How much is too much?

[Ernielove]

My gecko is a eating machine, he will eat everything I put down for him, 8 to 10 small crickets or up to 12 mealworms and he would eat more if I let him......he is maybe 4 or 5 months old and about 5 inches long.....how much should he be eating?

 

[tb144050]

I have a suspicion that your Leo is probably about 3-4 months old and still has that super-appetite of a hatchling-turning-juvenile.

General feed rules are simple (if you aren't discussing the supplements to be used...haha):

1) Feed them all they can eat in 15 minutes. (then definitely remove crickets .....or ......choose if you want to remove mealworms to limit their diet and rate of weight gain).

2) Any gecko under 1yr old will usually eat every day if they are still growing to adult size, and no other factor is affecting their appetite.

3) As they reach adult size after 10-12months (average), their appetite will decrease and you will notice that you can start feeding once per 2days.

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If you want your Leo to gain weight faster, you can offer crickets as mid-day snacks (but don't leave them loose if they aren't eaten)....or....you can leave the mealworms in a dish full-time. It has been recommended not to let your Leo gain more than 2grams/week....I believe anything more than this will lead to obesity (??): too much weight gain without the actual skeleton/size growing.(??)

When measuring and comparing weights, be sure you are consistant about the conditions of the chosen "measurement appointment. Always use the same day of the feeding-cycle, always consistently before or after eating. (Eating 8-10 feeders can add over 1.5grams....so be sure you don't weigh your Leo before eating one week...then after eating the next week: You will see an exagerated weight gain.

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edit: Glad to see another Arkansan!! Welcome to the forums!!

 

[leopard love]

Mine is having the same problem and I was reading tour post nd it sounds exactly what I was gona write haha. My gecko is 40 grams and only 5 months on the 26th. And I hope his not to fat. But he will eat 15 mealworms in 15 minutes if I let her. So I try to just feed 10 food items of a mixx of crickets and mealworms. But I feel its to much. But its really sad because he goes to his bowl and looks in it even after he ate so idk.

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[leopard love]

But im with you im having the same issue. So try to feed the same amount of food everynight at the same time

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[tb144050]

When in doubt, buy a gram scale and monitor the rate of weight-gain.

The only "max limits" I have really read about are: a) don't leave crickets loose as "food for later" and "try to limit weight gain to about 2grams/week".

So if you leo is gaining approx 2grams/week, others (who have guided me) do not recommend more feeding.

 

[Ernielove]

Like your facebook page, very nice geckos you have!

 

[tb144050]

Like your facebook page, very nice geckos you have!

Thanks! If you are close enough to use Texarkana classifieds, feel free to join and buy/sell/trade. Or you can join just for the random pics of what I have going on. I just started the page in January and it only has 65 members right now....so there is not alot of selling. It is mostly people who are watching and waiting to see their next "irresistable reptile" for sale.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

i say just give it as much as it wants. It is growing so it needs all the proteins and calories it needs to support the metabolic rates. I'm so jealous coz mine eats like a slowpoke 3 year old kid hahaha