Feeding Technique opinions and help

[henward]

Hi all
please tell me if i should do this, downs and ups of this

i am thinking of getting an excape proof dish for my mealies. and putting them in the enclosure. i am thinking of leaving alot of them so there is enough or multiple feedings, so when ever the lizard is hungry, it will come to eat. in the dish (eco terra meal worm dish) will have gut loading stuff and calcium vit powder.
also i want to releaes a few cricket sin teh tank, so it hunts as it pleases.

is there any problems that would arise form a feeding regime like this?
where it can eat as it is hungry?
and not have to wait to be fed?

 

[acpart]

I think you still have to keep checking on everything to make sure the feeders aren't hassling the gecko and that the feeders have things to eat so they are still nutritious. Also, if you dust your feeders the dust will rub off after awhile. Many people say don't leave feeders in with your geckos for more than 20 minutes. I find it to be OK as long as you keep checking your gecko to make sure it isn't being harrassed.

Aliza

 

[shawn119]

Yes you will need to check on your gecko a lot more if you do this.

 

[Sturt]

I would say no on the crickets, I personally hold the no longer than 20 minutes rule. But I did purchase two of those so called "escape proof dishes" and ended up with mealies everywhere within 24 hours. Its worth checking that your escape proof dish is really that by putting some mealies in it then putting it inside a plastic tub, so you can check if anythings getting out :main_thumbsup:

 

[henward]

ok

ok, so if i say the list below id done
1: check no escapes
2: check they are still feeding on nutritiuos food and stuff
3: no crickets cos they harass geckos when not eaten

its ok to leave a heap of mealworms in a ESCAPE proof container with food, and gutloading for mealworms? would be ok?

or will the gecko become obese with this?
i find that they stop eating when full! not like frogs.

i find that my geckos tend to stop eating when they are satisfied.

i check on my gecko very frequently anyways, so this is not an issue

concerns are
1: obesity
2: hassling the gecko (which you indicated crickets will do)

if i put the mealworms, will that mean they wont be interested in crickets cos they will always be full?

 

[Sturt]

ok, so if i say the list below id done
its ok to leave a heap of mealworms in a ESCAPE proof container with food, and gutloading for mealworms?

Yes that should be fine,

You can monitor the weight of the gecko to make sure it is not becoming obese, if it is feed either less in the bowl at a time or top it up less often, or feed crickets for a while.

To prevent them being too full for crickets take the mealworm dish out of the enclosure for the night before you intend to feed them.

 

[M&DEspaña]

Molting & Pupa

With leaving the mealworms out of the fridge for so long they would molt more and you also have the risk of them turning into pupa (then they turn into beatles) which is not a good idea unless you want to breed mealworms. If you would like more info on this you can go to page 2 of this thread category (Feeding/Feeders) and check out the thread titled "Mealworm photos (don't look if you don't like worms !)" by htadothk. There you would see pics of pupa, freshly molted mealworms, and signs of when mealworms are going to go into the pupa stage. Hope this helps!