finding their food

[Kagez28]

i just got my little guy yesterday. i had his tank all set up, but decided to lay it like a normal tank since he is so young. i was just wondering about how cresties find their food. i put his CGD in a 2 oz disposable plastic cup on the floor of the tank. he hasn't seem to notice it. i haven't been watching him 24/7 so i really don't know if he has eaten. i fed him some crickets and he munched them down. do you think a 10 gal tank to two big for a 2-3 month old?

i was also wondering how much CGD you use. i did 2 teaspoons of water and a teaspoon of diet. it looked like a lot. how long do you leave it in there?

i will have some pictures up after he settles a little and starts eating.

[mlededee]

10 gallons is pretty big for a little one, but if he is finding his food okay it should work. sounds like finding crickets isn't a problem so far. you may have to show him is cgd dish or put it close to a favorite hide spot so that he can't miss it. do you know if he was previously fed cgd? if so that will make it a lot easier and he should eat it on his own. he may not eat it for the first few days while he settles in. don't offer and more crickets for several days and see if he starts eating the cgd. their stomachs are pretty small so you probably mixed way more food than he will be able to eat. just enough to cover the bottom of that sized cup is plenty. leave it in the cage for 48 hours or until it molds or dries up. can't wait for pics!

[Kagez28]

yea looks like a little too much. i will let him find it and if he doesn't i will help him out.

how long should i let him get settled in till i handle him a little? that will be when pictures will be taken.

his name is grendel...

[mlededee]

i usually let mine settle in for 3-4 days. after that if they aren't eating well on their own i take them out every few days just to dab some cgd on their noses so they will lick it off, at which point i hold up a little spoon with more in it--they usually get the hang of that pretty fast and slurp it up out of the spoon.

EDIT: and if they are eating well after the first week or so then i get them out for short handling sessions if they are jumpy, which we work up to longer times. if not jumpy you can do longer from the start.

[Kagez28]

yea jumpy is the word... i had grendel out when i was putting him in his cage from the temp box i brought him home in and it has like he was trying out for the olympics. from hand to hand, taking a little break, then right back to jumping. finally i got him to jump on to the vine in the tank.

also i don't know if i mentioned it before, but he is 4 months old, i just spoke with the breeder. and he was feeding on baby roaches i think called nymphs or something. but he seemed to enjoy the crickets and those are easier to get so thats what i am going to stick with a couple times a week.