Give me Leopard Gecko Knowledge!

[jhk30]

Hey everyone! I am new to this forum. But I want to buy a Leopard gecko in the next little while.. I have A TON of questions but I have some main ones I would like to ask right now.

How much does 1 leopard gecko eat?

What do they eat?

Do you HAVE to feed them crickets?

If you HAVE to, is it hard to breed them? or how much would it cost per month for crickets?

If you DON'T have to feed them crickets what else could they eat? or whats the best (by best I mean cheapest) thing to feed them.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Chewbecca]

Hey everyone! I am new to this forum. But I want to buy a Leopard gecko in the next little while.. I have A TON of questions but I have some main ones I would like to ask right now.

How much does 1 leopard gecko eat? depends on the individual gecko and his/her age and size

What do they eat? meal worms, crickets, roaches, super worms, wax worms (only as treats, though, they don't hold much nutritional value), phoenix worms, and probably other things, but they don't have to eat ALL of those things.

Do you HAVE to feed them crickets? No.

If you HAVE to, is it hard to breed them? or how much would it cost per month for crickets? No it's not hard to BREED them, but incubating eggs? That's not always simple. Cost of crickets per month depends on how many geckos you are feeding and how their appetites are. Generally, crickets can be bought for 10 cents a piece, but then you have to buy gut-load and unless you want to buy crickets everytime your leo needs to eat, you'll probably want to keep some on hand so then you have to buy something to keep them in.

If you DON'T have to feed them crickets what else could they eat? or whats the best (by best I mean cheapest) thing to feed them.
I personally believe it's best to give your leos a varied diet. I feed mine mealies, phoenix worms, roaches and crickets.
Thanks for all your help!

answers are in bold. well, what answers I could provide are in bold.

 

[Dan K.]

no they don't need crickets they can eat meal worms,super worms, butter worms, phenoix worms and wax worms(not a lot they're like gecko crack) also have a dish with calsium without vit.D-3 and a warm spot of 89-95F. Don't use sand!!!!!!!!!!! paper towel is the safest bedding.

 

[jhk30]

Ok so can I say what I all learned? and if theres mistakes correct me.

I was reading on the forum and learned this.

Geckos need warm side and cool side. GREAT! now how the heck do I do this?

Geckos get Impacted and can die with sand. So use tile or carpet. I think I will use tile.. WAY easier to clean poop from.. just take the piece out and wash it.

Geckos dont need crickets they can eat worms like mentioned ect.. (Ok so whats the easiest and cheapest food to keep?)

Anything else I should know? I know there is but what else..

 

[Wreptile]

Ok so can I say what I all learned? and if theres mistakes correct me.

I was reading on the forum and learned this.

Geckos need warm side and cool side. GREAT! now how the heck do I do this?

Geckos get Impacted and can die with sand. So use tile or carpet. I think I will use tile.. WAY easier to clean poop from.. just take the piece out and wash it.

Geckos dont need crickets they can eat worms like mentioned ect.. (Ok so whats the easiest and cheapest food to keep?)

Anything else I should know? I know there is but what else..

1. Have a Lamp or Undertank heater on one side of the tank, and nothing on the other.

2. Yeah, Tile is great.

3. Mealworms are easy to keep. Or Superworms for Teen geckos. (I think someone said anything over 25-30 grams can eat them.)

 

[jhk30]

how much are mealworms? and how would I keep them? so I dont have to keep running to the pet store every day. also can they breed easy? and is that all they need to eat?

SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS! I JUST WANT TO BE PREPARED SO I DONT HURT THE GECKO WHEN I GET HIM/HER

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Depends on where you get them from. They aren't too expensive. ^^

 

[jhk30]

k, well on youtube im watching a video and the guys teaching how to keep your own mealworm colleny he said he has only boughten 100 and has had them for 12 years so far. they just keep reproducing.

here is the link if anyone is interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c82fInUdLJ8

 

[Chewbecca]

mealies, imo, are EASY to keep.
I bought 1000 of them from LLLreptile for just over $15, and I keep them in gut-load, and refrigerate them until I'm ready to feed.

But, honestly, I would not worry about breeding right now.
Not if you're JUST getting into them.
Get one, enjoy it, see if you like the company, and THEN heavily research what you need to know for breeding.
Remember, you're dealing with a living creature. It shouldn't be taken lightly, imo.

