How much do you feed your leopard gecko?

How much do you feed your Leopard Gecko?

  • I feed them until they stop eating

    Votes: 38 35.8%
  • I feed them on a "however much they can eat in 10-15 minutes" schedule

    Votes: 15 14.2%
  • I feed them a set amount whether they like it or not

    Votes: 37 34.9%
  • I feed randomly with no real consistancy

    Votes: 23 21.7%

  • Total voters
    106
  • Poll closed .

Dimidiata

New Member
Messages
1,943
Location
palmetto FL
Ive been told the giant mealies are prevented from changing into beetles via horomones or chemicals. And are made to grow bigger.
 

endrien

New Member
Messages
356
Location
Canada
Juveniles I feed as much as they will eat, they are growing after all. Set amount for an older gecko.
 

Rurso01

New Member
Messages
86
Location
Maryland
okay so superworms it is.. did i read correctly to cycle the superworms in/out of fridge while leaving out a weeks worth for 24 hours to feed and gutload before feeding? since they cant eat while in the fridge? and we will be using carrots and apples is that okay?
 

OnlineGeckos

New Member
Messages
1,407
Location
SoCal
You want superworms and avoid giant mealworms (hormone treated). Superworms can not be refrigerated, they will die below 65 degrees. So for superworms all you do is to keep them out in the room temperature, and using the same bedding as mealworms (oats/wheat bran), and gutload with fresh veggies for moisture & food.

For me I normally feed juveniles & sub-adults (under a year old) once a day. If they eat superworms they usually eat two, if they eat dubia roaches it's usually 1 size appropriate roach. Adults usually fed ever other day, roughly the same amount.
 

Rurso01

New Member
Messages
86
Location
Maryland
okay awesome... thanks! will 2 be sufficient for our 8 month assuming we're trying to have her gain some weight? shes healthy but not full like everyone i see on here. we just got a scale today so by Wednesday we'll have her weighed to find out exactly her situation.
 

endrien

New Member
Messages
356
Location
Canada
okay awesome... thanks! will 2 be sufficient for our 8 month assuming we're trying to have her gain some weight? shes healthy but not full like everyone i see on here. we just got a scale today so by Wednesday we'll have her weighed to find out exactly her situation.

2 super's a day should be fine if she will eat that much, some will only go for one. Supers will live for several months regardless so that shouldn't be much of an issue. If you can add in some crickets or mealworms every now and then it would be a healthy choice, as super's are a bit fatty. Mealworms are also fine as a staple as long as you change it up every now and then.
 

Rurso01

New Member
Messages
86
Location
Maryland
okay good deal. have you heard before about that phoenix worm thing? the whole... pooping out a whole worm while digesting the others eaten at the same time? i searched about leopard geckos and the phoenix worms and found several issues about it in different forums... odd. also a few cases of them throwing them up perhaps. makes me gun shy but hey, every gecko is different. doesnt seem to be anything life threatening i wouldnt imagine?!
 

grboxa

New Member
Messages
689
Location
Mississauga
okay well heres the deal...

our leo will not eat more than 2 crickets at this point and thats with MUCH effort on our end chasing the cricket, getting it to stay still in front of her and thats IF she'll eat it.

mealworms are always a huge success with her but we always hear about needing to change diet, not feed too many mealworms because of impaction, not enough meat contained in it (not nutritious enough).

We ordered phoenix worms with many suggestions favoring them on the forums but with further research we've seen that they sometimes will poop a full phoenix worm, regurgitate them, or not eat them period (which has been the most common result)

my girlfriend is terrified to feed the leo a hornworm because of the horn on top and she works with them often in bio and says the horn is rather sharp...

silkworms require the special leaves and may be too big for her right now not to mention expensive little buggers.

waxworms and butterworms are too fatty and i can't feed them on a constant basis.

and finally roaches aren't okay with our landlord. she had issues with the last person raising them in their apartment and she was not pleased.

so basically, what is a staple food i can offer the gecko that can just put all of this at rest? I just want to be able to end my searching the internet constantly for a food that she WILL eat, and it be nutritious enough? if she would just be satisfied with crickets like she was the first several months we wouldnt be having this problem but here I am.

So guys... help me out. I ordered the necessary calcium without d3, multivitamins from repti-cal and of course already had the repashy plus. that being said, what can we feed her that will just end my stressful time here?

hornworms are harmelss..if you realllly want to make sure just take scissors and snip it, easy as that thats what I did my first time before realizing it's fine lol:main_thumbsup:, I feed them to my leos without problems. And silkworms can also live on 'chow' which is prepared food which you can order a tub that will last you a while...yes they are expensive but they are very worth it:). There loaded with nutrition and add's good weight(which is ur goal), try your best to throw them in the diet here and there with your supers and mealies..as much variety as you can means a healthier gecko:main_thumbsup:
 
Last edited:

Rurso01

New Member
Messages
86
Location
Maryland
okay sounds good.. i am going to do a combo of mealies/supers with giving her every opportunity in the world to eat crickets, phoenix worms and the treat of a wax worm from time to time. the MV's and calcium with 0% d3 are on there way shipped so once those come in I may finally, FINALLY be ready to just relax and enjoy having her..... hopefully!
 

