Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is there a way to bulk up cresteds faster???
i heard alot of protine will do it but im not sure and one have any idea or experiance on making monsters ???

Cresteds are already fast growing. Often, reptiles that are power fed have problems later. Sit back, relax and don't try to rush anything. Ever heard of fatty liver disease? More is definitely not better in this case.

Nathan Hall
GECKOS UNLIMITED

humm didnt think of that
point well made
thanks
hum so making a crested biger isnt good for it???
like as in trying to put on weight and size to it???
well mine dont seem to be growning much is the reason im asking
on average how much are they suposed to grow in like a month??
or is it not a time ly tihng its a gecko to gecko thing

Each gecko is going to grow at a different rate. Rate of growth depends on age of the gecko as well as its diet. A diet high in protein will result in a faster growing, larger gecko. Feeding juveniles crickets in addition to the baby food mixture or CGD (crested gecko diet) results in faster growth when compared to a baby food diet or CGD diet only.

I know some people feed the gargoyle diet for the first 6 months instead of the CGD, as it has more protein in it. It usually results in just a faster growing gecko, not sure if it has too much effect on the adult size of the gecko.

Allen should be able to provide a bit more info, I believe he was one of the people who did the diet w/crickets vs the diet w/o crickets.

What is you feeding schedule and what are you feeding? More protien is always better for a growing animal. The t-rex Gargole gecko diet has more protien than any insect you feed to you gecko, and I'm having great results with it. As Nathan said, power feeding your gecko is not always the best thing for the animal.
good luck
-----
Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

well i currently feed crickets every 2 or three days and i have baby food readily abvailable peach bannana and apercott
and i have a dish that a few small crickets ar contained in along with a few small wax worms nothing bigger then the with f their heads and i have mini meal worms and i think 3 reg meal worms that i will be taking out probly cause they dont eat them

Sounds ok to me. I would cut out the worms and stick with crix. You can increase the protien you crix deliver by dusting with either the t-rex leopard gecko blend or BD insect cricket balancer blend. They both use the same formula. The other thing I would do is add some chicken or turkey baby food to your fruit baby food. I use to use a 2:1 blend(fruit:meat). I don't use baby food any more though, all my rhacs are on the Sandfire(t-rex) formulas.
good luck
-----
Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

all the insects i feed are dusted

Bill,
What is the Auric diet, like 40% protein? I remember hearing somewhere it was double the CGD but I’m not sure. Either way you still have to take in the account how much they are eating at a sitting. 5-10 crix should contain more protein then a pea size amount of the GGD. How much do your hatchlings and adults eat a night, out of curiosity?
-Mike

The protien content of a cricket is by dry weight. What percentage of a cricket is water? If you dehydrate the crix and turn them to a powder, then add water and compare a pea size amount of that to a pea size amount of the GGD, which would have protien in it? I would think the GGD, but it would be interest to find out for sure. Another factor that should be considered is the quality of the protien. The diets use Isolated whey protien as the main source. Whey protien is one of the most bioavialable protiens, this is why it is a common ingredient in MRP's that athletes and bodybuilders use. Anyway, the GGD is closer to 50% protien by dry wieght. My Rhacs, hatchlings and adults, eat enough of the diets to fill themselves up.
-----
Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

Bill,
Your right crix are mostly water, all living organisms are. I believe crix are 68% water and the t-rex diet is around 60-70% if you follow the directions roughly when preparing it. So take a daily serving of each (10 crix, ¼ teaspoon GGD, whatever) and squeeze all the water out of them. Now your back to the dry weight, the crix pile is 21% protein and the GGD is 50% (CGD is 20%). Now question is which pile is bigger? If the crix a gecko eats makes a pile a little more then double the GGD they both are equivalent, but that’s the question ( the CGD of course would be easier to one up). Your guys get their fill, but roughly how much is that? I have a dehydrator so ill have to give it a try sometime and compare the two. As far as the quality goes no arguments their, however im interested to know the BV of proteins derived from insects. And also if there is any effects of using proteins derived from milk on non-mammals. Just some curious thoughts.

Anyway how are the leachies doing? Can you post their weights, I’d like to compare it to my guy and see the differences since yours are on the superfoods and mine is strictly crix with fruit once in a blue moon. Thanks Bill .
-Mike

Good point you bring up. I am curious to see how big a pile of 10 adult crickets dried and pulverized would be. I personally don't think it would be very big at all. You can actually do the math without drying the crix. You can just weight the crix then figure out how many grams of that weight is protien. Anyway, all this is beyond the scope of this thread. I was just recommending what I prefer to feed my rhacs and why. You have the right to do the same.
My leachie is doing fine. I sold one of them to fund a trio of striped gargoyles I'm picking up at the next show. I will bring a scale home from work so I can weight him/her.
-----
Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

Aww man you sold one! Have you figured out the sex yet, I think mine might be a female, but don’t quote me. I’m actually thinking about selling one of my strippers, need to cut back and bit and focus on just a few. It’s just too much with work…lol. Best of luck with the new Aurics.
-Mike