 

[jhk30]

How many meal worms would I feed per day? I want a leopard gecko.. just one. Whats the average I would need to feed?

 

[Lady_Kiya]

k, well on youtube im watching a video and the guys teaching how to keep your own mealworm colleny he said he has only boughten 100 and has had them for 12 years so far. they just keep reproducing.

here is the link if anyone is interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c82fInUdLJ8

I have already started my colony and have been successful. ^^
It is very easy to do.

I started out with 200 I believe...

Now, you get a container for your mealworms, a container for the pupae which will later turn into beetles. I find it easier to get at least a three tiered containers you can buy practically anywhere. Like this:
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07/31/49/22/0007314922218_150X150.jpg
I myself bought one that had 5 drawers. (2 small and 3 large).

You make one drawer for the meal worms, and one for the pupae. The third one you can either use for another feeder or you can use it later if you have too many beetles or want a seperate place to put the baby mealies.

Now as a bedding the thing that generally works really well for a lot of people and is inexpensive is Oats, regular oats. Now before placing them into the containers to use as bedding, I would suggest microwaving them for a couple mintutes to kill anything that could potentially be in it. From there place a generous amount into the two containers (1 for Mealworms, and 1 for pupae/beetles). Other than that, both the mealies and beetles will need moisture. For moisture you can use a varity of things. Baby carrots, potato slices, orange peels, apple peels, etc. Make sure to change these every couple days. The pupae do not need moisture or food until they have become a beetle, so do not worry so much about them. To make the beetles a little happier, you can place some paper towel rolls inside their container, and even a piece of an egg carton. Just so they have something to climb on.

Once a mealie has pupated, remove it and place the pupated ones in the seperate container. Sometimes the mealies or other beetles will eat the pupae. After some time the pupae will turn into beetles. The beetles will then eventually mate and the females will lay eggs in the bedding.

Do not be discouraged if you do not see babies for a while. This process took me a couple months. Now I have more than enough feeders for not only the reptiles I have now, but the ones I am getting in the future too.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

How many meal worms would I feed per day? I want a leopard gecko.. just one. Whats the average I would need to feed?

That really does all depend on the size and age of the particular gecko you are feeding. Some will eat 10, some will only eat 4 at a time. You will have to gauge your geckos appetite on your own really after getting it.

 

[jhk30]

OK so this is what I understand.. and what I dont.

Start with meal worms- They turn into pupae
Move pupae into different container- they turn to bettles
move bettles into different container- they lay eggs.
Now move eggs into where? or what! then after this step I get what to do.

Put babys into mealworm bin and repeat.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

OK so this is what I understand.. and what I dont.

Start with meal worms- They turn into pupae
Move pupae into different container- they turn to bettles
move bettles into different container- they lay eggs.
Now move eggs into where? or what! then after this step I get what to do.

Put babys into mealworm bin and repeat.

You do not move the eggs anywhere. You wait till they hatch and you have baby mealies. ^^

 

[jhk30]

oh then I pick out the mealies and put them in the 1st container? and keep the beatles in the same container? wow that will take A LONG time of picking them out!
or will the beatles not eat the mealies?

 

[Lady_Kiya]

oh then I pick out the mealies and put them in the 1st container? and keep the beatles in the same container? wow that will take A LONG time of picking them out!
or will the beatles not eat the mealies?

The beetles do not eat the mealies. So you can leave them there. ^^

 

[Lady_Kiya]

One other thing, if ever you find you have too many feeders and want to slow down the cycle. You can place the mealies in the fridge. The cold will slow down the process.

 

[geckolvr88]

I would suggest not breading mealies if you're only going to have one gecko. One container of mealies comes with 50 and it's only around $3... that'll feed for at least a week if not a bit more... when your gecko gets a bit bigger you can move to bigger mealies that cost a bit more, but not much.

 

[Chewbecca]

I have some that will eat only 10 mealies a day.
I have others that can down 20 a day.
It just depends. I typically put 15 in a dish per day unless there are some left from the day before.
I leave a pinch of gutload in the dish and a carrot to keep moisture.

 

[jhk30]

Ok thanks I appreciate all this help!

Now moving on? what is everything I need for a leopard gecko. I know some stuff

Heat lamp
Tiles
water dish
calcium powder
meal worms
mealworm breeding bins

what is everything else needed? and a average price would be pretty cool too... like for example waterdish- $5. ect. THANKS!