Injured nose and feeding problem! Need help

AngelaT.

New Member
Messages
1
Location
Alberta
Hi to all of you! I am new to this and am looking for some advise.

Around 1 week ago I got a crested gecko from a friend. I was told the gecko is a male crested, supposed to be 5 years of age. He has no tail anymore and looks really thin (I can see the ribs on the side). I am not sure if he is really a male, but as I do not want to breed it does not really matter to me. The gecko seems a bit tiny for his age, but as I do not have him that long, I haven't weighed him yet. He is in one of these terrariums with doors at the front and a mesh top. I have him on paper towel for now, he has a heat lamp on top (temps are between 74°F to 78°F) and I mist the cage 2-3 times a day with dry periods in between. He has some fake plants and branches to climb on and also two "caves".

His diet is Repashy mixed with peach baby food and calcium + Vit D powder added. He does not eat any crickets! He just ignores them. He also does not eat the Repashy just mixed with water. That's why I mix in the peach baby food.

So I have now a few questions as he is my first gecko at all:

1. The gecko does not eat in his enclosure. He is just eating when I have him sitting in my hand and holding a spoon with food on it in front of him. Then he starts licking it until he is fed up. As said he is not eating any crickets, he is just ignoring them. Is it ok if I offer him his food the way described above 2-3 times a day? I am NOT forcing him to eat - just offering the food on a spoon and if he is hungry he is licking it off the spoon. He is pooping normal (no diarrhea and the poop looks a bit like bird poop black and white).

2. His nose seems to be "injured". He was like this when I got him. It seems as if a part of his nose is "missing" and he licks his nose very frequently. The "missing" part is where his nostrils are, it is V-shaped. It is not red and does not look infected. But he has his mouth open a bit all the time. Any idea what that might be? Will this heal? Shall I treat him in any way? I tried to upload a picture but somehow that did not work out.

3. The gecko lies the whole day just in the "caves" on the bottom of the enclosure. If I had him outside and move my hand in the enclosure, he jumps on a branch and sits there for a while, but then he is hiding again in the "cave". Is this normal behavior?

Please bear with me and my maybe stupid questions! I am new to this and just want to help this gecko to keep it healthy or get him healthy (regarding the nose). Any advice is welcome and if you need more info I might not have mentioned here, please let me know!

P.S.: I weighed the gecko today and his weight is 31 g.
 
Last edited:

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,590
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
31g is a pretty well grown crested but weight alone doesn't help determine condition (i.e. whether the gecko is thin or fat). It sounds like you may have a few issues going on.

1. I have also found mine don't eat Repashy well and have heard that it may not be the best diet out there. I feed mine a mix of Pangea and Clarks. Baby food in general is not good for cresteds. It has almost no nutritional value for them and adding it to their food is decreasing the value of it. If you can avoid using it and pick up a different diet I would do that. The diets are all forumulated with the needed vitamins and calcium in them so you shouldn't need to add more if you're feeding one without baby food.

2. Mouth breathing might indicate a respiratory infection. A vet visit might be a good idea. I can't comment on the nose sore without a picture but even if you supply one a first hand look at the gecko by a vet would always be better.

3. It isn't totally normal for your guy to hang out on the bottom of the tank all the time. Mine may head down there on occasion but they are more often up in the leaves of the foliage in their tanks than on the ground. A bit more information about your setup including size, plant cover, temperatures, humidity etc. would help folks give advice about whether he's just trying to find conditions that are better or if the behavior indicates a bigger problem.
 

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,590
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
Pictures are best uploaded to photobucket or a similar site and then the IMG link pasted here. For photos posted directly to this site you have a pretty small limit and there are other limits on size that make it difficult.
 

Visit our friends

Top