Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought seven cresteds in September. They are about 5 months old give or take a few weeks, but not all from the same clutch. It doesn't seem to me that all of them are thriving at the same levels. I have one that is a giant, two that are medium sized, and the remaining four are very small and almost look emaciated. I house the seven cresteds in four seprate 10 gallon tall tanks and spray them twice daily. I feed them all both crickets and baby food mixed with crested gecko diet food. I hand feed them the baby food because I'm not convinced they are finding it in their cages and as for the crickets, well I think the weaker half are afraid of them or can't find them, as they are appropriately sized for them. I guess I'm just not sure they are getting enough nutrience. Any advice? Thanks.
-Melanie

Don't wory at all, your geckos are fine. My crested is also about five months old, the same size as the one in your picture and is in perfectly good health. Animals, just like people, tend to grow at different speeds. You said that you had seven geckos in four different cages, if the smaller ones are not eating that could be reason. Your cresteds could be stressed and not want to eat because of it. NEVER keep two males together unless they are in a HUGE container. These geckos are very solitary unless it's breding pair or trio. Try seperating the ones who are not eating from the ones who are and put them in their own cages.

Thanks for the advice. I will give it a try. Another question...are smaller crested gecko suppost to have flabby skin and rib cages showing? Not all of mine do and I guess I'm in real trouble if this isn't common. My instinct tells me this isn't very good, but then again, this is my first time working with crested geckos...or any geckos for that matter, and I honestly don't know what is the norm. Anyways, I'm going to seperate them tonight and see how it goes...Thanks!!!
-Melanie

I'm not so sure about flabby skin, but mine also shows ribs and is perfectly healthy. Post a picture of the crested with the loose skin, I would like to see that.

Well here are some pics of the guy I'm worried about. I couldn't capture his flabby skin on camera, but sometimes he "pancakes out" and his skin becomes real loose and wrinkly. He doesn't seem to cling as well as the rest of them and just appears to be weaker then them. He is in his own cage now, so I'm just hoping he'll gain strength and grow a bit.
-Melanie

My crested is almsot exactly the same size. I'm guessing the others got to the food before it did. It might not want to eat for a while if it's still stressed from the move, so don't think it still has a problem. I just moved mine today to a bigger tank and don't expect it to eat for the next day or two. Also, if you have been feeding it at night, make sure it has just enough light to see by, same goes for the others. I hope he does better.

Yeah I'll try feeding him baby food tonight, but I'm not expecting him to eat much if at all. Thanks so much for your help!!!
-Melanie