# Lizards > Rhacodactylus Geckos >  I got my first Crested!!!

## ADEE

finally!! pics and info to come shortly

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## mlededee

congrats, but we're going to need more information!  :Razz:

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## Freakie_frog

Yea!!!! congrats.. But you can't leave us hanging like this...... PICSSSSS

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## ADEE

Lol.. i know im working on it. i wanted to weigh "him" but i want to also get him settled in his enclosure. I got him from BenSiegels (a nono i know) .. heres how it happened. my husband has known i wanted one, for quite some time actually. There is an expo coming to our town this Sunday and I gave him the heads up that if they had any i would most certainly want one. He okayed it. Well I got ahold of the people who run the expo and they said there would be no breeders/suppliers with the cresteds going.. so of course I called my husband back pouting that I wouldnt get my dream reptile.. he told me to call up Bens and see if they had any.. so i made the 30minute drive up there and they had a handful of different ones ranging from hatching up. When I got there they actually took the hatchling to the back cause it didnt "look good" and handed me this tiny other baby that was terribly skinney. I told them I didnt want one that small and asked to see whatelse they had. she came back with two more a bit bigger and i reached right out at the one in her right hand and held it (LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT) she asked if i wanted to see the other one and i replied "nope this is the one"... thus my first crested. "He" only cost me $40... really inexpensive compared to other places here local. Hes a bit underweight (IMO) and she told me all they were feeding it were crickets and baby food (a regular staple ive read) well i picked up "sandfire super foods" crested gecko diet by t-rex for him.. so when should i put some food in there for him? Also, should i mist the leaves now or later? i feel as though with all the research i have done my brain just went to moosh!

also, hes gonna need a name too.. any clever ideas?

pics to come in a moment

also, "hes" awfully red on his belly/throat is that typical or just his color?

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## ADEE

ok, so "he" weighs .04g I weighed "him" inside the container he came in and then weighed the container empty.. so thats what "he" is.. told you tiny!

on with the pics

festive for fall..

i think "his" little flecks are adorable

teeny tiny


my fav pic!


"he" is really jumpy is that typical? do they calm down eventually?

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## Freakie_frog

WEEEEEEE Creaties.....

Looks like a cute little gipper

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## ladywhipple02

Yeah, the little ones are jumpy... but he'll calm down with some handling and with age.


Looks like the coloring on the belly and throat is normal... he looks like a light creamy harly to me, but who knows? He may fire up and get real dark, lol.

Yay for sticky feet!!!

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## mlededee

holy cow--.04 grams? and they had ones that were smaller?!? (okay, i'm just going to go ahead and contain myself and not have my head explode onto your nice pretty thread.)

so anyhow, go ahead and put some of the cgd in for him now and mist his enclosure well. you may have to hand feed him the cgd to get him to take it at first since he is used to baby food. go very light on cricket feedings for the first few weeks so that he can get used to eating the cgd and not rely on crickets for food as they don't contain all of the nutrients he needs.

consider putting him in a small or medium kritter keeper for now, especially while you are getting him established on cgd. he is very little and will need all the help he can get finding his food.

the red on his chin and belly is referred to as blushing and is common in cresteds. when he fires up it likely gets much darker/brighter red.

hatchlings are jumpy but they do calm down with regular handling (and hand feeding), however i recommend not handling too much until they are 2-3 months old. before that they are more delicate and tend to leap out into nothingness (which means they may hit the floor hard) out of fear and just plain hatchling jumpiness.

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## mlededee

oh and one more thing-he is CUTE!  :Razz:   :Very Happy:

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## ADEE

thank you emily that was very helpful i will go ahead and move him over now into a considerably smaller enclosure. i was just looking at him going, wow im never going to see him in that huge thing lol. he is TINY and yes, the one they showed me first was CONSIDERABLY SMALLER.. and the other one they took away that didnt "look good" was so small it wasnt funny. im glad then i took the bigger of the group.

would it be better to mix his food powder with baby food for now? i have a baby who had left over jars so that wouldnt be a problem. do i hold the bottle cap in front of him or place him in front of the cap? should i try to hold him while i feed him?

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## Kristy

Congrats, he is a little cutie  :Very Happy:   Just wait you will have many many more lol. 

I Love the fall colors in the cage too thats awesome.

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## ADEE

> Congrats, he is a little cutie   Just wait you will have many many more lol. 
> 
> I Love the fall colors in the cage too thats awesome.


thanks lol.. i did a fall photo shoot with my kids and the pet rats and had the leaves laying around  :Wink:  once fall is over ill most likely trash them. i am looking forward to this baby getting bigger and eventually adding to our group


emily, perhaps he was so inexpensive due to his size? they wanted $35 for the small one they showed me first (not the bad looking hatchling)

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## mlededee

don't mix the cgd with baby food for now. he may eat it fine by itself with a little encouragement. what i do is mix some up and use a small baby sized spoon to feed them out of. get him out and let him sit on the edge of the kritter keeper. while he is sitting there hold the spoon up and dab a little of the food onto his nose. when he starts to lick it off keep holding the spoon there so he can lick more out of the spoon. the first time or two that you try this he might want nothing to do with it, but usually by the second or third time they start to understand that you are giving them food. it will be a little messy and he will jump into the spoon, so be prepared.  :Razz: 

he was probably inexpensive because of his size and because he was probably purchased wholesale in a large group of hatchlings. people that sell cresteds (and other reptiles) that way aren't looking to grow the gecko up for a few months and then sell it based on its individual color, morph, quality or genetics--its more about moving large numbers of animals.

