How often to feed baby crickets?

**raiderchick** · 01-27-2011, 05:00 PM

I got a small crested gecko. I know the rule, if he's pooping he's eating. But I didn't see any poop and he looked thinner than when I bought him. I'd been offering CGD mixed with babyfood. So today I called where I got him and the girl said she had two at home and she fed them crickets and babyfood. So I went and bought 4 small pinhead crickets and dusted them with calcium+D3 and alittle CGD and he ate them right up. He liked to jump at them. I was wondering how often to feed him crickets dusted and if that's the right stuff to use to dust them. Can he only eat crickets and no CGD? However I will continue to offer it in his tank.

**JoseDepacos** · 01-27-2011, 05:20 PM

A gecko will not starve itself. You should not offer just crickets and if you give them too often it will hold out for crickets and not eat CGD. You should keep CGD in the enclosure all the time and only offer crickets once every two weeks or less until the gecko starts eating CGD regularly. NEVER feed baby food. CGD is properly balanced and offers everything a gecko needs to stay healthy. They require nothing else in addition to CGD if you so choose. I recommend you leave it in the enclosure and change it out for fresh every two to three days. Some geckos wont touch it till its a bit "ripe". If you recently aquired this gecko it will take time for it to become accustomed to its new surroundings. In this time it may not eat till it feels comfortable. This may take up to a week or even more in some cases. Be patient.

**Talkenlate04** · 01-27-2011, 08:22 PM

You got a lot of answers about feeding in your thread from a few days ago already...............

http://www.pangeareptile.com/forums/...ad.php?t=45801

Can he only eat crickets and no CGD?

No it cannot just eat crickets. You need to feed mostly cgd and use crickets as a once in a while treat. My guys get them maybe once every other week or less but never more than once a week.

But I didn't see any poop and he looked thinner than when I bought him.

You need to buy a scale so you can weigh the gecko. They sell them on this site and they work well. I say you need one because you are only speculating that it looks thinner, you don't actually know it is thinner, after all you have only had it 6 days and you don't know what the starting weight was.
Plus 6 days is barely enough time for it to settle into its new home and get comfortable. I say at this point you are over reacting and need to follow the advice you have already been given at this point.

**JoseDepacos** · 01-27-2011, 08:51 PM

Didnt realize that I was answering the same questions by the same person from another thread. I shoulda looked first. Thanks for pointing that out.

**Jayne** · 01-27-2011, 10:15 PM

You should dust with a calcium powder designed for dusting crickets. You can dust with CGD to try to get them used to eating CGD, but CGD is the right balance all by itself. Crickets aren't, so you need something that makes up for that balance. That means, something that has more of what the crickets are missing.