Best Food?

[drillsar]

I got a leopard gecko and I had a beardie before, With a beardie silkworms where the best nutritional value, whats the best? Also How much do these guys eat? I should dust with calcium once per day or? Vitamins once a week?

 

[rhino43grr]

i use mealworms, what is your gecko eating now? nothing?

 

[drillsar]

I gave him like 6 crickets.

 

[rhino43grr]

gotcha, i like mealworms because they're quiet and don't stink like crickets do if you have a lot of them. plus you can leave them in a dish and they won't escape or hide under stuff in the tank like crickets do. you should just leave a small dish of calcium (without d3) in the tank at all times. i'm not sure about the dusting schedules/supplements most people use but i have reptivite that i put in with the mealies' food/bedding and dust with every few days before feeding.

 

[Stitch]

Most Leo's do just fine with crix and/or meal/super worms. Most of mine eat mainly meal/super worms, some of them won't even touch a crix. But those that do, get a variety. Silk worms are very nutritional so if you don't mind that expense then you could feed them as well.

How much I feed depends on the age of the gecko and the size of the item being fed. Adults 5-8 feeder items every 2-4 days. Babies 8-10 mealies every day.

 

[GeckoRing]

We use a combo of mealworms, superworms, and roach nymphs. Some of our geckos Love the nymphs...and now poo-poo the worms. We did crickets for a while, it is fun to watch them hunt them! But nasty little creatures.

 

[Inlovewithherps]

I feed mealworms, superworms and the occasional cricket and waxworm. My Leo's seldom touch the crickets anymore. They prefer worms.

 

[rhino43grr]

Leo took a wax worm (ever so carefully) right from my fingers last night, it was pretty cool... he hasn't done it with mealies yet except when i pin one down against the floor of his tank.

 

[ALGeckos]

Silkworms have are very nutritious and if you don't mind their price AND if you could get your leo to eat it, then it should be fine.

Crickets and mealworms seem to be a more popular and money saving choice, which leopard geckos will readily take (most of the time). Just make sure to gutload 24 hours in advance so they're more nutritious. On occasion, you can feed a wax worm or two as a treat. Other popular feeders are giant mealworms, superworms, and different roaches. Sometimes, if you have a female breeder, she can get the occassional pinky mouse after egg laying.

Dust with calcium every other day and dust with multivitamins once or twice a week when you're not using the calcium. Leave a dish of calcium in the tank at all times since leopard geckos regulate their own calcium and will look for the dish when they need/want more.

For babies, feed every night and for adults, feed every other night. You can either leave a dish of mealies in everyday or if you're going for crickets (or crickets + dish), I normally feed the babies as many crickets as they can eat in 5 minutes since they're always hungry and with adults, you can feed 6 large crickets in 1 sitting. Generally, you want to feed them foods that are 3/4 the size of their head.

 

[drillsar]

Your saying dust with calcium every other day? I was told once a week

 

[GoGo]

Vitamins 1ce to 2ce a week, calcium every other day, always have a dish of calcium w/o d3 in the cage. We use mainly superworms and mealworms with our crix. One of them will eat hornworms if we get them but those guys are so nasty smelling and poo too much. For treats every once in a while they get a pinkie(for the adults) or a few waxworms. We have EVERYONE on superworms right now, even our juvis/pre-adults(2 of them) and they eat them like hogs, we just cant keep the bowls full. Depending on age superworms are a perfect choice, nice big and meaty with little smell and easy containment. If your leo is pre-adult/adult and on mealies, or even on crix, try ordering online from somewhere medium superworms, youll get a mix of smalls, mediums, and almost larges. Silkworms are awesome in nutrients, if you can put up with the smell and cooking them food and if your leo will eat them.

 

[geckoboy16]

i have a colony of mealworms. once a week i will give them waxworms or crickets. You can also feed some of the adults pinkie mice every month or so but you should stick with mealworms or crickets as their main diet.

 

[drillsar]

Ok how fat should the leos be? Mine looks a little skinny

 

[Stitch]

Ok how fat should the leos be? Mine looks a little skinny

That really depends on how old they are. Also I would not want my leo to be fat. Fat is not healthy for any animal. Adults are usually in the 60 gram range. I have one adult that is 80 grams and he's just starting to look chunky so his food will be reduced. All of my other geckos are between 55-65 grams and they look very healthy (not skinny, but not fat either).