Hey all, sorry for being a stranger. I've been super busy getting snakes ready for breeding, completely overhauling my entire reptile setup (in order to allow me to expand my collection without having to move to a larger facility), not to mention losing my job of five years (which was a good thing) and starting a new computer repair company.

With all of that going on, I've made every attempt to be as efficient as possible with both my time and money. One of the things I've done is switch from the old babyfood/CGD mix to straight CGD.

Another thing I've done is gotten together with a cage manufacturer to come up with a system of racks specifically designed with the breeding/rearing of Rhacodactylus in mind. You'll all hear more about that soon enough.

Anyway, back to the Crested Gecko Diet.


Part 1

First of all, I'd like to address the assertions made by some of the resident "experts" here.



1. Crested Gecko Diet is "unnatural."

I'll be quite frank here. That assertion is pure garbage.

While they seem to work quite well, yogurt (a dairy product), babyfood and domesticated crickets are just as "unnatural" and the people who swear that they're so much better than CGD have no room to be making this accusation. My thoughts are that if I'm going to be using something "unnatural," I'll stick with the pre-mixed stuff where all I have to add is water. Anyone who has gotten a gecko from me in the last three months will attest to the fact that my geckos are as healthy as any out there.



2. Crested Gecko Diet is not a good complete diet.

Coming from a fitness & nutrition background, I have to chuckle when I hear people say that because it just demonstrates how ignorant (in the true sense of the word) these folks are when it comes to nutrition. CGD has all macronutrients (carbs, fats and proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.) covered...Back in the day when I was lifting five days a week, I would've killed for an MRP for humans that had those bases covered. CGD has honey and banana powder (there's our natural fruit/sugars), plenty of fiber, healthy fats, whey protein (the same type that professional bodybuilders use), vitamins (including D3), minerals and calcium...and that's not to mention the pigments that help to enhance the geckos' natural colors.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2 - "My geckos won't eat it."

There have been many people (including myself) who have tried to use the CGD, but their geckos didn't take to it.

After having a lengthy series of discussions with Allen Repashy, we discovered that I was mixing the diet too thick. As soon as I started mixing it exactly as shown on the label, I was amazed at how quickly my geckos adapted to it.

By mixing it by the label, the diet will be very runny, with a consistency more like soup than the thick baby food. After I add the food, manny of my geckos will literally drink it as soon as the lights go out. After about 12-24 hours, the water will begin to evaporate and the geckos will continue to eat it...leaving visible tongue "tracks" in the food.

Here's a good example...this gecko doesn't exactly look malnourished does it?



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3 - Live insects.

Geckos go after live insects due to feeding response...not because they need them. It's called an opportunistic feeding response. The best example of opportunistic feeding response that I can think of is the Burmese Python's habit of eating every time it is offered food, even when it's not hungry and already clinically obese. This is because the animals are hard wired to eat when given the chance. The movement of the live prey is the trigger to this response.

I feed live prey on a regular basis because I'm a breeder and I want my geckos to eat a lot and grow as fast as possible...not because they're healthier that way, but simply because I like to see my babies grow up faster.

On the other hand, for the average pet owner keeping crested geckos, I feel that CGD by itself is sufficient, especially for geckos that have already been raised on it without added babyfood.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 4 - Making the switch

(Some of this is pulled directly from the "Crested Gecko Basics" section of my website.)

I used to mix up a concoction of baby food and the higher protein Gargoyle Gecko Diet, but have recently weaned all of my animals off of the baby food in an attempt to make things more simple. Although it did take some time for my geckos to adjust, it was easier than I thought it would be and didn't take nearly as long as I had expected.

In fact, I waited until it was time to shut down my females for the year before making the switch. Many of my breeding females actually took to the CGD before they stopped laying, so in some cases, I had to reduce the amount of CGD that I was giving them.

All in all, it took about 2-3 months for my animals to get used to eating the CGD without the added flavor of the babyfood.

For those interested in switching your geckos, I would strongly advise you to make the switch "cold turkey" instead of cutting back on the babyfood little at a time. Sure, your geckos may get a little more hungry that way and they might even lose a little weight, but being hungry is actually a good thing when you're trying to get them to eat something that they're not accustomed to. The faster you make the switch, the faster your geckos will gain all that weight back.
-----
----------------------------------
Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

[ Show Entire Thread ]