Worried....

[.x.Lora.x.]

I bought two Cresties in March, and as they've grown we've discovered they're a girl and boy. I spoke to my local reptile shop where I bought them from and they told me that I should split them up during the winter, they suggested end of October until end of February and I'm picking up my new tank tomorrow. Both of them seem to have gone off their food, Sid (boy) turned his nose up at the crickets today and he hasn't eaten any CGD, and Sammy has just had 1 cricket and no CGD. Is this normal for this time of year? They also feel colder than I think they should...temp is 69? I've got a HabiStat thermo stat thing and I've turned it up but it doesn't seem to be doing much? Do you think I need a new heat mat? Sammy in particular is my main concern as she doesn't seem to be moving much, just curled up on her ledge Sid is very rarely away from her. I just don't know and I'm getting worried any help will be much appreciated xxx

[Hvanmi01]

I find that mine start to eat alot less then normal once it starts to get colder out. Mine also have become slightly more picky eaters the last few weeks. Give them a few days they should still eat when they are hungry just probably alot less then normal. If they stop eating altogether then you can start to be worried.

[TheOrise]

Cooler temps means slower metabolism, I would not be too concerned~ Not one of ours will eat live prey right now. The only gecko I see eating crickets or roaches is our tokay.

[leaveittoweaver]

You really shouldn't need a heat mat with them. A bulb is probably better. The heating pad really only heats the surface area and arboreal geckos don't need belly heat. 69 is a fine temp for them to be at.

As for them not eating crickets, no biggie. I have six geckos and only two out of the six will eat crickets. The rest are like "OMG NO!!! CRICKETS ARE SCARY!!" and try to get out of the feeding container.

[WickedGex]

how big is the female? id be worried that they bred and she might possibly be egg bound if shes too small...

[robeyeshua]

a cool down is ok during nov to feb - even down to 65 is fine - i agree you should not ever really need supplemental heat - unless of course your house gets below 60 - nor does a light have any value in my opinion as long as they a natural light cycle - window, etc. - they'll eat less - if you dont have one already - invest in a set of digital scales - $15 bucks - thats the only way to really know - please correct me fellow posters if i've given bad advice

[.x.Lora.x.]

thanks for all ur answers im tryin them on different flavours of CGD (tryin strawberry tonight) but i give them fruit once a week as a treat so thr deffo eatin somethin. just a bit worried about the temperatures atm as they don't seem to have changed at all for a while...so looking at getting some digital thermo n hygrometers. lookin at digital scales too, thanks everyone!!

ps. im gettin a leo a week today so will post some pics of her then xxx

[Spyral]

thanks for all ur answers im tryin them on different flavours of CGD (tryin strawberry tonight) but i give them fruit once a week as a treat so thr deffo eatin somethin. just a bit worried about the temperatures atm as they don't seem to have changed at all for a while...so looking at getting some digital thermo n hygrometers. lookin at digital scales too, thanks everyone!!

They might be holding out for the fruit instead of the CGD. I'd offer it every OTHER week or even monthly, depending on the fruit. Cresties don't eat every night, so if they eat only 4 times a week, and one of those is unsupplemented fruit, that's 25% of their diet consisting of treats, more if they are holding out for the fruit. Generally you want no more than 10%.

Good luck!

[.x.Lora.x.]

ooh thnx for that, il try tht i giv them banana? but i kno its very sugary. they're turnin thr noses up at crickets now so not gunna buy anymore until feb time for them. but they'll eat the CGD if thr hungry so i shudnt worry too much