Rescued Crested, Need Advice!

[blackcrystal22]

I received this young crested as a rescue. It appears very malnourished and doesn't respond well to CGD at all. I've been trying to hand feed her since she won't eat it on her own and she puts her head up after a few drops, opens her mouth, and shakes her head violently.

I can't get very much CGD in her because of this. She will also spray majority of what I hand fed her out of her mouth.

I'm frustrated and sad. She looks too thin and like her eyes are sunken in. She doesn't seem entirely weak or ill so I'm hoping she'll pull through. Is there anything I can do to get some sufficient food in her?

[PrettyInInk87]

To start, you can try giving her Banana baby food. It's not the best for them (sort of like Mcdonalds for us) but it should at least get her started... When and if you notice she eats the baby food try mixing the CGD in little by little, add more as the days go by. Do it very slowly until finally there is only CGD in the dish. My Crested refused to eat CGD when I first got him and now that is all he eats along with a few Crickets a week. You can also try those but just make sure you dust them accordingly. Not sure if you know this but these little guys don't drink from dishes, they lap water dropplets off of leaves and the glass so misting a bit extra would be a great way to get her hydrated. Another thing you can try is providing her with a constant water drip from a dripper... Hope I helped!

[blackcrystal22]

All of my cresteds get misted 2-3 times a day.

Would fresh mashed banana work? I really don't like the junk they put in baby food.

[reptile65]

Not sure if you know this but these little guys don't drink from dishes, they lap water dropplets off of leaves and the glass so misting a bit extra would be a great way to get her hydrated. Another thing you can try is providing her with a constant water drip from a dripper

Not necessarily. I provide all of my cresties with a water dish. This is so that they can drink even if there aren't fresh water droplets available on the leaves/glass. I'm not saying misting isn't necessary, because it definitely is. I'm just saying that it's a good idea to still provide them with a shallow dish of water.

[dr del]

Hi,

I thought bananna was bad because it binds with calcium so should only be given as a treat?


dr del

[Homegrownscales]

Thats correct. Banana has a high source of phosphorus. Phos in high quantities binds with calcium rendering it unusable and the calcium is then wasted. Papaya, and other fruits like strawberry, and mango are better as a staple. But I highly recommend using the repashy mrp food. Only water needed and it's a balanced Meal.

Edit- she is shaking her head violently when you are dropping the mrp in because it's going into her glottis. The glottis is located in their mouth right behind the tongue, that is her airway. It's imperative that you stop Just dripping the mrp into her mouth. She is essentially breathing the mrp in. The shaking is her trying to get it out of her glottis so she can breathe. If you want to continue to assist feed. You need to put the syringe into her mouth all the way in back and then drip it down into her throat. Or else she will essentially drowned in the mrp. Another good technique that works well is to drip it right on their nose and let them lick it off. Don't worry if it gets in her nostrils those are only holes in their heads so they don't have to breathe with their mouths open. The important hole is their glottis which is in the mouth.

Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[blackcrystal22]

Thats correct. Banana has a high source of phosphorus. Phos in high quantities binds with calcium rendering it unusable and the calcium is then wasted. Papaya, and other fruits like strawberry, and mango are better as a staple. But I highly recommend using the repashy mrp food. Only water needed and it's a balanced Meal.

Edit- she is shaking her head violently when you are dropping the mrp in because it's going into her glottis. The glottis is located in their mouth right behind the tongue, that is her airway. It's imperative that you stop Just dripping the mrp into her mouth. She is essentially breathing the mrp in. The shaking is her trying to get it out of her glottis so she can breathe. If you want to continue to assist feed. You need to put the syringe into her mouth all the way in back and then drip it down into her throat. Or else she will essentially drowned in the mrp. Another good technique that works well is to drip it right on their nose and let them lick it off. Don't worry if it gets in her nostrils those are only holes in their heads so they don't have to breathe with their mouths open. The important hole is their glottis which is in the mouth.

Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

I'm not dropping it into her mouth. I'm placing a small amount on her nose in between her nostrils and letting her lick it off. She still shakes her head violently. I have only been using the Repashy CGD and she will not eat it on her own and I can hardly get her to eat any with hand feeding.

[mlededee]

If her eyes are sunken in she is dehydrated. She is probably also malnourished and calcium deficient. Soak her in a deli cup with very wet paper towels for several hours and then mist her often and provide a water dish until the dehydration improves. You can soak her once or twice per day if her eyes don't quickly return to normal.

Continue to hand feed her by placing drops of CGD on her nose and letting her lick it off. Sometimes they shake their heads to get the food out of their mouths if they do not like the taste of it, but keep trying because she may start to eat it after a few tries. You could mix it with some organic fruit baby food to start if you have to in order to get her to eat more readily. Try to get an organic baby food that does not have any sugar added (and don't use anything that has citrus in it--I might try peach). I would add a very small amount of the baby food to the CGD mix and see if that helps--the less the better but you can add more if needed and then wean her back off of it. It is important that she get the nutrients from the CGD, so you want as much of it in the mix as possible.

[DC Reptiles]

with the cresteds i owned, they really liked peach and fig, I would give one of those a shot, peach really seemed to work when I had one that was just not switching as easily to the MRP. Good luck and can't wait to see some pics once its back upto par

[PrettyInInk87]

Just thought i'd throw banana out there since they love it so much and it would AT LEAST get her started on eating something, never as a staple and as said, only as a treat once she starts eating. I have a CGD that is banana flavored so maybe you can even try that out... They also have other flavors.

I'd have to say that I prefer misting and a dripping system over having a water dish in the enclosure. They spend most of their time up high, poop can, and will get into the dish easily... They can harbor harmful bacteria and get your gecko sick if they do decide to take a drink from it. This is jusy me and is something i'd rather not risk, also beats having to worry about cleaning another water dish daily. Another idea is to use a small medicine type dripper and slowly drip water onto her "lips" and maybe it'll trigger her drinking response.