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## ADEE

Ok, I will give that a try with the cgd and see how it goes. i do know they are looking to move critters but usually (Even petco) sells them for upwards of $50 I do have a 7day guarentee on it so we will see how it goes. Whats sad is there was someone there asking how difficult it was to care for them (asking the sales girl) and she said it can be easy, they went on to ask what they eat and she replied "crickets and baby food" i rolled my eyes   :Mad:  and spoke up, it depends who you talk to they should be on a proper diet and it doesnt mean they have to eat crickets. she wasnt pleased with that answer i could tell by the look on her face, she just exclaimed back "yeah depends who you talk to" real nice! anyway.. the little baby is in the critter keeper.. it is however a mini.. is that too small? i can always run out and get one slightly larger.

thanks so much!!!


update: i did give him a bit of that cgd and he had a couple licks but was uninterested after that and started flicking his tail (guess thats a mad sign?) i left him alone now with a cap of food and cap of water, i dont want him to get too stressed out

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## mlededee

depends on who you talk to? how about the herpetologists who brought the first cresteds to the US from new caledonia and have since become the top crested and rhac breeders in the world? i guess they wouldn't know, now would they?  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  

anyhoo, i use small kritter keepers for pairs of hatchlings (granted they aren't as small as yours). i think the mini will do for now, but next time you go out pick up a small--he should be fine in that for the next several months.

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## ADEE

wow, next several months?! it will honestly be that long before he can move into a 10gal wow should i turn it upright?

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## mlededee

> update: i did give him a bit of that cgd and he had a couple licks but was uninterested after that and started flicking his tail (guess thats a mad sign?) i left him alone now with a cap of food and cap of water, i dont want him to get too stressed out


a couple of licks is good! a lot of times the first time you try to give it to them they just want to jump all over and will shake their heads to get it out of their mouth if they do lick some up. tail waving or flicking is a sign that they are irritated, so best that you put him back after that. since he did have a few licks i'd leave him be for the rest of today and try a little more hand feeding tomorrow.

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## ADEE

> (granted they aren't as small as yours.


is he really that small or is it that hes severely underweight? i cant believe if hes that young... i cant begin to imagine how old the others were!

as far as the tail flicking, i figured that was a defensive move on his part. glad i put him back, he has also opened his mouth at me a couple times so leaving him alone at this point was certainly the plan lol..how long before i should fuss with him again, is it the same with snakes?

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## mlededee

> wow, next several months?! it will honestly be that long before he can move into a 10gal wow should i turn it upright?


if he starts eating well and growing you can put him in the 10 gallon turned horizontally when he's 3-4 months old, just watch that he finds his food okay once you move him. at 6-8 months you can probably turn it vertically.

EDIT: some people start their cresteds in 10 gallon tanks and it works fine, i just prefer to use something smaller so i can better monitor them and know that they are getting enough food.

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## ADEE

thanks emily for all your help, i did want to add your critters (snakes, kitty, cresteds, exc) are absolutly beautiful!! i cant get over your balls and cresteds.

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## mlededee

> is he really that small or is it that hes severely underweight? i cant believe if hes that young... i cant begin to imagine how old the others were!


he doesn't look malnourished or anything so he likely hatched out on the small side. if his mother has been allowed to lay for too long her body may be getting depleted, thus smaller eggs and smaller babies. cresteds usually hatch out at 1-2 grams (2 being more on the healthy/normal end). the only times i've hatched cresteds smaller than that was when  1. it was the female's first clutch and the eggs were smaller than normal. when the babies hatched out they were smaller than normal too, but with a little extra hand feeding and nurturing they did fine. 2. a baby hatched a week early for unknown reasons and just wasn't quite as big as it should have been. same thing here--a little hand feeding and love and he is doing just fine.  :Smile: 




> as far as the tail flicking, i figured that was a defensive move on his part. glad i put him back, he has also opened his mouth at me a couple times so leaving him alone at this point was certainly the plan lol..how long before i should fuss with him again, is it the same with snakes?


oh yeah, he was really trying to scare you off!  :Razz:  cresteds don't need as much of a settling in period as snakes do--i usually recommend at least 3-4 days before handling but since this little one is so small i'd go ahead and hand feed him at least every other day for now.

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## mlededee

> thanks emily for all your help, i did want to add your critters (snakes, kitty, cresteds, exc) are absolutly beautiful!! i cant get over your balls and cresteds.


no problem at all on the help and thanks for the compliment!   :Sunny:

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## ADEE

wow, thank you thank you!! 

so anyway to know (more like guess) his approx age? I will go ahead and try to handfeed every other day as suggested. 
do i leave food in there otherwise full time?

