First off I'm new to these kinds of critters... never had a reptile in my life, but I joined a local Herpetology group to learn about these guys... any ways... I just got a baby gargoyle a couple days ago... they told us he's only a month or so old... we were given the "repashy" food & that the babies respond well. I think I mixed it correctly... I used 1 part food to 2 parts water (with a 1/2 tsp). It seems not quiet pastey, but not quite watery either, I hope I did it right? We got the lil' guy/gal to lick the mixed repashy off our finger, but I don't think he's eating on his own out of the dish. I don't see any droppings... will it stink in there if they've made droppings? There is kind of a funky smell, but I thought it could also be that the cage is new. I'm using paper towel for substrate & I have a bunch of fake leaves for him to climb, which he stays in a lot of the time. I was having trouble keeping the moisture in so i made another cover out of cardboard, & poked a bunch of holes in it with a screw & then cleaned it off so the cardboard crap wouldn't get inside the cage. He seems more lively at night, & will let us hold him... he didn't even wanna go back in his cage last night. He/she is so tiny & fragile... I want to make it comfortable & happy. Any tips or knowledge would be much appreciated.
Baby gargoyle
- Thread starter Nagel
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- Somerville, MA
Congratulations on your new gargoyle. They're really fun (I breed them and have 4 juveniles and 3 adults at the moment). Your gargoyle is more active at night because it's nocturnal. Since it doesn't have eyelids, you won't be able to tell when it's sleeping, but it's probably sleeping most of the day. It's very common to provide Repashy and have it look like they aren't eating. Just keep offering. It takes them awhile to get comfortable and it may not eat for awhile. It also may eat a very small amount so it looks as if it isn't eating. I put my babies' food in a milk bottle cap and they rarely finish the whole thing. You probably need to mix up only about half a teaspoon at a time. Yes, you're mixing it correctly. Once it seems to be eating, you could also try a cricket several times a week. The hatchlings especially could use the extra protein. My hatchlings didn't eat the crickets at first but now they eat full size ones. Be aware that reptiles don't need calories to keep themselves warm since they're cold blooded. That means that they eat less and also less often than mammals. Enjoy your new gecko!
Aliza
Aliza
For a baby what should I have for warmth & humidity? I had a 50 watt ceramic heat bulb in the tank which kept it between 75-80, but I've had people tell me that this is to warm & that it will be perfectly fine in the 60's? Also, I had the humidity at about 60-70%, but I've been told that if it's too humid, that it can make it sick, & that humidity should be allowed to drop to about 40-50% We were hand feeding it because we couldn't tell if it was eating, but according to what you said above, & also other people I ask, they say if you hand feed it to much, it will become dependent & not eat on it's own? I think it pooped on me last night when we were handling it, but it was light brown & didn't look like the images of droppings I found on google, I'm guessing this is because it's a baby? Also, it made a chirping sound a couple days ago when we handled it, & someone told us that it could've meant that it felt in distress? Also, is it common for the gecko to change colours & does it mean anything?
- Messages
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- Somerville, MA
Room temperature is best. I don't heat my gargs at all. I use lights only because I have plants in there.
In my opinion, humidity at the level you have it is fine. The only problem is when all the surfaces are wet and there's mold.
Yes, if you keep hand feeding, it will train you well to continue that. Finding its own food will give it something to do.
What comes out of them, I find, looks a lot like what goes into them.
They do tend to chirp when they get annoyed, but it's not the end of the world.
Gargoyles and crested geckos are well known for having 2 color states: "fired up" --when they are active or annoyed and their colors are brighter, and "fired down" when they are asleep and inactive and their colors are much duller. It's very common.
You have some good questions, many of which can be answered in a good book about gargoyles. There is a new book out called "Gargoyle Geckos" by Philippe de Vosjoli, Allen Repashy and Frank Fast (ISBN #978-0-9742971-5-6) which is informative, with gorgeous and will get you even more excited about gargoyles.
Aliza
In my opinion, humidity at the level you have it is fine. The only problem is when all the surfaces are wet and there's mold.
Yes, if you keep hand feeding, it will train you well to continue that. Finding its own food will give it something to do.
What comes out of them, I find, looks a lot like what goes into them.
They do tend to chirp when they get annoyed, but it's not the end of the world.
Gargoyles and crested geckos are well known for having 2 color states: "fired up" --when they are active or annoyed and their colors are brighter, and "fired down" when they are asleep and inactive and their colors are much duller. It's very common.
You have some good questions, many of which can be answered in a good book about gargoyles. There is a new book out called "Gargoyle Geckos" by Philippe de Vosjoli, Allen Repashy and Frank Fast (ISBN #978-0-9742971-5-6) which is informative, with gorgeous and will get you even more excited about gargoyles.
Aliza
Jetfire
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Hey Jay,glad to hear Joker is doing alright for you. Did y'all end up renaming it? I'm glad you're asking alot of questions, and that you came here to do it. ..alot of knowledgeable folks here. If I missed anything in that last PM, feel free to ask me or anyone on here, we'll get you pointed in the right direction
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