Question for vivarium owners

[ALToronto]

I just built a vivarium for a gecko, full of orchids of course. My question: what to do about the crickets? I know they will eat orchids, and they tend to burrow in the lava rock at the bottom of the vivarium, so the gecko can't even get them. This gecko is old enough to eat the paste, so I don't need to feed her crickets, but I would like to be able to.

Photos coming soon.

---------- Post added at 10:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 AM ----------

Here are some photos from yesterday. The viv is not fully set up, it's delayed with the overhead light, so we're using a temporary light right now.

[Tindomul]

UUUUUuuuuu Awesome rock wall and lizard. I love the nepenthes, will it stay small?
How about you just feed enough for her to eat in just a few hours or less? Or have cricket food (the jello looking stuff) in a certain spot for them to be drawn to.

[howze01]

My recommendation would be to feed her crickets in a separate container. Or, one at a time in the vivarium. Make sure she eats it and pull it out if she doesn't. Think feeding crickets in a different tank or container would be the way to go though.

[Andre]

I have giant day geckos, in a very large vivarium. I use soil as a substrate (no perlite in it) the crickets usually climb the walls and get picked off. If it is an adult gecko they don't require daily feeding since they are not growing. If it is a new enclosure the pet might be stressed.... You can PM me regarding this problem which I have had in the past many times.


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[OfLeafandLimb]

So far, the anoles I keep with a couple of pothos and other boring plants (in my opinion) have eaten the crickets quickly enough that they have not damaged any of the plants in that vivarium. One thing you could try is to pay close attention to how many crickets your gecko will eat before he loses interest, and then feed only that many, adding one or two to that quantity as he continues to grow. At full size, you'll be able to determine his daily requirements, and thereby minimize the number of extra crickets lingering in the viv.

Another option, which you can do in combination with the above suggestion, is to put something in the viv that the crickets will prefer over your plants. Perhaps a small piece of cucumber or carrot would be sufficient to keep any crickets occupied, and away from your orchids. You can experiment with finding the most enticing offering, of course.

[ALToronto]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, but she is just not interested in crickets. I have put some grated carrot on the sphagnum moss on the bottom of the viv, but no crickets so far. Maybe they died in the wet lava rock - I was told that their environment shouldn't be too wet, or they can get fungal infection.

I have fed her a little bit of the paste (Repashy) off my finger, but not nearly enough to keep her healthy. She seems to be very nocturnal as well, so I can't even monitor what she does at night. She does like the LED light fixture in her enclosure once the lights go off - she quickly climbs up and sits on top of it. Her food, however, is at the bottom of the cage, and I can't tell if she climbs down in the middle of the night to eat. The mix shrinks overnight due to evaporation, so I don't know if any of the shrinkage is due to her feeding.

In the morning we usually find her stuck to the lexan sides of the enclosure, just hanging part-way up. She seems to sleep in that position.

How long can she go without food before I need to worry? I haven't found any poop, either.

[OfLeafandLimb]

Oh, are you new to geckos? Perhaps you might get more detailed answers at a gecko forum. You'll have a greater number of gecko people there, I would imagine. She could be stressed and not interested in food at this point, if you've newly brought her home and placed her in this setup. What species is she?

[ALToronto]

Originally Posted by OfLeafandLimb

Oh, are you new to geckos? Perhaps you might get more detailed answers at a gecko forum. You'll have a greater number of gecko people there, I would imagine. She could be stressed and not interested in food at this point, if you've newly brought her home and placed her in this setup. What species is she?

She is a juvenile crested gecko, just old enough to be identified as a female. I will look for a gecko forum, thanks.

[desertanimal]

They're arboreal. I would put the cup of repashy somewhere higher in the enclosure. But find out on a gecko forum how much you should expect her to eat. The gecko ppl are very friendly, IME.


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[desertanimal]

I can't tell, but she may want more plant cover in the enclosure. People who keep cresties usually have their enclosures full of cover.


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