Another new member

[scm133]

I am looking forward to a friendly gecko community!! I am always interested in new thoughts, and ideas on these Leo's. I have eleven at the moment, but my collection keeps growing with all the beautiful morphs. Hope to learn, and share with this new forum. Here is a picture of one of my Sunglows, Amber.

 

[Caleb C]

Hey, welcome to the forum
Your geckos are beautiful, especially your tremper sunglows.They're all nice and fat as well.

 

[scm133]

Thanks, Caleb. They are pampered with crickets, dubias, mealworms, and silkworms. LOL! I need an extra room for all the feeders!!

 

[Caleb C]

I only breed my own mealworms, and they're already a pain. Don't you find that the crickets smell? D:

 

[scm133]

Actually, I have the cricket keeping down, but it is still a pain. I got a great bin from Armstrong Crickets that is well ventilated. It is designed so crickets can only climb up the sides, so far. I just sweep it out daily, and no smell!!! I order 1000 at a time.

 

[Caleb C]

1000 for 11 geckos?!
That's crazy.
I probably neglect the crickets i get from the pet store, but they seem to die for no reason, even if there are things to eat and drink.

 

[scm133]

"1000 for 11 geckos?!
That's crazy."
I know it does, but I also have one hungry 650 gram Bearded Dragon. Plus they last a good two months! Pet Store crickets never did last long for me, either.

 

[acpart]

Welcome to the forum. Gorgeous gecko. I also get crickets frequently in large numbers. My geckos, beardie and steppe runner eat 2000 every 2 weeks.

Aliza

 

[Geckomaster743]

That is a beautiful Sunglow. Welcome to the forums Were always extra glad to see new members who are willing to share new photos and tips on how they take care of their geckos. Is there any thing you do to keep the Cricket smell away and how much does it cost to order that many crickets. I only use about 100 - 200 Meal worms a week for 6 Geckos and A Hedgehog ( Occasional Mealworms, Because they have a High protein diet ). So yeah please sure, I'm really starting to get sick of pet store prices on low quantities of food that doesn't last long and is half the time not available. So I may just switch to breeding Meal worms and Crickets c:

 

[scm133]

Thanks Aliza. LOL!! You do have a hungry crowd!!
Thank you Darkmaster743! It is a daily chore on sweeping out the cricket poop, and any dead ones. That seems to be the trick to no smell. I order from LLLReptile and Armstrong Crickets. It runs around $30 for 1,000. But they will last me over a month. I tried breeding mealworms, but it just wasn't for me. It takes me already close to an hour each morning to feed my "zoo". I also have dogs, fish, and a parrot...LOL!!

 

[Geckomaster743]

LOLOLOL. I have a Dog,Cat,Bird,Rat,6 Lizards, and a Hedgehog. Then again you have around 11 and the Lizards are always the hardest part of the pet feeding for me. I have always noticed any Mammal I buy just eats any way unless there is some thing wrong with it, Though lizards get pretty moody and there are tons of things that will stir of feedings or at least make it harder to get them to eat. Though yeah I've changed my mind about crickets .___. I don't want to poop scoop every morning :c

 

[scm133]

What really makes it time consuming is the fact that they( leos) are spoiled They each have their own private 32 quart bin. I just finished my monthly cleaning on five of them...Whew!!!

 

[Caleb C]

I breed my own mealworms. The trick is to never use oats, and to use wheat bran. I have so many mealworms that I give them away to the private breeders near me. I have enough to feed my uncle's beardie, all my geckos, and other people's as well

 

[scm133]

Ok, Caleb, I may have to reconsider. I was using oats. Do you have a detail care sheet on breeding mealworms?

 

[Caleb C]

I started off with oats, and after going through the whole cycle, I saw baby mealworms after around 3 months. By the time the mealworms grew up, the oats were still untouched. This made sorting a pain in the butt, so I got my mom to bring me to a feed store, which she did. I got 50 lbs of wheat bran for a fair price, and tried it out. One inch of wheat bran in the tub was turned into pure poop within a couple weeks, which made sorting extremely easy, as their poop is tiny.
You need small/weak forceps for grabbing the mealworms, a sieve (can be bought at the dollar store), and a rack system. I have a sterilite with 4 tubs. I put around 1.3 inches of wheat bran in each tub. They do develop a smell after a while, but it's not too bad. I use their poop as fertilizer for my plants outside. They breed the fastest in summer months, because it's hot, but I'm guessing they will breed just fine in Florida. I started off with around 2k mealworms, but I only have 2 little geckos to feed at the time, so they never put a dent in my mealworm supply. After almost a year of slow breeding, they became crazy during summer and gave me around 5k mealworms every month. I gave most of my mealworms away in the past couple months and now im trying to breed smaller amounts. I do have around 4-5k small's right now though
I gave a friend a couple thousand beetles and mealworms, and he was selling the mealworms within 4 months.
baby mealworms go into my first tub
growing/large mealworms go into my second tub
beetles go into my third tub
random supplies go into my fourth.
I keep my pupae in a plastic pan on the ground, as they don't really move. The beetles are transferred to the beetle container.
Once all/most mealworms have turned into pupae, i sort them out and use the bin for the next generation of beetles, and the beetle container turns into the baby mealworm container.

 

[scm133]

Hmmm, so I could keep them outside on a screen porch as long as temps are not too cold?? I am going to have to give it a try. Thanks!!

 

[Caleb C]

I believe that they like it dark, and other insects might get into the wheat bran.
When it gets too cold, they go into a hibernation type state, so lots of people keep mealworms in the fridge.

 

[scm133]

That makes sense about other insects getting in. No problem, I can make room for just three or for more bins....thanks!

 

[acpart]

I get my crickets from expresscrickets.com for $22.61 for 1,000 shipped next day air. I haven't seen anyone beat that price yet. I actually order with another keeper. We usually get 4000 crickets that we split and that number is about $16.50 per thousand (shipped next day air!).

I also breed mealworms. I buy gutload from progeckos.com and throw in all my vegetable parings. The oats will probably only work if you powder them in the blender.

Aliza

 

[scm133]

Aliza, just checked their web site. Great prices! I will have to check them out, thanks! I also use Progeckos chow, and love it!!