Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I apologize if this has been covered before, but if so I missed it.
Does anyone know whether cresties overeat? I have some healthy adult breeding groups, and one in particular I refer to as the "Clean Plate Club". I think if I fed them EVERY night they would still gobble every bite. I don't want to end up with a bunch of fatties who don't feel like laying anymore! I feed CGD mixed with Berry Booster or Strawberry Banana, and occasionally, big crix.
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Terri
6:10:21 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, Fudgefire & BlackCherryMarble, and AAAaaaggghhhh 9 new babies since Weds, 7/20.

that's an interesting question. i think it could depend on a couple factors:

1) how much you give them at each feeding

when i give them baby food/CGD mix, i usually end up with some food left in the dish. rarely do i find an empty dish. i'm spreading 1 jar of babyfood among 8 cresties if that gives you an idea of how much i give each.

when i give them crickets, it's typically 4-6 per gecko. that really depends on how closely they count the crix. i ask for 32, sometimes i get 50, others only 32. when they get 4 each, the geckos eat them all immediately. when they get more than 4, the remainder tend to be eaten during the next day or two.

2) competition

if i understand you properly, it seems to be only one group of geckos, right? i know you're fairly experienced at keeping crested and i'm not second-guessing your husbandry, but how many are in the group and in what size enclosure? maybe they feel stressed and they compete for food? have you tried seperating them to see if the same results occur?

I've seen a couple of posts referring to Berry Booster added to the CGD. What is the stuff, and where do you get it?
Thx
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2.1.0 water dragons, 2.2 crested geckos, 0.0.3 turtles, 1.0.0 5-line skink, 2.0.0 anoles, 0.0.1 giant millipede, 1.0.0 uromastyx, 1.0.0 armadillo lizard, 1.0.0 veiled chameleon, 1.1.0 bearded dragons, 1.0.0 pictus gecko, 1.1.0 CA banded gecko, 1.0.0 Hondo, 1.1.0 corns, 1.0.0 dog, 1.1.0 cats, 0.1.0 wife, 2 SW tanks - 20H, 55

Bolthouse Farms makes fruit-smoothies that are for sale in groceries in the fruit and veggie refrigerated case. They are just fruit juices, no sugar or high fructose corn syrup or preservatives. I get strawberry-banana or berry booster. There are other flavors but some contain orange/citrus juice and the veggie flavors don't seem as appetizing to fruit-eaters such as cresties. I originally used it to entice my hatchlings into eating sooner, but everybody loves it so now they all get it. Maybe I've done too good of a job encouraging them to eat! LOL
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Terri
6:10:21 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, Fudgefire & BlackCherryMarble, and AAAaaaggghhhh 9 new babies since Weds, 7/20.

haha thats awesome that they will eat bolthouse smoothies, because my girlfriend and I love those. We are always buying a bunch of the strawberry-banana ones, so i guess we can share with our cresteds now.

Mine don't gorge till they puke if that is what you are thinking? But they will eat more than they need to keep their lean mean youthful figures.Some of my retired breeders have gotten perrty chunky Here is momma all 56 grams of her. It is all about comfort not speed any more.

I haven't tried separating them since last winter-I take the males out from Oct to Mar so the females can rest. They are in a 45 gal glass & screen enclosure: 1 male and 3 females. They don't seem to be stressed in that they all get along famously and I get 3 sets of eggs about every month, sometimes all on the same day. The enclosure is full of branches, vines and cork logs for lots of diverse hidey-holes. They just seem to love to eat! They get about a tablespoonful of CGD mixed with berry booster each feeding.
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Terri
6:10:21 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, Fudgefire & BlackCherryMarble, and AAAaaaggghhhh 9 new babies since Weds, 7/20.