Can a gecko be healthy eating 1 mealie/day?

[ggg111]

Hello all. My two girls used to eat 12 mealies every other day, now they only eat one a day, if that. They are still active at night and look healthy besides that. I am still trying to figure out what the issue is, but my question is, can they survive only eating 1 mealie a day in the mean time? Their tail still has some puff to it. To epeat, I am working on figuring out why they stopped and how to get them back on track, but in the mean time, whether it is a few days or few weeks, can they be OK eating 1 mealie a day or should i seek immediate help. Like, is 1 mealie a day a minimum, or is it still starvation.

Thank you. :main_yes:

 

[Doubelminttwin]

I think it would depend on their health and you said that they are still healthy so I would def keep working on figuring it out but not panic yet because they are still eating. I know some of ours have went a long time w/out eating and then came right back to being beasts lol

 

[Mel&Keith]

How old are they? Some adults barely eat anything and still maintain a healthy body weight. We have one female who is fat and eats only 4 superworms a week.

 

[geckoluv2187]

I've noticed from my experience that they eat a ton when they are juveniles and even young adults, but once they get older they seem to need less in order to stay healthy. Ours are even bordering on obese. Our male seems to eat more than the female even though she is fatter than him.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

can u live of on small pice of steak like on the size of a tooth pick common sense

 

[adam&nikki]

it could also be the time of the year they might be just thinking of breeding rather then eating

 

[serialzombie]

I don't think the caloric intake of an adult gecko is very high at all, especially a largely sedentary gecko...say in a 10-20 gallon tank.

Keep in mind, being ectothermic they don't burn calories regulating their internal temperature, and have low metabolic rates.

Assuming that this is a diet that they decide to stick to, and isn't a seasonal fast, one mealworm a day still seems low to me. If they're not losing weight, however, it's a nonissue. An issue I do see is the nutritional content of the mealworm to begin with. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[sammer021486]

I had a male that only ate maybe 4 super worms a month and maintained a weight of 89 grams, he did that for almost 2 years.

I now have a 2 females that eat maybe 3 super worms a week and they both are maintaining healthy weights, both at around 75 grams and have massive tails and poop fine.