Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a beautiful male back in March from a breeder with whom I've had a long, sucessful relationship, and the male, Brimstone, stopped growing a while back. He has a poor appetite, won't touch crickets, WILL eat limited amounts of BerryBooster mixed with CGD from my fingertip, and is otherwise healthy. He doesn't look malnourished or bony, but his weight hovers between 22 and 23 grams and has for months. Any ideas?

-----
Terri
6:10:16 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Stunner, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, and 5 unnamed hatchlings.

Terri,

I have on occasion found single animals will suddenly hit a point where they stop growing for several months or more .Then they sprout and quickly catch up to similar aged animals.Could be nothing is wrong at all.

I have also found if a animal in a group cage (even if male with females) can sometimes get behind the others in size enough that he or she will be bullied ,get stressed out, stop eating , stop growing and/or lose weight.In each case placing the animal in its own cage caused it to quickly gain weight again with no ill effects.

I think bullying is one area not covered well in nearly every crested gecko book and or article out there.

My two cents www.slizards.com

YOu know, I had one like that - a male, just a dynamite looking guy - paired up with a female since I bought them. He just never seemed to grow real well - looked fine - but just didn't grow.

I picked up one of those larger critter containers - small by many of your standards, but just enough room to move around - probably 11 inches high or so. I put some egg crates in there - some GGD, and just let him ALONE. Didn't mess with him - didn't touch him. I put him in spot where it was comfortable, and just let him alone for awhile.

Now, all of a sudden, he's huge, bright and ready to go. Wild as they come, due to the lack of handling, but just nice and large.

I think we stress them out a lot - I would suggest that you try my idea - give it a couple months and see what happens.
-----
Monte Meyer
Powergeckos
Email

Wow, you think that would be better than the 15 tall he's in? Well, I'm willing to try anything to get him up to his full potential. Even with his seeming compliance to handling, I really only take him out about twice per week to feed him from my fingertip.
-----
Terri
6:10:16 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Stunner, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, and 5 unnamed hatchlings.

i dont' know if he meant a smaller enclosure, but that's what he used to separate it from the others, and to put it off by itself.
that's a smoking gecko though, it may have to meet up with my yellow female on breeder loan for awhile

That would be fun, if he ever grows up! We'd probably get babes that glow in the dark!! How much does that girl weigh now? (to Brimstone's 22 grams!)
-----
Terri
6:10:16 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Stunner, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, and 5 unnamed hatchlings.

the " female" is at 17.5 grams right now, she'll need atleast another 6-7 months. you should compare brimstone's bulge to the lack of randi's bulge and you should get a pretty good idea whether or not it's a female or not. comparing the same size/weight cresteds is always the best way i think.

Normally I agree, but Randi and WildSpatter-Spots-To-Spare (subsequent siblings) came from the East Coast from wild-caught grandparents so are likely unrelated to anything else I have. Being so recently (2nd generation) CB they have distinctly different traits from my others such as extremely minimal crests and I guess I figured maybe the late-maturing might have something to do with it also. Randi definitely does NOT have anything like the package on Brimstone. I guess I'm just afraid to exhale on her until I'm positive since I've been hoping so hard!

-----
Terri
6:10:16 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Stunner, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, and 5 unnamed hatchlings.

Thanks for your input. Brimstone has always had his own enclosure. First, because when I first got him, like all newcomers, for quarantine in a 10 gallon. After quarantine, I moved him into a 15 gallon tall. He has always been tame to the point of friendly and seems to enjoy handling but I have always been careful never to overdo it. I sure hope he does sprout! As it is, I don't dare put him with any of my ladies for fear they'd whop his A$$ and give him a complex. I was hoping for some wonderful things out of him!
-----
Terri
6:10:16 crested geckos: Bear, Goldfish, Kermit, Brimstone, WildSpatter-Spots-to-Spare, White Lips, Big Red, Olive, Smudge, Belle, Brilliant, Tina, Brick, Toni, Beauty, Shine, Randy, Stunner, Squeak, Bling, Squeaker, Stripe, Redhead, Speckles, Harrys, Penny, BonusBaby, and 5 unnamed hatchlings.