Crested Gecko problem

[Blasphemy]

A problem with one of my crested geckos suddenly popped up and I'm not sure what to do here. I've had her for about 9 months now with no problems, but for the past week or so she's stayed pretty much in the same spot and her toes seem to be twitching. She doesn't seem to want to walk around, and if i pick her up and place her somewhere else in the enclosure she doesn't try to do anything.

Her enclosure is a 40 gallon tank with coco fiber substrate. She shares the tank with another adult crested that's a few months older. He is doing fine. There are also 2 toads that have been living in the tank as well for about 3 or 4 months now. I give them crickets about once a week and always use calcium dust on them. The tank is kept moist and fresh water is always available.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Jackie]

Could she be pregnant? She might be stressed out not knowing where to lay.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

There are also 2 toads that have been living in the tank as well for about 3 or 4 months now.

Cross-species housing is almost never a good idea. What precise toad species are you keeping in there?

I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to only feed cresteds insects, either. http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm

 

[RoachGirlRen]

It isn't really advised to mix species, keep a male and female constantly together, or feed an insect based diet. Having a male and female of anything together means constant mating, which is immensely stressful to the female and can cause any host of health issues. And weekly crickets is not an adequate diet for this species whatsoever; home made diets demand a wide variety of foods and careful monitoring of the calcium sacs, so pre-made powdered diets are preferred. Definately check out the link mushroom spore posted, and consider seeing her to an exotics vet. The twitching and lethargy could be signs of serious hypocalcemia or other health conditions.

 

[Ted]

somehow the twitching sounds like some of the common effects of poisoning from toads/frogs.
though it could easily be an impaction or myriad of other probs.
doesnt sound heat related.

 

[Blasphemy]

Could she be pregnant? She might be stressed out not knowing where to lay.

I've never witnessed them mating and she's never been pregnant before or laid any eggs. They hardly even hang out together, so I'm pretty sure this isn't the issue

Cross-species housing is almost never a good idea. What precise toad species are you keeping in there?

I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to only feed cresteds insects, either. http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm

American toads...not sure of the latin on them but that's the common name


I've offered the CGD before to them but neither one even goes near the stuff. I had also offered baby food to them for a while but they didn't really touch that either so I just stopped giving them that too. The only thing they seem to want is crickets, and I make sure to dust with calcium and vitamins

It isn't really advised to mix species, keep a male and female constantly together, or feed an insect based diet. Having a male and female of anything together means constant mating, which is immensely stressful to the female and can cause any host of health issues. And weekly crickets is not an adequate diet for this species whatsoever; home made diets demand a wide variety of foods and careful monitoring of the calcium sacs, so pre-made powdered diets are preferred. Definately check out the link mushroom spore posted, and consider seeing her to an exotics vet. The twitching and lethargy could be signs of serious hypocalcemia or other health conditions.

I understand your concern about the diet but as I stated above they won't touch the Crested Gecko Diet or anything else for that matter except of course for live crickets. I'm not sure what to do there short of forcing it down their throats. I'm just not sure what to think here because the other crested is doing just fine so I can't figure out what to do. Maybe I'll isolate her for a while and see if that helps

 

[Mushroom Spore]

American toads...not sure of the latin on them but that's the common name

Not only do they excrete poison from their skin which has probably gotten onto every surface and into the water sources, they may well get territorial or decide your geckos would fit in their mouths.

Seperate the species, and do it NOW. They should never have been together in the first place.

As for the diet, I strongly suggest you do some searching to see how other crested owners handle getting their geckos on a proper diet, because yours are going to get pretty messed up if the improper nutrition continues. You cannot be passive about this--you will be absolutely responsible for whatever happens to the geckos as a result.

 

[GailC]

A cricket only diet will eventually kill your cresties, they are fruit eaters almost exclusively in the wild. They may not take to the prepared food but they do need it, not baby food either as its like feeding candy, too much sugar. Get a good food powder, T rex is a good choice, so is GCD and start offering it every night, they will eventually eat it.
My mom has been breeding cresties for around a yr now, she's never seen them mate either but they do. You will end up with eggs eventually.
As far as your cresties symptoms, sounds like beginning MBD to me, possibly vitamin deficiency from a improper diet.
I also agree about the toads, get them out ASAP.

 

[arachnofein909]

sounds like poisening to me you should quarantine the crested thats showing symptoms.