What do you feed?

What do you feed your cresties? or what do you suggest? We just got ours last night and my fiancee grabbed 2 different 'vit-all' dusting products that have the necessary vitamins in them, but I was wondering if there was something better or suggested to use. I have read about the T-rex stuff. Would you feed them on a diet of just that? If you feed insects, do you feed crickets or mealworms? Does anyone have any experience with Repashy? I am trying to figure out what is the easiest cause if I can keep from having to constantly dust crickets every day then that would be the preferred method. Any other input would be nice too :gj:

I feed the Repashy diet almost exclusively. Since it is a balanced diet, I only give them crix as a treat maybe once month. I like it because it's just WAY easier than all those bugs. I don't believe that feeding exclusively crickets is healthy for them. Mealworms are a step below crickets in nutrition since it's difficult for them to digest them and extract any nutrient from underneath that hard shell.

according to cresetedgeckosandsupplies.com it says to do stuff like repashy 2-3 times a week and crix 1-2 times a week. I'm trying to talk my finacee into going all repashy but that's not happening. do you do the complete meal or the 2-part so they get some flavor?

EDIT: also, what size of repashy do you get? How many cresties do you have? How long do you think the 8oz. pack would last with 2 cresties feeding 3 times a week on it?

I'm a relative crestie newbie, but I'll toss in my .02. I do almost exclusively Repashy here, too. Great stuff. I have and have used both the ready mix and the two part. The ready mix is already flavored, but the two part allows you to try the Repashy with other flavors. For me, the two part has been a pain to use compared to the other. It's measured via weight rather than equal parts. You could always give them some fruit puree as a treat now and then if you'd like. My guys had a couple licks of some homemade pureed papaya last night and loved it. Just steer clear of the baby food - nothing but sugar.

On the rare occasions when I do give crickets, they're gutloaded with the Repashy gutload and dusted with their calcium powder. Dr. Repashy has done some extensive research into the diets of these creatures and you can get everything you need in one swoop from them.

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Originally Posted by Little B-Py

according to cresetedgeckosandsupplies.com it says to do stuff like repashy 2-3 times a week and crix 1-2 times a week. I'm trying to talk my finacee into going all repashy but that's not happening. do you do the complete meal or the 2-part so they get some flavor?

EDIT: also, what size of repashy do you get? How many cresties do you have? How long do you think the 8oz. pack would last with 2 cresties feeding 3 times a week on it?

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I've not read that site, but according to Repashy's site the diet is completely balanced so as to eliminate the use of crickets. http://www.superfoods.repashy.com/foods_MRP_Crested.htm

Since it is a balanced meal, I don't like to add much of anything else since it may lead to them preferring that food and holding out from eating their 'balanced diet'. Anyway, that's my preference but I'm am soooo not a expert on cresties. (I do the complete meal)

I feed 5 cresties, one of which is a baby, and I buy the 1.75 oz bottle. It takes me some time to go through it, maybe a month or so and I prefer the smaller bottles so that the diet doesn't go bad and stays as fresh as possible.

thanks for the info, i'll try and talk her into getting some and using it along with crix.

Your very welcome. :D

tigerlily, from the site you sent me to, where do you order your stuff from?

I feed baby food with herptivite vitamin powder mixed in, and crickets.

I would rather feed Repashy, but I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to the stuff when I breathed in a bit of it, and don't feel comfortable having it around.

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Originally Posted by halfwaynowhere

I would rather feed Repashy, but I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to the stuff when I breathed in a bit of it, and don't feel comfortable having it around.

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Eek, that's no good.

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Originally Posted by Little B-Py

tigerlily, from the site you sent me to, where do you order your stuff from?

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I just get mine from the local pet store.

You NEED to feed the Repashy diet unless you are able to create a mixture on your own that contains the same nutritional content by mixing fruits, vitamins, pollens, etc.--which is extremely not worth the time, money and effort involved and also not likely to come out being nearly as nutritionally complete as the Repashy diet which has been perfected over years of research and testing.

I prefer the one part, complete Repashy diet as it is easier and my geckos have no problems eating it. If your local pet store (PetSmart/Petco/etc.) doesn't not carry it you can order it here and will only need the smallest bag for 2 geckos: http://www.pangeareptile.com/products.htm.

You should mainly feed the Repashy diet, but can supplement with insects once or twice per week (I prefer once per week max, so that the geckos do not get spoiled and stop eating the CGD while holding out for insects). Dusted crickets, feeder roaches, silkworms and phoenix worms are all good insect choices. Mealworms and superworms and not good food sources as they serve mainly as filler because cresteds cannot digets their chitinous shells, thus they get very little nutritional benefit from them. Wax worms are not a good choice because they are very high in fat. Do note, that insects are not best fed on loose substrates--papertowels are best if you plan to feed insects unless you hand feed them or feed in a separate enclosure (not all geckos will actually eat in a separate enclosure due to the stress/distraction of being moved into an unfamiliar area).