JeffDenver

New Member
Messages
21
I answered 1 only because the Gecko I have was really skinny when I got her. Once she gets to normal weight I will throttle back the food.
 

alliegex

New Member
Messages
25
My feeding regimen is not set in stone - since I have some babies and then juvies and sub-adults, what I feed is dependent upon what they need at the stage that they're at.

For three of my babies, I feed them as much as they will eat. And, I feed them every day. They are all pet store babies (two of which I adopted from someone who could not care for them) and grow much more slowly than my baby I purchased from a breeder. For him, I feed daily. The same goes for any juvies. But, I feed a measured amount - more if he seems like they want it. The little ones are all on mealworms currently. And, on occasion, I'll throw in some crickets to spice their mealtime up.

The sub-adults are fed every other day. They have a dish of mealies in their enclosures (just as the little ones do), but I measure out what they get. I also give them 1-2 supers every other day. And, of course, I do offer crickets here and there to keep their prey drive up and to give them some enrichment.

All of my geckos get waxworms as treats. Currently, the sub-adults are given 2 waxies a month. The babies and juvies get three per month.

I do believe in variety and plan on purchasing silkworms in the near future. I am not keen on butters and I've read conflicting information about phoenix worms - not that they're not nutritionally sound, but that some geckos just won't touch them or that they're not digested well. And, for the cost, I'd prefer to stick with something that I know will go over well - the silks. I am not sure about horns just yet. Maybe that will be something I'll consider in the future. The one feeder I just can't do is roaches. I understand that they're nutritious, but my roommate (who owns the home) has specifically stated that I cannot use them. So, I keep all other options open. Time will tell if I need to do more or less - as will experience. But, for now, this is what works.
 

Rurso01

New Member
Messages
86
Location
Maryland
Thanks for the very thorough response! I currently have phoenix worms arriving what should be tomorrow and though our gecko isn't picky but rather lazy lol, I'll update as to how the phoenix worms go as well as digesting. Its tough to tell whether our gecko is a juvie or sub adult but I've heard thats told by weight? We got her 5 months ago about and she couldn't have been much older than a month when we got her. If it's more by weight, I'll know that tomorrow. just picked up a digital scale
 

Rurso01

New Member
Messages
86
Location
Maryland
Phoenix worms so far are working very well. She did have a weird incident today where the worm seemed to get stuck on her upper teeth and was sorta freaking out for a minute but we helped her get it unstuck and she continued eating them. 3 days into the phoenix worm diet and she seems thrilled.
 

evolutiongoneastray

New Member
Messages
14
Location
Minnesota
i honestly have never really thought about how often i feed mine. he generally gets mealworms every other day (about fifteen) and crickets whenever i feel like cleaning up after them (maybe once or twice a week; twelve each feeding). i have fed him pinkies, when i first got him and he was a skinny bloke and one for christmas. if i run out of food (it has happened, twice!) i tie a freeze-dried grasshopper with dental floss and dangle. he doesn't seem to mind his lack of schedule, but now i feel like i am slowly starving him to death. somebody needs to tell me that he is okay, because i no longer believe myself or him.
 

GonzGeckos

New Member
Messages
51
Mines always have a bowl of mealworms in there tank or tub and give them 6 crickets each every 3 days
 

polito

New Member
Messages
25
I feed my leo's 9 - 11 gutloaded crickets dusted in calcium (without D3) 3 days a week and once a month dust with calcium with D3 and multivitamins.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using Tapatalk
 

ReptileWorld

New Member
Messages
208
Location
Hoboken
well I been raising and breeding reptiles for about 10 years and I never really ever fed a set amount or set days. I try my very best to have a set schedual at least to keep it organized but with me starting keeping reptiles at the age of 15 my life has took many turns and changes and my free time was always different. I seen no negative effects from it so i stuck with the whatever approach. I have free time i pop open a feeding tub ( a tub filled with the feeders im going to use with their gutload ) and just grab dubia, crickets, mealworms, superworms, and toss them in. I try to toss in about 3 dubia per gecko but sometimes one eats faster then the other and gets 4 and the other gets 2 type of deal. my wife sees that and feels sorry and makes me toss in a few extra for good measure lol. I over feed most of the time and they just hunt down the rest of the food later when their hungry. This has worked for me. however I have 1 male and 3 female leopard geckos in one enclosure and its been over a year with no issues but the male is starting to lose weight and his tail is getting thin so i just seperated him and trying to beef him back up. any suggestions pm me i dont want to jack the thread :main_thumbsup:
 

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