Puppy

[Jay_Bunny]

We have been wanting a crested for a while now. We had one before, a hatchling, but id died. Afterward, my fiance was very hesitant to get another but today we went to the store and the lady that worked there let us hold this gorgeous yellow dalmation female. My fiance fell in love and so we agreed to get one of the little hatchlings. The one we got is a rusty red color so we shall see how that progresses. He/she is all set up in the cage with a few dusted crickets. I'll get pics as soon as I can find my camera. Oh and his/her name is Puppy.

[mlededee]

Congrats! Now on with the pics!

[NightLad]

Congratz! I can't want to see a picture. Cute name, too!

[Jay_Bunny]

Ok, bad news. Puppy died. We don't know what of but he was dead this morning. He was out of direct sunlight. Temps were fine. We always keep the house around 75. He had pinhead crickets. All was fine, but he was dead this morning. We took him back and they exchanged him for another. Anyone know what could have caused the little guy to die?

[mlededee]

Cresteds are hardy geckos and don't tend to just die for no reason. Strip down and sterilize your enclosure and put the new gecko in a quarantine enclosure for now. Make sure he has plenty of water and is not dehydrated. Order some of this medicated food ASAP (I'd recommend expedited shipping) and treat as specified on the package: http://www.pangeareptile.com/products.htm#entfix.

The food is medicated to treat Entamoeba invadens (and also other parasites). The entamoeba parasite is extremely dangerous and fatal if not treated soon enough. Any stress (a new home included) or other weakness in the gecko can cause it to take hold and become quickly fatal. This is the most dangerous and common reason that cresteds rapidly decline and die as their systems are not able to fight this parasite the same way as they can other parasites and illnesses.

While I can't say with certainty that that is what caused Puppy to die or that your new gecko may be carrying it, you definitely want to be more safe than sorry when there is any question.

Did both geckos that died come from the same place? It is fairly sketchy that either of them died at all, but if they both came from the same place I would almost guarantee that they were carrying the entamoeba virus and encourage you to NOT to purchase any other animals from that source.

[Jay_Bunny]

They did come from the same place but the first gecko died after several months. I don't think he was eating at all and died soon after we realized it. Puppy died the night we got him. They are a good store with good animals. Other than the hatchling geckos, we've never had a problem. Puppy did hatch on Wednesday if that makes any difference. And it was hot day the day we got Puppy and the ride home was at least 30 min. The cup he came in was quite humid because of it. They made sure this new one ate before sending it home with us. Thanks for the link for the medicated food.

[mlededee]

They sold you a gecko that had just hatched the day before?!? That is NOT a sign of a good store no matter how you look at it. The stress of that alone (car ride, new home, etc.) may have been enough to kill it regardless of temps or anything else. Generally speaking cresteds should be an absolute minimum of 4 weeks old before they are sold and even then, it should be clear that they are well established and good eaters (otherwise they should be more like 6-8 weeks minimum).

With the entamoeba, sometimes it takes weekes or months to kill a crested. It all depends on the individual animal, their stress level and other factors. Not eating or not eating well is a sign that they have it. A crested will never not eat or starve itself on its own unless there is something wrong with it and any significant weight loss should be taken seriously. Other animals in this store may appear healthy but be carring the entamoeba. It just happens that it is extremely dangerous to cresteds as it is something that their systems can't deal with the way other reptiles seem to be able to.

How old is the replacement gecko you got? It is not necessarily recommended to give hatchlings the medicated food just for precautionary measures, however in this case it seems to be necessary. You may need to feed it by hand to make sure it is eating some of it, but at the same time be careful not to stress it out if this is another fresh hatchling.

[Envied Reptiles]

I didnt read the whole post, but newborn cresteds will not eat crickets reardless of size as a rule of thumb. I would start it off on crested gecko diet for a month or so then ofer insects, also make sure you list it wiht water and keep the temps down. Higher temps can be tolerated by older/ larger geckos much netter than newborns. Good luck.
Nick

[rabernet]

You only mentioned feed it crickets, but nothing about Crested Gecko Diet. Did you only offer dusted crickets and no other food?

[mlededee]

It is true that higher temperatures can be tolerated better by adults, but we are still only talking 80-85 degrees for a very short amount of time.

Also true is that hatchlings should not be given crickets right away. They should be fed CGD alone for the first few weeks. I usually start offering dusted crickets at around 3-4 weeks of age, but not all will take them that early. Any crickets not eaten after 24 hours time should be removed as they will get hungry and start to chew on your gecko.