Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm having a real problem getting my crested to eat. I tried switching him over to the T Rex MRP and he wont take it, so I mix a bit into his fruit and he only eats a tiny bit. He won't touch crickets anymore and he hasn't pooed in 3 days. I'm stressing out, and I have no idea what's wrong.

I know he's looking thinner because his skin is sagging a bit and i can see his ribs, he just shed a week ago and he's getting kindof pale.

If anyone can help that would be great. I'm going to try and find a reptile vet tomorrow for him.. but if anyone has some advice or if there's somehow a way to force feed him. I dunno I'm getting worried.

Keep offering the MRP mixed with baby food, try to vary the flavors, although I wouldn't suggest it for normal feeding a flavor that is apple and something (like apples and apricots) has more sugar in it and cresteds are like little kids, they'd rather have the sugary cake than the veggies. If your gecko tolerates handling (and don't do it too much if it is sick) you can take a small spoon (we use a 1/2 tsp) and put a little fruit mix on his nose, he should lick it off. Also it is a good idea to drip some water on his nose because he could be dehydrated if he's not feeling well. This could help you both feel better by getting him to for sure eat something.

Best I can tell you is find that vet, without it pooping you know something is wrong. I'm hoping for you and him, good luck and I hope the vet can figure out what's up. Usually it is either illness or parasites and hopefully treatable. Again, good luck.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I soaked him in warm water today for about 10 minutes (While i did that I put paper towel down as a temporary substrate while I cleaned the old one) and gave him something small to eat. About 2 hours later I came back to find a giant fresh dump hidden against some of the paper towel.

So he's back into it. And I'm going to try that elevated food dish thing. My baby had me scared, but I'm happy again. All I need to do is get him to eat, since he's still looking thin.

Could it possibly have been putting in oversized crickets that caused him to stress out and therefore not poo or eat?

>>Could it possibly have been putting in oversized crickets that caused him to stress >>out and therefore not poo or eat?

It's certainly possible, though even when mine was far too small to eat the full-size crickets, she'd try to strike at full-size ones on the opposite side of two panes of glass in my leopard gecko's terrarium, so it seems unlikely. That being said, if they were hiding where he couldn't catch them and then coming out to bite him when he wasn't looking, yes, that could cause stress, and high levels of stress are a big problem for reptiles that can cause all sorts of health issues...
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Actually I cleared everything out of the enclosure so the crickets couldn't hide, theyd even walk up to him. I went down to small crickets, I see him noticing them and he looks towards them, then just gets disinterested. It's really frustrating to watch.

>>Actually I cleared everything out of the enclosure so the crickets couldn't hide, >>theyd even walk up to him. I went down to small crickets, I see him noticing them >>and he looks towards them, then just gets disinterested. It's really frustrating to >>watch.

Well, I've found with my leopard gecko (and the same thing would apply to any other gecko, I would think) that if she's had some crickets that she didn't catch right away that I haven't noticed/taken out right away in there bothering her for a while, she'll sometimes refuse food for a bit in just about the exact manner you're describing. When this happens, I find that I have to give her a day or two with no crickets in there bothering her before she'll eat. Try giving your crested a couple days off from being bothered by crickets - just provide CGD for a little while and try crickets again in a couple of days. I bet he gobbles them right down then.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Right on, when I clear them out in a couple hours I'll do just that. Hopefully it works! Thanks for the advice.

one of my little cresties hardly ate a thing until I used an elevated food dish. Now that I think about it, I've never seen her on the ground at all. If you don't already use an elevated food dish, I suggest that you buy one or make one. I made mine with two strong magnets, a hot glue gun, and the corner part of a food container.
Good luck, Hope that your crested eats more!

First things first, what do you use as substrate and what are the temps in the cage? If it hasn't went to the bathroom in 3 days and won't eat, it might not be a good idea to force feed it, because it may be impacted. Does it usually eat the fruit you give it? Try different flavors of fruit and see if it likes one more than another and mix a little bit of that in with the CGD. Also are you mixing the CGD like it's supposed to be? Maybe it's too thick or something. Keep an eye on it, but if it doesn't go to the bathroom in a couple more days, I think the only chance you have is to take it to a vet and have them look at it. If it is impacted, it could die. How old is it?
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1.0 savannah monitor
0.4 leopard geckos
2.2.5 crested geckos 2 eggs
1.1 bearded dragons
0.1 common boas (BCI)
1.0 ball python
0.0.1 western hognose
0.1 kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 golden tree frog
0.0.1 fire belly toad
0.0.1 Sulcata tortoise
0.0.1 desert hairy scorpion
0.0.1 texas millipede
1.2 sugar gliders 2 joeys in pouch
0.1 chinchilla
2.0 cats
0.0.1 African Giant Black Millipede
0.0.1 Pac Man frog
A few fish
LOTS of roaches

Matt Smith

I didn't read the other messages that were writen, so you can probably just ignore my last message...
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1.0 savannah monitor
0.4 leopard geckos
2.2.5 crested geckos 2 eggs
1.1 bearded dragons
0.1 common boas (BCI)
1.0 ball python
0.0.1 western hognose
0.1 kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 golden tree frog
0.0.1 fire belly toad
0.0.1 Sulcata tortoise
0.0.1 desert hairy scorpion
0.0.1 texas millipede
1.2 sugar gliders 2 joeys in pouch
0.1 chinchilla
2.0 cats
0.0.1 African Giant Black Millipede
0.0.1 Pac Man frog
A few fish
LOTS of roaches

Matt Smith

Thanks for the advice though. Is it possible for a Geckos tummy to get impacted with all artificial plants and substrate? Perhaps I should make the CGD more watery...