New Owner with "Nube" ?'s (Mixed thoughts)

[AirborneJordan]

Hello gecko lovers,
To get started off I just made a quick "Intro" Thread to say hello. I will start off this thread by telling you what I have now and What I am doing. First off I don't know a whole lot about my Crestie. My three year old daughter named him Spike.( I don't know the sex yet) Spike weighs in at 10g. I got him from a local "Chain" pet store. Spike looks Healthy and is Beautiful colors. Dark grey sides and "Red/Orange" back. Right now Spike has been in his new home for 3 days. It is an Exo terra 18x18x24."Mixed thoughs" At first I read that the bigger the better. But now I am finding out that that is not the case. Is this home to big for him? Spike is no longer a hatchling, I would put him in the Juvinel category weighing in at 10g. The tank has paper towls down as the substrate with "Jungle" plants and vines to climb on. I am using a small cap for a watter bowl and the same size for food bowl. I am feedign spike "Crested gecko Diet" So far I don't think he has ate it. Today is only day 3 in the new enclosure. So the First question ( all ready asked) Is this terriaum to large, or should I just try to provide 2 food stations?
Next train of thought is the temp. I understand the basics of the "room" temps. My house normaly runs cold. In the winter it can get down to 58*.(I am talking about in the house). Summer months will be 70*-85*. The tank as of right now is staying around 68-71* BUT, I am using a small heating pad in the back corner of the tank to help regulate this temp. It has not gotten over 71. (Mixed fellings number 2) To use a heat pad or not? Like I said the heat pad is small " Zoo med" pad. Only a I would guess about 4" by 6". I have found spike laying on it a few times all layed out like he is a leopard gecko. I think he kinda likes it but I don't want spike to over heat him self. Should I not use this heat pad or is it ok. Right now I have the "heat lamps" but No bulbs. So the heat pad is the only heat source other them room air. If I need to swich to the heat lamp, How many watts is normal to keep about 75*or so? At this Point this covers my 2 main concerns. Thank you for taking the time to read yet another "Nube" Thread. I am sure I have more questions. I do , do Lot of reading and research but I feel like I am getting mixed results. Could you guys Help clear thing up. Thank you! I will try to post pictures of spike soon.

 

[katie_]

I wouldnt use the heat pad right now, as your house temps are fine during the summer. You may need to use it in the winter.

Is he producing stools? If he is, he is eating. You may want to place a few stations if you are afraid he isnt finding his food.

 

[AirborneJordan]

As far as the heat pad...spike is living in my basement right now but only for a few weeks. Spike will be a birthday present on Aug 3rd. Then he will move up stairs. their is plenty of light in the basement but it is below ground and the temps down their are around 63-67 or so. Will the heat pad cause spike to over heat if he is on it? Once spike comes up stairs it won't be much to worried about. Our house is set at 76.
So far I have only found one little stool the day after I brought him home. I am not to worried about eating as lknow they can take a while to settle in.

 

[AirborneJordan]

Spike really handles well. He is calm and manageable. So just to make she he would eat I spoon fed him a few licks and he licked it right up. I think on that topic again..spike just needs to settle into his new home.

 

[katie_]

67 is fine without a heat pad.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

I personally would say that the temperatures you are exposing your crested gecko to could be quite harmful to him/her at such a young age and weight. If 67 is the highest temperature you are getting without a heat pad at the moment I would strongly suggest some way to put the temperature at least in the low 70's. Temperature drops below 65 degrees can lead to lots of stress and loss of appetite and with a gecko that weighs only 10 grams, I think a loss of appetite for a couple weeks could not only stunt its growth in the beginning but could lead to other complications including death. All of our cresteds are kept in our basement with our other reptiles and their temperature luckily stays between 73 and 77 all the time now. Before that we have had a heat pad under all of them until a month ago when those temperatures were not achieveable. I can also say that I have personal experience with cresteds not eating when the temperature drops. During the winter, a heat pad broke and one of our cresteds went about four days without a full heat pad under his tank. His tank fell to around 67 and it took almost two months to get him back to eating as normally as he had with his heat pad. Like I said before, I would suggest putting the heat pad on and if you are nervous of the heat spiking, just to check up on it or only have it on for a few hours at a time. An added benefit of this will be that if you have the heat pad on during the day to achieve temperatures around 75ish and then have the temperature drop to 67 during the night, that will create a naturalistic day/night cycle for them which would be beneficial.

There are lots of crested gecko caresheets out there. I googled crested gecko care sheet and looked through the first five or so. If you skip to the heating sections, most agree that temepratures below 70 are skirting a danger area. I would say with a gecko that young and with its weight, I would be careful.

 

[katie_]

I keep my house at 69degrees, my basement a bit cooler.

 

[AirborneJordan]

Thank you for the info so far. I have read many care sheets. Up to this point spike has still not ate. On the positive side. I bought him IR night light and a day time light. His home is now holding at around 76*. I am more comfortable with that. I have heat pad turned off for now. The next big task to get the little guy to eat. I will check up on his weight each week. As long as there is no large weight loss he is ok? I am wondering...should i spoon feed him a tea spoon or so by hand like once a week untill he will eat better. Will it be best to just let him go on his own?

