Homemade gut load...

Welcome to Ciliatus, and welcome to your new addiction!!

Your baby isn't too small for crickets as long as you get the right size!

The slow growth is normal for cresties, although some people think it's due to the CGD. Trust me-they'll hit a growth spurt, and you'll be amazed at who fast they grow!!

No matter how small the gecko is, the rule of thumb for live feeders is-never feed anything that's bigger than the space between their eyes. And never give more than three or four live feeders at a time...and never more than once every 7 to 10 days. The cresties get spoiled and stubborn, and may refuse their Crested Gecko Diet if they get too many feeders.

Various soft-bodied worms are also good for them, and the extra protein helps them grow faster.

Never feed meal worms, super worms or king worms. They have too much chitin in their bodies and too little protein.

Butter worms have been linked to burns on geckos...some protective secretions from their bodies, I believe!!

I have a gut-load recipe for you that you can also share with the birds this winter!

It makes a LOT, so I'd suggest halfing the recipe unless you have a freezer to store it in.

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Bug / Birdie Bread Recipe
sandrachameleon in Victoria BC
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This bread makes a nice healthy snack for birds, crickets, roaches. Its easy to make, and is a nice
compliment to other gutloads.

2 cooked and skinned sweet potatoes
4-6 eggs, shells washed with anitbacterials soap, rinsed and dried.
1 cup cooked sweet brown rice
1 small finely grated carrot
1 cup corn meal
1 cup hemp seed
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup seasame seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon organic unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon raisins
6 tablespoons of bee pollen
1 teaspoon spirulina
1 teaspoon alfalfa
1-2 teaspoons wheat grass powder
optional: 1/2 cup avian pellets (be aware and use caution: most of these pellets contain vitamin A)
1 cup bisquick (a pre-mixed baking product consisting of flour, shortening, salt, and baking powder)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

In a food processor or with hand held blender mixer, blend well the sweet potatoes and the eggs
(with shells on, that's why you washed them - good source of calcium).

Pour into a big mixing bowl.

Mix in all other ingredients.

Grease a 9x12 baking pan (or muffin pans) and pour the mixture in.

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool.

I then cut it into squares (portions), wrap and freeze. Then just pull out and thaw a piece now and
then as desired.

I use in concert with fresh fruits and veggies and various dry gutload things.

You can also soak the bread in water or juice to help hydrate feeders.

I suppose I should say that the ingredient amounts are all approximate, I never actually measure.

Also don't be afraid to try increasing or decreasing amounts of seeds and such, or leaving things out entirely.

Id suggest the only important things are the sweet potato, eggs, bee pollen, and spirulina or wheat-grass.

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The only supplement you really need is pure calcium-with no vitamin D-for dusting the crickets and worms, since they're very low in calcium.

Vitamin D is toxic to geckos in high amounts, and they already get plenty in the Crested Gecko Diet.

You can also supplement a female's calcium during breeding/laying season by leaving a bottle cap (a large on-like from Gatorade) in the tank with her, and allowing her to take what she needs when she needs it. Egg production depletes the calcium reserves.

Good luck with your new gecko!!