'lil nipper

[killazilla]

Tonight I tried a new approach to see if my new crested will eat. Since he didn't eat the crickets I tried feeding him, I tried babyfood. I scooped up a pea-sized amount of baby food with a plastic spoon and dabbed a bit on his nose. He seemed to readily lick it off his nose, and he licked a little off the spoon. This was a good sign to me because I've been wondering if he eats at all. What surprised me was that while he was eating the bit from the spoon, he barked and nipped at the spoon several times as if trying to bite it. Was this a defensive response; if so, I'd prefer not to stress him. I'm just concerned about his apparent lack of intake and his reclusive behavior (at night too).

[smith710]

Don't do baby food, get some CGD... Baby food is like candy for geckos, just go get the CGD and feed the gecko that.

[Liz]

how long have you had him? he might be still adjusting to his new home.

[killazilla]

I've had him for about a week now. I've got the CGD, that's what I keep always avialable in his bowl. I just can't really tell if he's eating it. I wanted to use the baby food to test his apetite. What's worse, is that I've barely seen him move. I check on him at night only to see that he's always in the same spot. I hope he warms up to me, because I don't think he likes me very much right now.

[crestiesx2]

PLease understand leaving you gecko alone to acclimate is crucial to his/her survival. Since you've only had him for a week he is still acclimating. Keep the CGD in his bowl. Keep it fresh and change it often. Mist your cage twice a day. What are your temps. None below 68 and not about 80. Humidity at 70%+

the Bark and Nip at the spoon was to let you know to back off. IS HE POOPING? If he's pooping he's eating. If your feeding crickets, please dust them with ICB for leopard geckos. can be bought at Petco.

Make sure your temps are correct, humidity good and let him acclimate. Oh and don't be offended if you feel he doesn't like you. Geckos aren't cuddly and don't have the same attributes as dogs. They don't necessarily warm up to people. They have they're own seperate thinking, they are a reptile after all

I've had him for about a week now. I've got the CGD, that's what I keep always avialable in his bowl. I just can't really tell if he's eating it. I wanted to use the baby food to test his apetite. What's worse, is that I've barely seen him move. I check on him at night only to see that he's always in the same spot. I hope he warms up to me, because I don't think he likes me very much right now.

[smith710]

Your not going to be able ot tell if he's eating, they have very small stomaches, he won't starve himself to death. Keep an eye on him and make sure hes pooping.  If you feed baby food sometimes it can very extremely difficult to get them to eat anything else, and that's not good, just feed the cgd, you don't have to worry too much.  Spray it in the mornign and then at night, you want the humidity to drop during the day, don't worry too much if the humidity drops in the middle of the day, just mist again at night.

[killazilla]

Good information... thanks for the replies. Today I put him in his kritter keeper with two crickets dusted with Herpcare Cricket Dust. I left him alone and came back to see that the crickets were history. This was a big relief. I mixed him up some CGD in a water bottle cap and changed his water and plan to leave him undisturbed until his next cricket feeding next Friday. I'm confident that if I establish a more normalized routine, that he'll acclimate with ease. As far as his poop goes, I haven't seen much to speak of because his tank has lots of foliage and I just can't tell. He did, however, leave a bit in the kritter keeper which was an odd texture and yellow. Any cause for concern here or is this normal?

[chrisvanaken]

Don't do baby food, get some CGD... Baby food is like candy for geckos, just go get the CGD and feed the gecko that.

Is it alright to mix the baby food with CGD?

[krazymuttzpuck]

i would personally drop the baby food all together..just use cgd. Or if you must ,you may mix baby food, but each time you feed put less and less baby food until you are not using anymore.

[smith710]

Just go with the CGD and water. There's no reason to use baby food?  Why are people so persistant to use baby food? They like the CGD and water, it's better for them and it's the best way to go.

[xeon452]

there is the  ILF cricket food  you can gut load the crix with. and to get your guy used to CGD Dust the crix with the CGD instead of leopard gecko powder. they don't need all that extra calcium, all the calcium they could ever need is in the CGD.

good luck

[MdngtRain]

the yellowish stuff in his poop sounds like he's dehydrated.  Just make sure he has access to water through misting.