feeding...

[tozhan]

Hi, my lil gecko is only about 9 weeks old and seems to have a big appetite. she is eating about 3 medium crickets each day (i add a few to the enclosure each night). How many should she be eating? i have heard that it is possible for them to overeat and become unhealthy which is why i limit her intake to just 3 each day, im sure she would eat more if i offered them. should i just make sure that the tank has at least 1 cricket at all times so that she can regulate her nutritional intake herself?
i also have a few meal worms (with calcium dust) in a small dish but she doesnt seem to be eating any of these.

also, i have never seen her drink from her water bowl, do geckos drink much water (its about 70% humidity in tank)?

 

[Jeff876533]

hey ya i have no idea about crickets but i use mealworms instead (they are 100X easier to feed, ect.) and i usually give mine as much as they can eat lol but mine are 9 months or so so ya.

 

[Jeremy Letkey]

You can and probally should feed her more. Let her eat as much as she can within about 20 mins or so. Should be about 6-12 every day.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I feed my babies (up to 3 months of age) as much as they want every day, and keep mealworms available at all times. Geckos do drink wather... they sit and lap it like a dog! Since they are most active at night, you may never see them do it.

 

[Arconna]

Don't leave crix in the tank at all times. They should be removed (I'd say in an hour after putting them in if she doesn't eat them, or heck even 20 minutes is good). Surprised it wasn't mentioned already, but crix will actually chew on your leo if they are left there too long.
What you could try to do so she has food available is get a tiny dish of some sort (plastic or whatever) that she can easily see into and keep some mealies in there during the day, take them out and put them back in their bin and put new ones in every so often. My leo's eat a LOT, and I've noticed that some of them will eat big meals and then not eat the following day. Just make sure the dish is deep enough so that the mealies can't get out and low enough so the leo can easily see it, or get something transparent.

I've actually never heard of a leo overeating...has anyone else? I'm just curious how common it is...

 

[Grinning Geckos]

I've actually never heard of a leo overeating...has anyone else? I'm just curious how common it is...

Oh, they can. It's common enough, but most leos won't ever do it. The results are they throw up. Normally it's a young leo that does it. I can say, they quickly learn to not repeat the experience!!

 

[herplover92]

thats why once i fed my leo about 6 wax worms, and then i found them all in a ball. and i was worried because i thought she was sick.