Never feed baby food as it is very high in sugar, but you can occasionally make your own fruit mix as a treat. Good fruits to use for this are strawberries, mangos, bananas, peaches, apricots and watermelon, but never use any type of citrus fruit as cresteds cannot handle citric acid. You can blend up your fruits into a smoothie with a small amount of fat free, sugar free vanilla yogurt, some CGD and water for consistency if necessary and you can even add some insects if you don't mind putting them in the blender. Your friends will never know on margarita night anyhow. :D

CGD is mainly what I feed http://www.pangeareptile.com/products.htm#supplements

I hate dealing with crickets so the only times my cresties get them is prior to me going out of town. (the week before)

I feed Repashy 90% of the time if I wanted to put a percentage on it. I buy crickets once per month when I visit petsmart, I get roughly 24 crickets and I usually feed crickets every other day until they are gone, only because I dont want to waste the crickets...

I dust them with repashy calcium plus.

Now I will admit that I didnt want to feed crickets either at first....but now that I have I can honestly say that my skylar has blossomed alot quicker by eating occasional crickets.

Now that I have two geckos, I dont have to feed the crickets as many days as before because Im still only going to buy one box of crickets.

I get my repashy stuff from pangea.... I bought a 1/2 lb bag of food of the 1 part mix (the 2 part stuff my brain cant comprehend yet lol)

and that bag is still over half full and my 1st gecko I got back in Oct. 08 and my 2nd one Feb 09. So it pays to get the bags instead of the little bottles.

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Originally Posted by sweetcheeks

and that bag is still over half full and my 1st gecko I got back in Oct. 08 and my 2nd one Feb 09. So it pays to get the bags instead of the little bottles.

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I don't think the food has a shelf life longer than a couple months once open. I would seriously consider throwing it out and getting a fresh bag, and then freezing a portion of it.

Two quick notes for you sweetcheeks. :)

1. If you are buying those boxes of crickets that have the food in them you can put the opened box in a small kritter keeper (or dump the contents and toss the box) and the crickets will stay alive for up to about 2 weeks or so as long as the moisture block part of the food does not dry up. This will allow you to space out the insect feedings rather than feeding so many at once.

2. The Repashy diet will last for a few months if well sealed, but if you are wanting to keep it for longer it will stay fresh for up to 6 months in the refridgerator. After 6 months in the refridgerator any unused food should be thrown away and replaced with fresh food.

I do have a homemade critter keeper lol But I also find that if I keep them too long they get "too big" for the cresties to eat. When they become adults this probably wont be a problem.

I do keep mine sealed and in the fridge. I already knew that and that it lasts for 6 months and should be tossed :P I just dont like the bottles and prefer the bags. Its easier for me instead of having to continue to go to the store and buy bottles.

I also feed pretty much exclusively CGD. I give insects occassionally as treats to those who like it. but havent had a problem with CGD

Well when Ash gets paid i'll talk her into getting the 4oz bag of repashy. I think she is already convinced, we just don't have the cash to spare at this point. We had them out last night and fed them crickets off our kitchen table and they ate like they had never eaten before. lol. I read that moving them would possibly stress them out, well not them. BTW, they are dusted with Vit-all which has all the right nutrients in them. Here are some shots.

(sorry if some are blurry, my camera doesn't have the best macro)

Flametail
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...51_2630420.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...57_1118252.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...59_2642502.jpg

Couldn't help myself with this one...
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...63_6915306.jpg

The only one I could get of Nuala
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...762_712763.jpg

Also, when you feed crickets, how many do you typically feed? Until they won't eat anymore or a certain number? I ask because I think Flametail had like 6 and Nuala had 3 or 4.

I normally feed as many as they will eat in one sitting or anywhere between 4-6 or so. Some geckos will eat more some less, but 6-8 is plenty for one feeding, just depending on the size of the crickets you are feeding. It looks like the size you are feeding is just right, so really 6 should be about the max.

Sweet. Thanks! It was so funny watching them because Flametail wouldn't eat them off the table so Ash would hold one and he would stare at it, turn his head, then strike. It had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

I feed just the Repashy and my cresties are growing like weeds. Oh and my fiance can't be around the Repashy because if she breathes it in, her allergies kick her butt big time. It's all the pollen in it I think.

Repashy's CGD is the best choice. Adding crickets or roaches will not hurt anything but isnt necessary either. They also will grow faster when feed live feeder insects on occasion.

Well I ordered repashy last week so it should be here this week. I was thinking feeding them that every other day and crickets every third day. Would that be fine for them?