Fast Growth and First year Breeding Questions

[ajcrestedgeckos]

I bought a pair of females approximately 2 months ago.  They were 8-9 months old and weighed 18 and 21 grams when I got them.  The seller fed them a homemade fruit puree and I feed only CGD (3X week) with dusted crickets (1-2X per week).  These two now weigh 39 and 32 grams respectively.  That is a gain of 21 and 11 grams in only two months!!!  Both were lean when I got them, but neither looked malnutritioned.  The larger one has a little belly, but doesn't look overly fat(I have cut her food down).  The temps in my reptile room are 76-81 degrees, I mist nightly, and use 12 hours of UVB flourescent bulbs daily(no natural light).
Are there any concerns with such a quick rate of growth?  Is it too early to start breeding them?  Should I feed them less until thier weight evens out and then start the breeding cycle?  Any advice is appreciated and I won't be offended by any constructive criticism.  Thanks, Aaron.

[marigold]

i can't really answer your question, but that does sound like very fast growth!  wow.  do you think maybe their previous temps were low... causing them to eat lightly?  tell me more about the uvb fluorescent lights.  i may want to try that. 

[ajcrestedgeckos]

The UVB light is supposed to help by adding Vitamin D3 through the skin.  D3 prevents Metabolic Bone Disease(MBD).  I don't think that it has ever been scientifically proven in crested geckos, but I figured it couldn't hurt.  I paid like $16 a piece for them, so I probably got ripped off a little.

[justanotherfroginthepond]

$16 is good price for flo. UVB bulbs.  My 10.0 coil flo's are $20, and 2.0/5.0 are $18. 

The thing to remember with UVB is that different bulbs will give off a different strength of UVB rays.  (Healthy) Cresteds, specifically, need very little UVB as they are nocturnal and spend very little time under the sun.  Too much UVB can actually stress out a nocturnal animal.  I wouldn't use any higher than a 5% bulb...and would personally use a 2% if I used any.  That said, flo. UVB bulbs lose their output fairly close to the bulb, so even using a stronger one in a household ceiling fixture probably would be fine since any rays that were to reach the geckos from the ceiling would be fairly weak.  Also, strip flo. blulbs usually have a weaker output compared to coil flo. bulbs.

Also, keep in mind that UVB is bad for US, so using bulbs that have a high output of UVB in a ceiling fixture that we are under constantly could possibly be bad...I'm not aware of any studies doen or anything, that's just my own thing...and again, flo. bulbs are fairly weak anyways. 

Last thing...CGD and most supplements, as well, have Vitamin D3 in them already. While it's in a different form and is absorbed into the body in a different way, a healthy Crested shouldn't need it in mass quantities anyways, so the food and/or bug-dusting should be sufficient.

[jhawkk2004]

The UVB light is supposed to help by adding Vitamin D3 through the skin.  D3 prevents Metabolic Bone Disease(MBD).  I don't think that it has ever been scientifically proven in crested geckos, but I figured it couldn't hurt.  I paid like $16 a piece for them, so I probably got ripped off a little.

Doesn't the UVB light help the body absorb and digest D3 and Calcium? I didn't think it actually adds D3 through the skin?

[Mettle]

I suppose it depends on what was in the geckos previous diet and how they were supplemented for vitamins and calcium. Up here north of the border a lot of people feed what is called the 'smoothie diet' (or sometimes even the 'Hilde diet' after the woman who exposed us all to it). The base of that mixture is an assortment of fruits, but also yogurt. The yogurt is fairly essential in this 'smoothie diet' as it is what provides the gecko with the necessary protein. All the breeders here in Canada who use the 'smoothie diet' seem to have fairly large and robust geckos - so I'm guessin ghe fruit puree that was being fed to your geckos previously was simply that, mashed up fruits, which in the end does lack somewhat in what a healthy crested gecko needs over all. (Especially if it's not being properly supplemented with crickets.) If you can I would inquire with the person who you bought these off of.

The amount of growth you reported there seems like quite a lot for a two month period, but it's not unheard of. Personally, most of my yearling female geckos reach the size you're talking about with only a couple exceptions. (Everyone is different after all.) Heck, I had an 11 month old at 43 grams. It's not unheard of. Probably what happened was the geckos were under fed and kept in cooler temps and thus simply didn't grow. Pop them into the right environment, provide them with everything they need, and bam. They grow.

As for the breeding question... I wouldn't personally breed them just yet, if it were me. You want to make sure that weight gain is healthy and appropriate weight gain. So giving them a bit longer might be a good thing. Better safe than sorry, right?

[tress29]

All the posts I've read talk about how much cresteds weigh.  Can anyone tell me the average length they grow to?  I have no idea how much Sephira our leo weighs, but she's about 7.5" long...

Theresa in Indy

[tress29]

I did more digging last night and answered my own question.  Crested's bodies are 4-4.5" long, with a total length of 8-10 inches depending on the tail.  I guess they don't look as big since their tails are so slim compred to the leopard gecko.

Theresa in Indy

[Mettle]

Thanks for the info... I had never even considered length really. Most people in the crestie world don't look at length because it's not necessarily the best indication of the 'size' we are looking for in our girls, I think.

[tress29]

I like to know adult size cause for example:  There are two gorgeous coral and cream corn snakes at PetCo.  I love the juvenile size, 18" long, thick as a pencil.  Not so fond of 4'-5' long, thicker than a broom stick!

Theresa in Indy