***how many do they eat**

[alexwilson]

Last night my leo enthusiastically hunted and ate 2 crix. After eating this he did not seem to want any more food. i was wondering how much they eat. My leo is 5 months old and a male. Should i feed him everyday or every-other day?

thankyou

 

[Stitch]

Mine eat every day except for theone picky adult,but even she ate a lot when she was young. Check your temps to make sure they are optimal. What do you use as substrate? Also how big are the crix when compared to the geckos head?

You don't want the crix to be any longer the the distance between the geckos eyes.

 

[alexwilson]

they were small enough i think. but ill double chek, if there to big ill get sum smaller ones. the heat ranges from about 92-95 (at hot end) and room temp (at cool end.) the substrate is kitchen towel.

 

[alexwilson]

and how many crix per feeding should i give him?

 

[Stitch]

and how many crix per feeding should i give him?

The rule of thumb is to feed as many as he will eat in about a 30 minute span of time. Just make sure to take out what ever hasn't been eaten at the end of that time. If you don't the crix may wind up trying to nible on your gecko. I had this happen once but it was a couple of crix that were hiding and I didn't see them until the next day .

 

[alexwilson]

but is it possible that he only wants 2? or is that way below what he should be eating? thsnkyou for your help. much appreciated.

 

[Stitch]

At 5 months he should be eating like there is no tomorrow. But if the crix are big he might not eat as many becaus he will fill up faster on the larger crix when compared to smaller crix.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Sorry to somewhat change the subject here. My question just fits with what is being discussed and I hope Alex got an answer. If not, I'm sorry... but what's the best time of day to feed my leo? Being nocturnal I would say night, but with the crickets attacking him if I leave them in too long, I would think the earlier the better.

 

[Stitch]

The sun is going down earlier now that it's winter. So give it an hour after the sun goes down or after you turn off the lights to that room. Then you can offer food. Come back 30 minutes later and take out what's left.

 

[gothra]

I don't follow the 30 minutes rule; I put a dish of food (escape-proof) in their tank before I go to bed and leave that in there overnight. Some geckos will come out and finish off the food right away; but some prefers to eat just before dawn. I let them decide when they want to eat.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I don't follow the 30 minutes rule; I put a dish of food (escape-proof) in their tank before I go to bed and leave that in there overnight. Some geckos will come out and finish off the food right away; but some prefers to eat just before dawn. I let them decide when they want to eat.

I have mealworms in there at all times. I was asking just about the crickets. Especially since I have had him a week and has not eaten 1 mealworm.

But to continue with that 30-minute rule... He is still scared when I am in the room and stays in his hide. So how can I count the time when he hasn't even come out to start eating? And if he is only out for 5 min at a time, then comes back out 20 min later for 5 min, how should I measure this?

 

[gothra]

Oh, I forgot to mention in my reply, but I wasn't referring to mealworms either. I put a dish of small roaches in there with them overnight. I guess I'm just trying to say that some people follow the 30-minute rule, but there are others that don't; so there is no "RIGHT" way to do it.

 

[Stitch]

If you are going to leave food items in the cage overnight, it's advised that you put some food in the cage for the crix to nible on instead of the gecko. If you feel that 1-2 hours works better then 30 minute then do that, but remember to take them out afterwards.

 

[alexwilson]

my lizard dosnt seem to want to eat with me in the room either. i get cofused at what 2 do aswel, cos i dont wanna leave em in overnight. He seems to be a bit irregular with his eating as well. is this normal? i have only had him for a couple ofweeks so mayb he is still nervous around me

 

[gothra]

If you have an escape-proof dish, I can't see why we can't leave food in the tank overnight. That's what I had been doing.

 

[Kotsay1414]

If you have an escape-proof dish, I can't see why we can't leave food in the tank overnight. That's what I had been doing.

I do the samething.

 

[alexwilson]

but there cricketts so they will just jum out? unless an escape proof dish is some crazy dish with "crix anti climb" or something?

 

[crayolaskies]

Your gecko is probably just still too nervous to eat around you. Over time, he will get more comfortable with you, you just have to be patient. Sometimes, if you sit for a while a few feet away and be really still, they'll come out to eat. This worked for me.

I'd also like to point out that crickets can not only eat away at your gecko, they can also start to spread bacteria if left in the tank for too long. They eat the leos' poo and then the leos eat them and well... you get the idea. I usually feed my leos mealworms every other night and only feed crickets as an occasional treat. Only one of my leos gets crickets regularly because she's a picky eater. I don't think that there's a general rule, but I wouldn't leave the crickets in there for more than a few hours.

 

[gothra]

Yes, crickets left free roaming in the tank is not good for your geckos, for reasons as pointed out by Lauren. That's why I said I put them in an ESCAPE-PROOF dish. I do pull out their jump legs to prevent them from jumping out of the feeding dish.

I don't mean you have to do this, I'm just trying to give other options to you when you say your gecko is too shy to come out to eat.

 

[GoGo]

This is why i dont use crix. Its too hard to catch them all and keep putting in and out. I just use lots and lots of mealies(usually a few days to a weeks worth for 3 geckos) in an exo terra mealie dish they cant climb out of. So i never have to worry about attacking mealies and never have to worry about replacing food and then catching it again every day.