Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everybody, I'm new to owning reptiles, although I have wanted to for a looooong time before I started. Anywho I've got a male crested ( Smegol) in a vertigal 20 gal with lots of hiding spots and a heat lamp (I live in Canada and it's COLD). And I have a few questions.

#1 He eats so little! Just a tiny amount, but he is active and perky when I take him out.

#2 Right where his tail starts there is a big dip, is that normal or has he not been eating enough?

#3 He is a picky little thing he only eats aprocot baby food and now he doesn't like the t-rex CGD that I put in it. When it's just stright baby food he laps it up but when I put in the powder he leavs it there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I've looked all over the internet and can't find answers anywhere. I really love the little guy and don't wnat anything to happen to him.

Thanks again!

-Lily

How long have you had him? Is this 20ga enclosure new to him? How old is he(guestimate if your not sure)?
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Charlies Geckos

heres a tip to get your gecko eating CGD. start adding very small amounts and gradually adding more and more. by small, i mean so little that you can barely tell its there. over time, the gecko will get used to it.

I've had him for about 8 months and he's around 2 years I think, the 20gal is recent but he was fine in it for the first few weeks.

as far as the dip at the base of his tail, thats pretty much a normal thing. however, i recently got the rhac book and it mentions something about this along with floppy-tail syndrome. nevertheless, it will not be deadly. if your gecko does come down with floppy-tail, it is very obvious, and unless it gets so severe that the pelvic girdle is stressed, the only consequences i know of are purely aesthetic. ive noticed grooves on all of mine and they are fine, no floppy tails. just make sure you provide adequate climbing furniture and the right diet.

I had a picky gecko and he ended up with a giant dip in his tail. I think it's calcium related. you gotta put calcium dust in his food. He'll eat it eventually . Mine will eat CGD if I hand feed it to him. Sort of.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

First off ...I can apreciate the need for a heat source.This summer has been a cool one.You do need to make sure its not getting up there in temp though.80's can do your lil guy in.

The indent MIGHT be floppy tail syndrone does the tail hang odd at all when climbing about? This can be from not enough calcium do you suppliment any?

It doesnt take a great deal of babyfood or crested gecko diet to fill them up. If they eat any at all you can be sure they ate all they needed.

Your cresteds have trained you. You are feeding them what they want not what they need. Cresteds do not have to eat everyday so when you put in something they dont care for..they simply skip the day.As a worried owner you get nervous and feed them their treat.THey have obviously figured that part out. If you give them crested gecko diet (with some babyfood mixed it) for several days running they will eat.Nothing in nature starves itself over taste.

Thanks everyone for the help, I pretty sure that he doesn't have floppy tail syndrome though. And I DO give him calcium supplements, sometimes with his food, and I always gut load his crickets and dust them with calcium before giving them to him.

I'll update you guys if he eats his CGD, Thanks again!

-Lily