Feeding

[greenmonkey51]

I got my trio of cresties today. The breeder was feeding CGD diet 5 days a week and crickets once. I was wondering how I should feed the diet. Should I just place it in a small ceramic bowl on the floor of the cage. Will they naturally come down and find it. Also what about crickets should I put them on the cage bottom and they'll come down or should I put them up in the climbing structure.

[mlededee]

put the food dish on the ground and they should find it on their own. they are pretty active at night and they can use their sense of smell to find the cgd as well. you can also just drop the crickets onto the cage floor--they should run right down and grab them up with no problem.

[greenmonkey51]

So with the CGD should just make some fresh every day or let it sit for 2 days unless its moldy. Also how do you make it right. I made some but its not geled.

[mlededee]

i feed on approximately this schedule:
monday: cgd
tuesday: leftover cgd still in cage from monday
wednesday: crickets
thursday: no food
friday: cgd
saturday: leftover cgd from friday
sunday: crickets or no food

to make the cgd you mix 1 part cgd to 2 parts water. it is pretty runny but thickens up some after a while. i like to add a little bit of non-fat plain yogurt to mine in place of some of the water. that makes the consistency better and keeps it from drying out so quickly.

[greenmonkey51]

I made 2 batches so for of the CGD and both were really runny. For some reason I cant get it to gel right. I followed the directions. 1tsp CGD and 2 tsp of water. Also I cant tell if there even eating it. Is this normal. Could I make some and place a drop of it on there nose and let them lick it off.

[mlededee]

if you want to you can put slightly less water in it and see how that does for you. you can put some on their noses and let them lick it off it you want--it is a good way to get them used to you. if the breeder you got them from says that they eat the cgd then most likely you should have no problems getting them to eat it for you, sometimes you just can't tell if they are eating it or not because they don't eat very much of it, especially when they are young.

[greenmonkey51]

Is there anyway to tell if there eating beside poop. Im just concerned since I've never seen one of them come down to the food.

[mlededee]

you can mix just a little bit of the cgd and spread it very thiny into a shallow dish-something like a cap or lid. if you see dents in it you will know they have eaten some. they may not eat much for the first few days though while they are settling in and getting used to their new surroundings.

[greenmonkey51]

I still have yet to see any of them feed yet, is it too soon to start worrying. I did handle 2 of them today and put some of the CGD on there nose, One ate a little and the other didn't. The one that didn't though is starting to shed.

[mlededee]

have you given them any crickets yet? you can try a few crickets to jump start their appetite if you want to. just keep putting the cgd on their noses too. eventually they'll get it. what are your temps? if it is significantly cooler in their new enclosure than in their old one they may slow down a little but they won't stop eating altogether.