Also, any one have feed back on the terrarium. Thank you all again for you help.

 

[katie_]

76 is a little on the hot side in my opinion. 80 is dangerous, 76 is too close for me.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

I am very happy to hear about the temperature change. 85 is usually the temperature range that you would want to avoid. If the temperature gets to 80 that is pushing it but I don't feel that it would be immediately dangerous.

As for the eating, I have had success with feeding from a spoon and also from my finger. It just takes time for the crested to settle down on your hand and chill enough to eat is what I've found. Only other thing I can think of is putting a very fine layer of food on the food dish and you will be able to see lick marks that way. Unfortunately, that also means that the food will dry out and you will have to watch for mold and such. I am very happy to hear that you are weighing him. As long as the weight stays at or just above what it was the time before, you will be fine.

I am not sure where you are from but I have noticed that cresteds that are living in the northern states seem to grow much slower so if you notice that your gecko is not gaining weight but is staying around the same weight all the time, I would say that it is not an immediate concern either. If you live in a southern state then it would be more of an issue but still not worth worrying about over a sudden loss of weight or something like that.

Glad I can help.

Edit: I just realized that I forgot to answer the terrarium question. I personally would provide 2 food stations for your crested. The size is borderline too big but he will grow into it. The main issue with size is that they have a tendency to get lost but if you have 2 feeding spots at least he'll find food.

Also, I am not sure sure if you are misting the cage twice daily, but if you are not then I would start doing so. Their humidity needs to stay between 40-80% at the extremes. They also like to lick water off leaves so spraying will ensure they are getting enough water. It will also encourage eating.

 

[AirborneJordan]

I have been spraying the enclosure 2xday . The humidity gauge has been staying around 75%. I am now learning you should dry it out a bit during the day 50% or so. I will try only a heavy mist at night and see how works out. I really hope my learning curve dose not stress him out to bad. I am trying not handle him.

 

[AirborneJordan]

Also, I live in the Ohio. We have a nice climate. But gets very cold in the winter.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

That all sounds awesome to me. Yeah definitely want to dry it out lest you want mold growing in your substrate. We are in Wisconsin so we understand the cold winters. And it is awesome that you use paper towel because it is really easy to see the feces and tell if they look ok. If you have any other questions feel free, we are on at least twice a day here.

Also good to hear you aren't handling them. Trust me, if it has a tail you do not want to stress it out too much. A dropped tail won't kill it and I think the "frog butt" kind are pretty cute, but the tail is awesome! By the way, if it turns out to have bulges by the base of its tail and ends up being a male, then you should be a little extra cautious because they seem to drop their tails much more readily. Just a reminder because I don't think you will have to worry about it too much for a while yet.

 

[AirborneJordan]

well, Just an quick up date, It is now day 6. I would say it has been about 4 days with out handling him. I couldn't take it any more..I had to check his weight. Spike is down to 9g now and has not ate yet. I have added a second food area for him. I have watched him go right past both spots and not even think about eating. How ever while I had him out this evening I feed him a few licks. When I put it the cgd right up to his mouth he will lick it up.I have been using a "Daylight" light bulb that will bring the tank up to 78* then at night I have the IR night light. The tank runs around 71-72*. I am thinking 78 (That the hottest it has been yet) should be ok Because the High temp "limits" are 85. I am wondering how much weight can he loose and still be ok? at what point do I start to feed him more and maybe I should try a meal worm? I know every one can say it may take a while. But I am very worried about spike not eating. I am really starting to love him.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

I am incredibly happy to hear about the temperatures by the way. All those sound awesome to me.

Was wondering, are the food dishes you are using on the ground? All of mine are magnitized and stuck to the side about 4-6 inches off the ground. I did have one that would not eat for anything until I moved them up, now he is the fattest one I own. Also, if the crested was bought from a pet store, most likely they would have had mealworms present in their cage so trying some mini mealies and such wouldn't be a bad idea. None of mine go after mealworms but I do know of some that just watch them in a cup for hours and eat them up too.

As for how much weight it can lose before it becomes critical, I would personally say if he drops to 7 grams that would be a very bad thing. Not lethal because cresteds can be quite hardy but that would set off bells in my mind. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't start hand feeding him little licks and things now, and then setting him on the food dishes and seeing if he feeds himself.

 

[AirborneJordan]

New up date. I have lost track of the exact days. It has been close to 2 weeks. I weighed spike in the other day and he was 11 g's. Ya spike......I was very happy with this news. But spike still only had one little poop in his case. But the good news just a few days later there is a few more in their. Spike is not eating a lot because I cant tell from his food. But he is growing. I am very happy about this because i was very worried he wound not make it. Now I am thinking he will be all right. I will try to get some pictures of spike up some time soon.