[marcusp88]

Okay this is long winded but I really would like advise on why this happened. Id only had him a week.

He started off okay in his viv, I bought a brand new 45x45cm exoterra setup, with a jungle vine and two plastic plants. Water bowl and orcid bark all provided by the reptile store i bought him from.

I was told he was about four months and he looked like a livley happy lizard.

When i got him home he showed interest straight away in live crickets but wasent so keen on the komodo CGD altho he did take it in little amounts off of my finger.

During the week he seemed on and off. Sometimes he had no life in him then then the next hed seem really active.

Over the last couple of days he started looking and acting different. He was no longer able to climb up the glass, the skin in between his eyes had gone a white colour and during his last day on sunday he was sleeping on the ground of the viv.

He woke up at about 7pm and i decided to put two crickets in, i turned my back for one minute and when i looked back around he appeared to have ate one as i saw him swallowing something and i though no more of it.

An hour on he laid down, i went to take him out and he was very limp and his breathing wasent constant. He was taking big breathes every minute or so. At that point I felt his underside and throat but couldnt see or feel any blockages. I laid him on the bed and he made a run for it which I thought was a good sign.

I put him back in the viv onto his vine incase I had stressed or startled him and he just fell off, with his nose on the ground and his tail still on the vine in a vertical position.

I took him back out, he then started opening his mouth wide as if he was trying to breath.That went on for a minutes or so and then he put his head down and passed away.

Confused and very upset (

[Charlie_Gecko]

Im sorry about your lost. Sounds very strange to me. I have never had a crestie before, but was he actually eating, was he skinnie in any way? Was he healthy when you got him (like did he look alright in the viv within the shop?) These might be able to help answer your problem a little better

[marcusp88]

Yea he looked healthy, he ate minimal amounts but i put that down to his size.

I could make out his ribs so he was a little skinny, also his feet looked alot more webbed than what most other cressties do on here

[Olivine]

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear about your loss: I can fully understand how upset you must be. Generally speaking, cresties can seem to be slightly lethargic, then have sudden bursts of activity, so what you describe for the first few days may not be particularly unusual, so it would help if you could explain what you mean by "had no life at all". Was he simply resting? Or did he actually seem limp / lifeless? I'm concerned by your description of his behaviour over his last couple of days: an inability to climb certainly isn't normal. Can you describe your husbandry?

Have you discussed the situation with the store that you bought him from? Any reputable shop would want to identify the cause of death in case there are implications for the rest of their animals.

Sorry for all the questions: I'm just trying to get a clearer picture of what happened.

[marcusp88]

He was completly limp. I put him back on the vine and he just fell off. I rang the petshop and they wernt too interested, just said sorry. They said it sounded like he chocked on bark. I can't understand why they sold the bark with a juvenile in the first place.

I've just purchased and cresty now so I'm getting over the loss. Do you recomends not trying to handle the cresty for the first week as every time I go to pick him up he runs and hides?

[Olivine]

Firstly, with regard to your new crestie, then yes, I personally wouldn't handle him until he's settled in and an eating routine has been established. Once you're sure that he's eating regularly and you start to handle him, try not to hold on to him, but rather just let him move freely and walk / jump from hand to hand; generally, cresties tolerate handling quite well as long as they don't feel that they're being restrained.

To be perfectly honest, I'm less than impressed with the response you received from the pet shop who sold you the first crestie. I can't see how the pet shop can argue that he'd choked on bark when he was already lethargic and unable to climb before you saw him swallowing something. From your description, especially the inability to climb and the discolouration of the skin, I suspect that he was unwell when you first bought him

By the way, if you need any care sheets on cresties, the best two I've found are on the Rhac Shack and Treasure Crest websites. And, of course, if you have any questions, just ask!