I got a crested gecko from petco 2 days ago,and i was wondering a couple things about him/her.How do you sex them?And the lady told me while its young to feed him/her baby food off of my finger daily,how many times do i do this a day? and how old does she need to be when i can stop?
First of all, baby food isn't good. It doesn't have all the nutrients your crestie needs, and can be addictive. Are you offering Repashy Crested Gecko Diet at all? They should be fed the Repashy CGD almost exclusively. CGD and the occasional (once a week at most) cricket treat.
Second, it doesn't need to be hand-fed. Like any other reptile, crested geckos hatch out completely independent and able to fend for themselves. They're smart enough to find their food dish and eat on their own. Just keep a small dish of CGD in the enclosure at all times.
Since it appears you're taking advice from Petco, I highly recommend double-checking all your husbandry. Last time I was in Petco, they were recommending Crested Geckos be kept at 80 degrees with basking temps in the 90s... Those temps can quite literally kill a Crestie. http://www.forums.repashy.com/ is a great forum for Cresties and other Rhacodactylus geckos. You can find a Crested Gecko care sheet in the Care Sheets forum under Articles.
try placing a dish of dry powder in there. you'll see little indentations along the sides of the powder pile where they stick their snout in and lick.
My 2 hatchlings are in a clear cricket cage with a wad of paper towel, that provides both a moist place and a hiding place. Depending on the size of the cricket cage, a clean plastic tube or regularly changed cardboard one from an unscented toilet paper roll will work. Once you're sure they are eating, switch them to a fancier setup. Geckos will kick substrate around into the food dish and disrupt the pile of powder. also..what goes in must come out..easier to see with a plain cricket cage and a paper towel. Neither of my hatchings would touch bugs.
Sexing..Garrick told me that takes 9 months or so. If any develop and obvious bulge at the base of the tail it's male. It's very easy to see.
Be happy you didn't buy a leo from them. All the leo's I've ever seen at petco look to be on deaths door, so much so they wouldn't even make good feeder lizards. cresteds all have looked healthy but are just dull looking.
I know i usually always have to go and tell the manager that their is one if note more dead geckos in the leo tank,And Neither of mine are dull looking,their very beight and pretty.