A Repti-Fogger can take a lot of the labor and worry out of managing the humidity level.

For the moment, if you can't budget better caging yet, I recommend using clips to secure the mesh top, and then rearranging that tank by standing it upright on end, so it's taller than it is long.  Make sure the gecko has plenty of real or fake greenery in there--pothos is a safe plant, and they sell safe silk and plastic plants at pet stores.  There should be LOTS of vines and leafy cover, so that the gecko can hide.  It's very important for him to feel secure, and hidden from predators.

I think a few days with the cage vertically oriented and lots of cover to hide in, and your gecko will be eating for you just fine.

A really great product that I use with my Lygodactylus geckos can be purchased from Pangea Reptile Supply (http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/).  They are called 'magnetic mushroom feeding platforms', and they attach to the sides of the tank using magnets.  They use small plastic cups (you can also get those from Pangea), so you can place the CGD in a cup in the feeding platform, and your gecko doesn't have to go to the cage floor to eat.  This is much more natural for them, and they love it.  Pangea are crested gecko specialists, and the owner also breeds cresties, so you can get good advice on the forums there, too.