Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I read for weeks and weeks before we purchased our crested, but now that it's here i feel clueless and i'm constantly worried something is wrong...
is it normal for her to lay in the same place (curled up)and not really move anything except her head for like 9 daytime hours? just sleeping?
i handled her for a few minutes this evening(no more than two) and her breathing seemed to become labored... reason for concern or is she just freaked out? should i give her a few days before i handle her again?
after handling her this evening, i put her back in her cage and she took a few steps and hasn't moved again... it's been almost an hour in the same spot and she is definately awake now.
the posters in this forum seem to be amazing and any advice for this complete novice would be really helpful

Everything that you're worried about is totally normal.
The first thing you mentioned was sleeping. They will curl up and be quite still for the day. They are nocturnal obviously so they should become active when the light goes out.
The breathing thing - they do start to breathe really fast when you first take them out of the cage. It's like being handled by a giant! Just put yourself in their shoes. Your little guy is probably just scared.
At night they tend to stay in one place for a long time, especially if they think that something or someone is watching them. They aren't really active though. They will climb around a bit but they prefer to just sit and be calm. Once the gecko gets used to you, you will be able to watch him move around a bit more.
It might be beneficial to leave him alone for about a week - no handling, no food - so as to acclimate him to his new home. I didn't do it with mine but I've heard that some people do.
Just stop worrying about the little guy and have fun with him! It sounds like he is perfectly healthy to me!

I would have to agree, this all sounds normal to me. Tho I would say that mine move around quite a bit at night. They def. use all the space afforded to them. Just make sure you have plenty of hides & vines & climbing spots to make use of all the areal space in the cage.
It's also quite normal (at least for my geckos) to quickly go back to sleep after handling if I do it in daylight (though I try not to unless absolutely necessary). I've seeen my female hurry to get back into her vive (a safe place) only to fall asleep as soon as she's inside.
I would recommend re-reading avaliable care sheets, and checking out some sites or books on cresteds (I hear the best book is by Philippe De Vosjoli, called "Rhacodactylus: The Complete Guide to their Selection and Care"
Good Luckwith your Crestie & show us some pics if you have any =) And of course youa re always welcome to ask more questions =o)
-----
0.0.2 Crested Gecko (Anton (or Angelina) & Harley)
1.1 Crazy dogs (Alex & Sadie)
0.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee)
0.1 Amazing Wife =o)
Charlie - RIP 9-8-05 (Veiled Cham)

How are things progressing? How are its eating habits?

I think she's doing pretty good... last night I saw her eat two crickets. (Which is the coolest thing ever to watch!) I put five or six in there and i don't see anymore-except for the one who committed suicide in the water bowl. Question about feeding- i've been dusting the crickets in leopard gecko icb and calcium. should i do one or the other or is both okay? should i be using cgd to dust the crickets? should i mix anything into the pureed fruit when i give it to her?

Mix the crested gecko diet into the fruit. The fruit by itself is pretty empty calories. If you feed that in the fruit you will only have to occaisonally dust the crix with calcium (with no phosphorus in it).

Steve