crestie looking skinny

[swinginuttersgrrl]

ok, so I have 3 cresties right now, that I got all at about the same size (4-5grams) but from different stores in the same chain. They are not together until I can determine the sexes properly. My problem is that two of them are thriving and growing like crazy (for cresties anyway) and are up to 12 g each, but the third one is only growing a little and doesn't seem like its doing as well in general (it is only up to 8g). I've never SEEN any of them eat the repashy mix, but the two MUST be as they are growing so well, I feed occasional crickets to them and I'm worried that they are all its eating when it gets them (there are little poops but not as often as the other two). Is there any way to make sure it is eating right? It wouldn't be so much of a concern except it looks skinnier than the other two did at 8g. Any suggestions will be appreciated, I really don't want to have to go with baby food but I'm running out of ideas!
Please help!
~K

 

[GrimmyX15]

You should have put this skinny crestie in another tank, because two crestie could eat more and get agressive when come feeding. You should pay attention to little crestie. Do you house them together?

 

[ariana]

They are not together until I can determine the sexes properly.

shes not housing them together. put in smaller amounts of the repashy mix so you can see if its being eaten. not all animals grow at the same rate, but if it is skinny id get a fecal done by a vet and get it checked for parasites.

 

[darkridder]

These guys do go through a skinnier stage, doesnt always mean a parasite infection. The question is, are you seeing feces? Remember when these guys are small it is hard to tell if they are eating. If you have a scale here is a thing you can do to see exactly how much your geckos are eating, weigh out the CGD in a pop lid, then weigh it the next day, then you will know the exact amount your gecko is eating.

 

[Kristi23]

Since I handfeed roaches to my cresteds, I learned a little trick. When they were small, I would dip the roach in the cgd to make sure they were getting some and got used to the taste. Now they all eat it on their own.

Good luck!

 

[darkridder]

CGD in the powder form is actually a fantastic thing to dust your crickets and roaches in instead of calcium powder, which works well for most species of reptiles also!

 

[Kristi23]

CGD in the powder form is actually a fantastic thing to dust your crickets and roaches in instead of calcium powder, which works well for most species of reptiles also!

I agree! I actually dipped them in the cgd mixed with water that was in their cages though.

 

[serialzombie]

I can never get the CGD to stick to feeder insects, though, I definitely did try. Never really thought to dip them in the goop though. I try and gutload the roaches with the CGD and I think that works just fine.

However, I also never had any trouble getting my guy to eat the CGD to begin with.

As for the skinny crested...Aside from making sure that all husbandry practices are within established healthy norms, I would probably just keep a close eye on it at this point. If it's eating and pooping and growing (albeit slowly) without any other problems, I would just assume it was a slow grower and definitely never breed it.

 

[swinginuttersgrrl]

Thanks for the suggestions all, as stated before, I am seeing poop but not much still, I don't have a scale that will show me such a small difference (in the amount of food eaten) but I have started trying to coat crickets in the repashy goo and have also put some on its nose so it would lick it off, its not shown any major gains since my OP but since upping the effort to get the repashy mix into it its definitely gotten feistier than it was before so I'm taking that as a good sign, though if it takes a turn for the worse I have a good vet right up the street.
Thanks again
~K

 

[darkridder]

WHat size of cage is this gecko in btw? Tank size and temps can honestly make a huge difference in the amount that these guys eats, if a smaller gecko is housed in a pretty big enclosure they tend to eat less. At 8g-10g is normally the time I upgrade from the kk's to a 10 gallon tank. But also temps play a role. If your house is cooler you could try bumping up the temps to around 78-80 degrees, the warmer temps stimulate the appetite and normally causes these guys to eat more.