How many Crickets/Mealworms/etc. to buy at a time

[Spooky]

Hi all, I'm Spooky. =) I don't have a leopard gecko yet, but I plan to get on in the near future. For the time being I am doing all the research I can.

I'll probably be purchasing crickets and mealworms from Pet smart. So to those of you who go there, and even those who don't, how many would you suggest to buy at a time for one leo? I don't want to have to keep going back and forth because I don't drive, and I wouldn't want to bug my mom or brother too much to take me. =P
I know crickets die pretty quickly, so I'll have to go back fairly often to get more, but I know that mealworms can be refrigerated for a while and do fine for a couple of months. I'm just not sure how many I will need!

I also have a couple of questions regarding gut loading mealworms. I understand how to do it with crickets, but mealworms come in those little tubs with shavings of some sort in them. How do you all store/what do you keep the worms in and where do you put the gut load product and carrots/potatoes?

Sorry there is so much. I just want to make sure I get all the right information.

PS! I'll be feeding waxworms as a treat, maybe once per week. Do these need to be gut loaded and can they be kept in the refrigerator?

 

[sammer021486]

It all depends on how much your gecko is eating.

If you are fine with feeding super worms, you can buy 100 and they will last a long time. I still have some from when I ordered them in November 09.

As for crickets the thing to remember is to provide plenty of space for them. They will trample and eat each other if the enclosure is too small. For 100 crickets I would recommend a container that is about the size of a 35Qt box from Sterilite. Crickets also can be finicky with how much water you give them, too much and they die, too little and they die, at least that has been my findings.

You can go to your grocery store and pick up a bag of wheat bran and use that for the bedding for the worms and provide a dish of it for the crickets.

Stay away from the high calcium feeds and water gels, they will cause high die offs in your feeder insects. If you are dusting the crickets and worms there is no need to gut load the feeders with a high calcium diet.

To dust the feeder insects you could purchase calcium, calcium +D3, and a multi-vitamin dust, or pick up Repashy Super Foods Leopard Gecko Dust by T-Rex. The Repashy dust is good to be used at every dusting and you do not have to worry about any side effects as Allen Repashy has formulated his dust to be used for every feeding.

To keep the meal worms you can use a 6qt sterilite shoe box, they are around $2 at Walmart

I do not know about the wax worms as I do not feed them.

 

[Spooky]

Oh, okay, thanks! You cleared it up for me.

 

[duquen550]

You may start your own clony of mealies, they are esay to go. Check some care sheet... you may save cash...

 

[MichaelJ]

I would suggest getting your mealworms from an online supplier - as they will be healthier than those you would find at the pet store, will last longer, and save you money. Read my post here... I hope it helps!

http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?p=520967#post520967

 

[Chevalrose]

How do you keep Superworms? Wouldn't they turn into something after a while?

 

[robin]

i currently buy 2000 super worms and 5000 mealies at a time but i will be upping that mealie order as more babies begin to hatch

 

[mushraeddur]

How do you keep Superworms? Wouldn't they turn into something after a while?

I just bought some from our Reptile Show and the gentleman there told me they can last a month easy. He indicated probably longer. I was told to keep them at room temp and occasionally add a tiny (tip of pinky finger) size of potato for a water source...if I wanted. He said they really don't have to have it, as they will be gone quick enough.

He also told me they don't change to bug form unless they are separated. I thought that sounded odd, but I don't know much about bugs. Don't know if that helps, but I thought I would share what I was told by the "cricket man" as he called himself.

 

[Cornman21]

I just bought some from our Reptile Show and the gentleman there told me they can last a month easy. He indicated probably longer. I was told to keep them at room temp and occasionally add a tiny (tip of pinky finger) size of potato for a water source...if I wanted. He said they really don't have to have it, as they will be gone quick enough.

He also told me they don't change to bug form unless they are separated. I thought that sounded odd, but I don't know much about bugs. Don't know if that helps, but I thought I would share what I was told by the "cricket man" as he called himself.

he's right, you can buy little jewerly box things and put one in each compartment and they will shrivel up and go into the pupae stage, then beetles. and from beetles they breed.

 

[T-ReXx]

If you're just planning on keeping one gecko to start this is what I would do in that case:

Buy a few hundred-1000 mealworms and set them up in a colony setup(theres a nice breeding mealworms thread by snakegirl on this forum) and leave them alone for a few months to establish a colony.

Also buy a hundred or so super worms, they will last quite a while and won't pupate as quickly like mealies, these can be your feeders until your mealworm colony has established.

Personally, I don't recommend crickets. They're a pain to keep alive and messy/noisy. I do feed roaches(two species) as well, and prefer them GREATLY to crickets. With proper supplementation most leos do fine on a diet of supers and mealies anyways.