Using Vaseline - advice required please.

[TDKs]

I breed lobster roaches - and my landlord will kill me if they escape.

What I'd like to know is: if I serve them in a "deli" box with vaselined rims, the bugs won't be able to get out. BUT - will my gecko still be able to get in and out? I don't want to vas it up to discover poor Bal stuck in a box!

I do have other questions if someone can be kind enough to have a look for me? :)
http://www.pangeareptile.com/forums/showthread.php?p=200581#post200581

[viciousenvy]

...or put them in a glass jar that the roaches cant climb out of and forget the vasoline all together, or dont feed and keep roaches if your landloard wont allow it, or buy a house and do what you want, or forget it all together and just feed cgd or cgd and crickets, or.......i think there are plenty of better choices then a "vasolined deli cup"..

[Chewbecca]

if the roaches can escape a deli cup, they'll be able to escape a tall glass.
Lobsters can climb.

I'm with Vicious, though.
There are 83943 different options out there.

oh man. I'm so glad dubias really cannot climb smooth surfaces. Or I would NOT have them in my house.

Also, I answered some of your questions in your other thread.

[viciousenvy]

did not know the lobsters could climb glass. I keep breed and feed dubia and lateralis, neither of which can climb glass. Just two more options I guess. And GO CAVS, did you see lebrons game winning shot !!!!!!!!!!!h yeah awesome outstanding superb....one goal.......goal cavs !

[TDKs]

Oh god yes Lobbies can climb. It's extraordinary - only vaseline keeps them in.

I can keep the roaches in the shed, that's not a problem - it's having them loose in the house. My partner will tolerate them, but he can't stand crickets because they hop - it unnerves him and he won't have them in the house. *sigh*

For my beardies, I have roaches, locusts and a huge variety of worms - but I can take the dragons out to the shed to feed. That's why I was trying the closed insect transport box - but the crestie doesn't like it.

So - what's the consensus on the vaseline? It would be really helpful. Otherwise, I have to go for sticky maskingtape and get my beardies to pluck off the stuck ones - but that's not convenient for overnight.

[kennedy7717]

My answer is a firm no to the vaseline and a bigger no to any sort of sticky tape. Why take a chance of harming your gecko when they do not even need to eat bugs as long as you feed them the Crested Gecko Diet.

[crestedkeeper]

My answer is a firm no to the vaseline and a bigger no to any sort of sticky tape. Why take a chance of harming your gecko when they do not even need to eat bugs as long as you feed them the Crested Gecko Diet.

I totally agree with Kennedy here....

Vaseline=no, it could get on your cresties feet and prevent him from being able to stick to surface for days...

Sticky tape= Hell no, ...try searching the threads about this as there has been a couple horrer stories on Geckos getting stuck to the tape.

Possible alternatives = yes, try something else......Try getting a seperate container, like a small kk, and putting a roach in there with the crestie for a littel while (30 min or so). If he does not eat it ...maybe he dont even like roaches.......You might have to use crickets or just stick with CGD......My wife is the same way with crickets so I just do as I explained above in the garage and they grub like other.....Hope this helps......I will also address questions you had on your previous post....sorry didnt catch it before.:)

[TDKs]

That's more than fair enough - a good straight answer. Actually, having thought about it, yes, the tape is a dumb idea - sorry.

I have just blown my entire bonus on 10 packs of Repashy food - 6 bags of base and four different flavours, so shouldn't be a worry once they turn up.

Thanks for your responses though, it's incredibly helpful - I do like to learn as much as possible and sometimes it's hard to find straight answers! :D

[crestedkeeper]

No problem....we are glad to help as much as possible.

The diet you ordered will last a very long time and will be great for your geckos diet. Just stick to a feeding routine and monitor pooping and weight if you can.

[TDKs]

I did figure. I used half of my daygecko making my frozen fruit cubes and that's just gone for miles and miles. I'll freeze the bags I'm not using to make them last longer too - I do the same thing with my dry fish foods to ensure the vitamin quality remains static.

I also ordered a 0.1 - 1000g digital scale tonight.

I put food in at 9pm exactly every evening and handle him for a couple of minutes - he's already calmed down a lot within the week.

[crestedkeeper]

The scale will help alot.....I use mine weekly if not more...

I keep my cgd in the freezer to....also dont forget ...you dont need fresh cgd every single night. (see other thread)

[TDKs]

Roger and Wilco! (Incidently, I got some of my plants from Wilkos... )

Do you premix yours, or leave it dry?

Does it freeze well if you add water to it? What's the defrosting seperation like, if anyone has tried it? (IE, does it come apart, water on top, solids sunk to the bottom?)

As mentioned previously, I make fruitcubes (like icecream for the dragons!) and this would be a handy way of having it premeasured if anyone needs to "babysit". I have a margarine tub of prechopped cubes ready to dole out, they melt down really well into licky mushy puddles of goodness.

[crestedkeeper]

I leave teh CDG dry in the freezer.....I know some people premix their CGD and save it in condiment bottles in the fridge for a week.... I like this idea but have not tried it.

I never heard of freezing premixed diet.......

[TDKs]

Hey that's a good idea - you could have it in a squeezy bottle for easy distribution!

I'll try the delibox with him again tonight - I'll leave him in there on his own with the bugs for a while and see if he eats any. It's got ventilation slits in, so that's one less thing to worry about.

[crestedkeeper]

I know .....its a great idea!....Try just putting 1 or 2 at first....break him in slow.

[TDKs]

I picked the smallest of the lobbies - I always have a hefty supply of babies as my colony has been breeding well for about a year and a half. I'll have to let you know, as it's still too early for dinnertime! :)

[crestedkeeper]

Yes!......Please let me know how it works out....I would looove to know.

[TDKs]

Last night, he spent half an hour studiously ignoring them, even the one sat under his nose. No matter, persistence is often key with reptiles - definitely beardies.

He did however eat a lot more fruityfood when I offered him it.

[crestedkeeper]

That is def a good thing......sounds like the roaches might not work....I hope your efforts pay off.

[TDKs]

I'm trying him again this evening - I recieved my Repashy foods already!

He's just over 3" long, and weighs exactly 3grams so far. Is this reasonable for his/her size so far? I've had him just over a week and I'll keep up a weight/length diary too. (I've been playing with the scales, they're really sharp!)

[crestedkeeper]

Yes, that sounds about right......Tiny little guy...prob just hatched not to long ago.....Now with the scale you will be able to keep a good eye on the progress......

[TDKs]

He hatched 25/3 - so he's just over two months old. I'm looking forwards to him growing up, babies are very sweet and you have to be gentle and delicate with them, but the adults of most species are far more fun! They do more, say more and interact more.

When we got the youngest of our Beardies, Tsam, he was a tiny wee fella. Now we can bip him around and he comes dashing back for more! (Mind you, he is a year old and about 22" long... German Giant!)

[neep_neep]

I feed my cresties lobster roaches as well as the 2-part diet - rather than putting them in a bowl, I offer them with feeding tweezers. This way, I know for sure they have been eaten and the gecko does not have to be moved into a feeding tub :)

[TDKs]

Grand idea. I do need to get a new pair of tweezers, mine have gone missing again. Apparently "they haven't gone missing, you just don't know where they are" says Himself.