Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If a crested is around 10-11 months old(no reliable birth record) and underwieght (17-18g) if given proper nutrition from this point forward- will it grow more? At what age are they usually fully grown? Appears to be female- but if underwieght, would you still be able to somewhat reliably sex? I'm considering taking over the care of a neglected crested and would like to know what to expect. Currently showing no other signs of illness, just small.
Please let me know what you-all think.

Not to threadjack, but I've also got a weight question. Maybe we'll both get good answers.

I've got a crested that is supposedly 7 mo. old. She weighs 23 grams, and has been stalled at this weight for at least a month. She eats well, sheds, and is very active in the evening. Is she underweight for her age? Should I take her in for a fecal? (hoping she stays female)

Thanks a lot!

No problem. I've read that growth can occur in stalls and spurts and that if all other signs of health are fine, not loosing weight- not to worry. I've also read that growth can continue for up to a year and 1/2. That's why I was wondering if there could be some hope of this animal reaching at least close to full size/weight. There does not seem to be a Bible regarding this issue though. Not even any kind of growth charts.

Frustrating!!

as was suggested in the other forum where you asked this same question, avoid pity purchases. there are plenty of fine geckos available that can be obtained from reliable breeders.

as for growth charts, you're being unrealistic in your expectations. are you thinking that something exists that says "all 10 month old geckos will weigh X grams?" it's not going to happen. ever. as with any animal, the growth rate will depend on multiple factors - feeding frequency, health, enclosure size, etc.

as for literature on the species, there are *several* good bokos you can purchase - have you looked into them yet?

Sorry, was not trying to "answer shop", had not recieved much response here yet. Was not sure if it really would have been a "pitty" purchase without feedback. Regarding my statement related to growth charts- I was referring to one simmilar as to when taking a child to the doctor. You can clearly see on a growth chart if the weight falls 20% below average versus 40% above. If data was collected over a period of time using a large sampling, this could easily be developed, that's all. It appears that a lot of people have anxiety over their little one's weight gain, or lack thereof.
Thanks for your response.

so your gecko is stalled in its growth. big deal. did you grow constantly from child to adulthood, gaining a specific amount of height/weight each month? NO. you, like every other living being grew in spurts. your gecko is doing the same thing.

as for taking it to a vet ... why? is the feces runny? is your gecko listless? does it refuse food? those are reasons to take it to a vet, not because it hasn't gained weight in a month. plus, i highly doubt you will find a vet that even has any reptile experience, let alone experience with crested.

realize that when a 20g gecko gains 2g, it is adding 10% to it's body mass. think about adding 10% to your body mass in a month. i don't know about you, but i weigh 215 at 9% bodyfat. that would mean for me to gain 10% body mass (not even muscle), i'd have to add 21.5lbs in 30 days. no matter HOW MUCH i eat in a month, i'm not gaining 21.5lbs in 30 days.

man,all the guy wanted was an answer to his question, not someone giving him know it all attitude. this is a place to get knowledge, not condescending attitude.
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1.1 Gargoyle geckos
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.1 leucistic leopard gecko
0.0.1 asian golden tree frog
1.0 oriental firebelly toad
0.1 european firebelly toad
1.0 albino betta
1.0 orange tabby
0.0.1 asian painted frog
1.0 broad headed skink
0.0.1 fowlers toad
1.1 red eyed tree frog
1.1 red eared sliders
476.769.47 feeder crickets

what steviepea got was not just an answer but an explanation, plain and simple. sorry if you're upset that i didn't baby him with a response.

the problem, Harlan, with babying people when they ask questions is that you only give them the answers, not the understanding behind it. you wind up with people walking around with all the answers and no reasoning behind them.

instead of just saying 'no, you don't need to see a vet' steviepea now has an idea of the reasons he *would* need to see a vet. perhaps he even now understands how living beings grow.

"give me a fish and i eat today. teach me to fish and i eat for a lifetime."

I was not expecting a growth chart for crested geckos, just a general idea of normal growth from breeders and owners who have more experience than I do. Stevie is my first crested, and I would like to care for her to the best of my ability. To use your example of human growth, even if you don't grow on a perfect schedule all through childhood, your parents would know about what time of your childhood to expect growth spurts.

If most crested geckos reach a certain expected weight or height by a point in their growth, then any variation could be due to sickness, or worms, or poor husbandry. I know enough about reptiles to note the slightest signs of sickness, because they don't show sickness until it is difficult to cure.

As for research, I conducted a search on this site, checked the first 10 pages of sites gleaned from Google, and own two books on crested geckos. I have two vets in my area that work with reptiles. As a responsible reptile owner, I found them before I purchased either of my pets. I also stated that there was nothing else notable wrong with Stevie. My question was only out of mild concern. You can teach me to fish without berating me for asking how to bait the hook.

stevie, you need to learn how to read a post tree (and maybe the other posts in the thread too). then you'd know that totalcrestedgal asked about growth charts. and then you'd also know that by embedding my response under her post, it was a reply to her post, not yours. your reply was embedded under your post.

as for berating you, i did nothing of the sort. you have NO idea how caustic my tongue can be, nor do you ever really want to find out. you got a no-BS, no-handholding response. don't like it, frankly i don't care.

if you've read all that information (including 2 of the only 3 published books on rhacs) then you should know very well that a gecko that eats, sheds, and is fairly active is healthy. plus, if you really have 2 vets w/ reptile experience (either of them ever seen a crested outside a petshop?) why not call them in you have concerns? they have 8 years of education, most people haven't even been keeping cresteds that long.

just curious too, since you're such the "responsible reptile owner" (your words), have you taken your pets in to these two vets for wellness exams?