Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a crested gecko and thinking it would be easy to take care of it, but it's not like that. Mine is very shy and skittish. He would only come out at night after all the lights are turn off. Not only that he seems to sleep during the day and wouldn't even look at crickets even if he is hungry. He will only eat when all the the lights are turn off at night. I've been getting up pretty early in the morning like 5,6 a.m. in the morning before the lights are turned on to feed this guy. He eats great, but only when the lights go out. IT's driving me nuts. I thought it would be easy like my leopard geckos, which will eat during day. I can't feed him after I get off work because I'm so tired. I get out of work at 2 a.m. in the morning, so I've been getting early after I get a few hours of rest. Does anyone have a problem with extremely skitish and shy cresties like mine?

perhaps you should have read up on crested geckos before buying one. They are Nocturnal in nature, they sleep all day. This is why he will only eat at night time when its dark.

Just feed him when you get home from work, it only takes about 2-5 minutes to mix up a batch of Crested Gecko Diet (a powdered total food supplement especially created to met all a crested gecko's needs). Mix enough for the week, and all you have to do is add a quarter teaspoon to a small bowl or pop bottle cap. If your crested gecko is very young, a quarter teaspoon is more than enough food to give it every night. Adults are fine on about two thirds a teaspoon of the diet, just adjust to how much is left in the bowl.

Young crested geckos are skittish and shouldn't be handled till they are bigger and less likely to jump and get away. They really are not holding pets though some become quite accustomed to being held, most will just climb over you but care must be taken to ensure they don't jump and get out of reach.
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PHLdyPayne

Do they take to the CGD readily? I have read many caresheet including the one on crestedgecko.com and the gecko spot and they say they will do just fine on the CDG diet alone. I was kindda skeptical about mine eating that stuff since all they feed them at the petstore was mealworms and crickets. And I have many crickets lying around so it's always good to have an extra mouth to feed.

P.S. I know they are nocturnal, but so are my leopard geckos, but the leopard gecko will eat like in the early morning and even afternoon for some reason. That's why I was kindda thrown back why my crestie doesn't eat during those time. I had no idea this was common.

Would the diet of insects alone harm him if he doesn't eat the CGD? How do you get to eat it for one that is not use to it?

typically the smell and taste of the diet will be enough incentive to get the geckos to eat it. It may be necessary to 'introduce' them to the diet by dabbing a bit of it on their nose or side of the mouth so they can lick it off. Usually after they taste it they will eat it willingly after that.

Sometimes mixing it with fruit baby food helps to get them to eat the diet, just reduce the amount of baby food added till you are left with just pure CGD. Crickets can still be offered once in awhile as a treat but in my experience, once they are eating the diet regularly, it isn't necessary to give anything else. I do like to offer some small superworms, silkworms, butterworms and crickets once in awhile just to give the geckos something different.
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PHLdyPayne

It's also possible to dust the crickets with CGD in order to get them used to the idea that that smell & taste is food if the other ideas presented here don't work.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

maybe you're driving your crestie nuts
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4.1 snakes, 5.6.1 crested geckos, 0.2 gargoyle geckos, 0.0.2 red-eyed tree frogs, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta, 0.1 sun conure, 1.0 peachfaced lovebird, 2.0 lineolated parakeets

It's driving me nuts because I start work at 6 p.m. before sundown and he doesn't come out til later when i'm away. So I can't feed him early in the evening. I will try the CGD since it's so easy, but I'm kindda skeptical about it since all they feed him at the petstore is mealworms and crickets. Do they take to the CGD readily?

yes, you can mix the CGD and put it in the cage before work. he will eat it later, he will even eat it the second night if it's still moist and not moldy.

CGD is a meal replacement powder, a nutritionally complete diet formulated by the largest breeder of crested geckos on the planet. many pet stores feed an improper diet so don't go by what they say. insects alone will cause an unhealthy and eventually dead animal. no more than a few crickets once a week as a treat, and never mealworms. you can also try roaches or phoenix worms, which are high in calcium.

others have addressed how to get him to switch over if he has trouble accepting the CGD.
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4.1 snakes, 5.6.1 crested geckos, 0.2 gargoyle geckos, 0.0.2 red-eyed tree frogs, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta, 0.1 sun conure, 1.0 peachfaced lovebird, 2.0 lineolated parakeets

Crested Geckos are nocturnal. So it would worry me if your gecko did move about quite a bit during the day.

Besides that, are you feeding it just crickets? If so I'd suggest switching to a mixed diet, T-Rex makes a crested gecko diet which you can mix with a bit of water in a cup and leave out for him, Repashy Superfoods also makes one which can be ordered online. You could do that when you come home from work and night and then go to sleep, just be sure to clean up what he didn't eat when you wake up.

Crickets can still be fed a bit, once or twice a week should be ok. If he doesn't take them it's not a big deal as long as you're using a complete diet. Also, make sure the crickets are appropriately sized for him, you have Leos so I'll assume you know the proper size a cricket should be.

Everyone else has already provided excellent ideas, but I would just like to point out one thing I didn't really see mentioned.
The reason cresties can't survive on an insect only diet is because in the wild they eat mostly fruit with a few insects here and there. This is why the CGD was created.