Hi! New to Geckos

[Chessie]

Hi everyone,

I'm glad to join the forum. We made a deal with our little boy, that if he could save the money for everything he needed for a gecko, we would get him one. He's almost to his budget goal, so I'm getting my resources ready to bring home a new little member of the family. I have been informed that his/her name will be "Spot."

Nice to meet you.

 

[Phoenix1115]

Welcome aboard! Can't wait to see the new addition! I applaud you for your parenting style

 

[Chessie]

Poor little guy, it's taken him over nine months to get this far. He has certainly gained a new appreciation for both patience and money, and I'm certain he really really really wants this little lizard.

(Secretly I've always wanted one too, shhh, don't tell him that)

I'm excited. I'm going to have fun setting up our new habitat.

 

[Lavodnas]

"(Secretly I've always wanted one too, shhh, don't tell him that)"

Same here...I let my daughter think it was her idea to get one...lol

 

[Chessie]

I think I'm all set as far as the research I've done on setting up the little guy's home, I'm just a little confused about how to manage the diet. I know I need to gut load bugs etc, but how do you manage your actual bugs? What do they need to be kept in, etc? I want to feed the little one well, especially while its growing. I'm just not sure what to keep meal worms in, etc.

 

[Phoenix1115]

I personally just buy them in those containers from the store and feed straight from them (of course after dusting, etc). I think I'm going to start breeding my own worms now, though, that my gecko population has reached double digits. I believe you can just keep them in a plastic shoe box with the oat substrate.

 

[Chessie]

Okay, so if I keep store bought worms in say, one of those plastic containers I put some apples, carrots, etc in with them and just keep them cool clean and dry until I'm ready to dust and feed them to the gecko?

 

[Phoenix1115]

Yeah. But if you refrigerate them they'll go dormant and not eat. So I'd suggest taking them out a hour or two before you feed your gecko and give them some nutritious food then

 

[Chessie]

Thanks, that is really helpful. There's a bunch of information on feeding that's a level above what a newbie needs to know on here. It would be great if someone pinned a post on feeding basics for beginners.

 

[Lavodnas]

If you want to give your son some extra amusement, you can keep the worms in a small critter keeper or even a plastic shoebox like Phoenix mentioned. Just put about and inch thick layer of rolled oats on the bottom and pop in some veggies for moisture. To keep the oats from getting moldy, place the veggies on top of a small piece of cardboard egg crating. The worms will climb it without any problems and even snack on it a little. My kids love to watch the worms crawling around in the colony I have set up during the day when our gecko is asleep.