the cresties we have at work

[EchoPet]

My work got two crested geckos several weeks ago. This is the first time that we've had them as far as I know, and at least the first time we've had them while I've been working there. I just want to make sure that I'm taking care of them alright.

We've got them on eco-earth and spray the enclosure down several times a day to keep the humidity up and to provide drinking water (there's a shallow water dish as well, but I often see them lick the droplets from misting). I try to keep the humidity at 75-80%, but sometimes it's lower (even down to the 50-60% range like when I first come in in the mornings) if I'm not there or if I get caught up with other things and don't get the time to mist as often as I'd like. Most of the time the two of them hang out on the glass or rest in the fake plant. We feed them several small crickets a day (dusted) and also have dusted mealworms in a small dish with a bit of calcium in it. They're not very good about being handled, but I'm trying to work with them about that. I'm not sure how old they are, but estimating from memory I'd say they're about the size of my index finger including tail which would be about 3 inches. I'll try to get a more accurate measure this week.

I'm worried about whether or not they're eating. They both look plump but I've never seen them eat anything with my own eyes. I have to wipe down the glass on a daily basis although most of what I'm wiping off just looks like white stuff. Should there be brown as well, or what? I've tried offering them baby food on a spoon but they always run away from me when I try to get the spoon close to their mouths, or if I can pick them up first they'll jump out of my hand when approached by the spoon. My boss swears that they love the baby food and will lick it off the spoon for him, but my manager and fellow grunts (I mean.. employees... lol) all report that none of us have been able to get them to take any baby food from us... Should I try leaving a little in a dish for them, or something else? Since they're always up high, would it be better to have the food up high, like put some on the tip of a fake leaf? I've also never seen them eat any crickets. The enclosure isn't over-run with crickets like I'd assume it'd be if they weren't eating them at all, but it's sometimes possible for crickets to squeeze out through tiny gaps so I can't be sure (hopefully we'll be switching to actual tanks soon, right now we have the Companion Habitats which are so annoying). Should I just trust that they're eating them when I'm not staring at them like a worried mother hen? I've read that they prefer to eat in privacy, but i just worry so much. I know that they haven't eaten any mealworms, since I count how many I put in at night and how many are still there the next morning. I read on one caresheet site that it's better not to feed them mealworms anyway, so this is probably a good thing, and maybe I'll just take the mealworm dish out altogether if I can or just use it for the baby food.

I know it's better to feed the Repashy diet, but these things aren't always up to me unfortunately, so is there anything else I can do to make sure they're getting a better diet? I'm hoping to have my Employee Review with my boss soon so that I can use the chance to also confront him about changing some things with the reptiles again... and hopefully I can convince him to order the Repashy as well. It's just a delicate thing... because sometimes I'm lead to believe that they want me to take more responsibility, and other times when I push issues, I get in trouble sort of. :/ Anything else I should bring up to change?

Sorry this has turned into a pretty long post and probably stuff that's been brought up before. I just worry about them so much and worry if we're giving them the right care, and just maybe need some reassurance and a chance to vent. I really like these little guys and have started wanting to have one personally one day... and as tempting as it is to take one home from work... I think maybe it would be better to wait and get one from a breeder so I have a better chance of getting one who's already used to eating Repashy. Plus I've sort of decided I'd rather support responsible private breeders than pet stores even though we're not one of the chains, at least until I can convince my boss to make the changes I want. :/

 

[Chewbecca]

What store do you work at?
Is it a PetSm@rt or Petc0?
If so, you should have Repashy TRex CGD available. If you do, I don't know why they aren't feeding that.

Baby food is kind of frowned upon by crestie owners. It's not balanced, and it makes it harder for owners to transition to the CGD.

Crickets are good, but again, too many times a week of offering it, and they'll refuse to eat much else. I know what they eat is not up to you. I wish there was a way to convince your boss to feed them what they are supposed to eat.

The humidity only needs to be in the 60-80% range. And when you bring it back down, it does need time to dry up.


My little guy sounds to be about the size of the ones in your store (he might even be smaller), and I only spray him twice a day. Once when I wake up, and once before bed. And if I wash his cage, I won't spray, I just let his cage remain damp, and I rinse his plant of which also remains wet.


The crestie that my local petc0 has, there is poop splattered all over the glass, and it looks like bird poop splatters.
My crestie's poop is firm with urates on the end.
I don't get the splattered stuff. Makes no sense to me.

 

[EchoPet]

It's a privately owned store, not a chain. As of now we don't have any Crested Diet of any type. x.x Our store is really great when it comes to some things, like dog food, birds, and saltwater fish... but reptiles are not something that my boss has had a lot of personal experience with, so that department is way behind. We're not as bad as it could be, but there's still so much I want to improve and the glaring errors are really outweighing the things we do right.

I think I just have to force my way into the office tomorrow and not leave until they give me my review and hear me out... I'll see if I can maybe get my manager involved again as well. At least I have most of the rest of the staff on my side and they're helping me as best as they can. Otherwise maybe I'll just go around my own way - buy some Repashy online and bring it in myself to feed them...

 

[Chewbecca]

Well, you can get the TRex Crested Gecko Diet in a bottle at Petsm@rt or petc0.

Good luck!