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## mlededee

i'd guess he is under a month old, maybe 3 weeks or so. he's lost his hatchling color so he has to be over 2 weeks old.

yes, leave food for him at all times right now and hand feed every other day. once he starts eating well on his own you can stop hand feeding--this could take as little as one week or as much as one-two months so just play it by ear.

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## ADEE

what are these hammocks some people have? are they recommended (not for now obviously) but for the future.

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## Kristy

Did someone say hammocks?

They are repti hammocks and my cresties all have one, they all use them. reptilesupply.com has them pretty cheap. I can post pics of mine if you'd like, but I don't want to hi jack your thread so I will leave that up to you  :Very Happy:  

Emily has helped me in a few situations, couldn't get better rhac advice  :Rock on:

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## mlededee

i think this is what you are talking about**: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...amily&keepsr=1. 

those are fine--they make nice perches and climbing areas. my husband has one in his anole's cage and i don't think he ever leaves it except to eat.  :Razz:

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## ADEE

awesome, might have to invest  :Very Happy:  and i dont mind hijacking lol.. im guilty of it. ill have to pick up a hammock eventually.

oh i have new pics too!! ill have to put them here too.. the one as my avatar is one

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## Kristy

I will just one for you, can't seem to find the rest. Plus my avatar is one of mine too.


They really love it when there is some sort of cover, like fake plants on top of the hammock.

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## ADEE

great pic, tfs that does look super neat and easy to keep clean

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## Kristy

Thanks, they are made of plastic so they are super easy to clean. Thats a big plus. I wanted to try out the arboreal water dishes that are like the hammocks but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

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## ADEE

admiring his reflection lol thats one handsome devil i tell ya

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## Kristy

Aww he is so teeny. I love the red, and the little spots on his face. Just wait until the first time you see him chasing water droplets running down the tank. Its hilarious.

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## ADEE

awe that will be fun lol... do they usually have spots on their bodies? i still have to come up with a good clever name for "it"

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## Kristy

Some do some don't just depends. Some people breed just for the dalmation spots. There are dalmations, then there are super dalmations. Not sure how they are classified though.

I have one female that has a few spots on her, some are red and some are black. Kinda neat.

I am horrible at naming animals lol The rule here is the hubby always names any new animals that arrive. He was so proud of himself when he named my first crestie post it.

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## ADEE

lol.. like the postit note haha... well here is what we have at our house

all are rats...
remy
dolly
lani
luna
duncan
belle
fawn
jeeter
kitty

so we have quite an array of names here.. im taking my time naming this little one, i wish i could hold "him" more lol. perhaps ill just call "him" dollar, for no reason other than i think its a cool name

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## Laooda

What a bitty baby!   :Embarassed:    Congrats on "him".......  lol   There's an amazing support team here.....  Emily has walked me through, um....  well, ALOT!    :Razz:  


Keep the pix a comin'!    :Sunny:

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## python.princess

so, i've been wanting a crestie since the first time i saw one in petco and after reading this thread.... well.... let's just say i wanna hurry up and move so i have more space! 

ps... what a cutie!!!

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## ADEE

well, we have decided to name this baby hallo! (like halloween) we went to the expo today and there were some niiice looking cresteds there, much larger too. hallo is still sort of laying around, is that typical? hes kinda moody too. i put a couple 1/4" crickets in there and he seems totally uninterested..

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## mlededee

he should be active at night and sleeping during the day. he is moody probably because he is feeling defensive--a new home, new food, new big possible predator watching him, etc. i wouldn't give crickets for now--they will likely only stress him further as he tries to settle in. has he eaten any cgd on his own that you can tell?

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## ADEE

not that i can tell.. there was quite a bit missing this morning but im not certain if that was cause of evaporation or actually it being "eaten", i remade the food this morning and put it back in there.. since your last post i took the crickets out. i did move him into a more appropriate enclosure, hes in one of those clear kritter keeper type things but this is a bit different ...dang i wish i didnt throw the tags away. anyway its a bit bigger than the mini critter keeper but not as big as the 10gal.. in fact its about 1/3 the size of the 10gal. hes been lurking in the leaves the whole time but we did just mist and we saw him lick a couple droplets. thank you for the help

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## ADEE

theres a new pic too  :Smile:

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## mlededee

aaw, he's so cute. he's having to adjust to a lot right now so he might mostly hide for a few days. the new enclosure sounds fine.

the cgd doesn't really evaporate much so if there was a noticeable amount missing it should be because he ate it (yeah!  :Smile:  ).

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## ADEE

ok then... if it doesnt evap then yes he ate a considerable amount, yipee! i think hes cute too  :Very Happy:  my hubby got to hold the big ones today at the expo (i did too) and i think he really liked them, even commented on their sticky toes hehe  :Smile:  hes so awesome i cant wait till he gets a bit bigger and i can hold him without fearing him dying (at this point im scared he will from stress, exc which is why ive been taking through the tank pics)

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