Back in April, I made this post of the Pangea forums
I’ve noticed something interesting; I only have data from 2 geckos so keep that in mind.
I normally keep hatchlings in shoebox tubs until they are 5g, and then I switch them to a 10 gallon. A few months ago I purchased 3g crestie and put him in a tub. He never fired but seemed healthy enough in all other respects. (I understand firing is not indicative of good health).
When he reached 5g, I put him in a ten gallon and noticed he fired a lot more, moved more, and seemed more “vital”, if that makes sense.
I purchased another 3g gecko, and put him in a tub as well. Once again he never fired, but this one also barely ate. At 4g, I put him in a 10 gallon and immediately saw an increase in feeding and firing. He’ll even wait on his ledge on new food day.
It’s been crazy cold here, my house has been from 65-70 degrees the whole time I’ve owned them.
I just figured it was interesting.
I wrote that and didn’t think much of it afterwards. This brings me to my next tiny gecko, Cherry Scone, now Brandy, that I bought in June. I forget the her exact weight when I bought her but if memory serves, she was just a hair shy of 5g, so I made a tub for her. Like the two geckos mentioned above, she never fired, barely seemed to move, and ate very little.
I figured it was not big deal. She was tiny and in a new house and probably scared. She always looked healthy when I handled her and was eating and going to the bathroom, just not too much. I made a 10 gallon vertical setup for her last night and put her in it. Today, 1/2 of her adult portion of food is gone! I honestly think she ate her head size in PFMC (apricot and banana combo). I’m very pleased with this result!
I’ve had immediate improvement in feeding as soon as I put them in a larger cage. On the other hand, my brand new baby hatchlings are thriving in their tubs, but they are only about 2.5g.
This leads me to wonder, should I switch over to a 10 gallon at 3-4 g? Let me know your thoughts!