I don't like the idea of keeping live food

[Evergreen]

So I thought I might get this vibrating dish I saw at petsmart along with dried crickets. (Keep in mind here, I've never owned a leo, I'm just getting started!) Has anyone tried this? If so, does it work?

I'm very skeptical of getting the answer I want from those last two questions, so I decided that if I have to keep live food, it's going to be mealworms. Can anyone tell me how to keep a small amount of mealies available? (Small as in resupplying my stash about once a week)

Thanks!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

I used to keep the dry crix on hand just in case of emergency and I wound up not needing them so I did try to feed them out and never had any luck with getting any of the leos to eat them.

Really if you want to do it cheap and easy just buy a bulk 1000 a month and get medium so they don't morph out on you and put them in the leos tank, you could use like 3 dishes to hold them all and just keep gutload and a carrot slice a day in the dish to keep them alive and only have to handle them once a month. With only 1 or 2 leos that may even last 6 weeks.

 

[acpart]

I keep my mealworms in a medium size plastic critter keeper or faunarium --one of those things that's about 12" long, 6"wide and 9"high. The cover has small holes so there's good ventilation. I put gutload in the container and dump my mealworms in there. It's tough when you have only a few geckos because 1000 mealworms, even if small, will probably go into the next phase before you're done with them. Of course if you want to breed mealworms . . . Your best bet is probably to see if you can find a petstore that sells them by the 50 or 100 and keep them in a smaller enclosure. Make sure your gutload is powdered so when you want some mealworms you just put a cupful of gutload in a sifter, shake out the gutload and the mealworms stay in the bottom of the sifter. Most of my geckos are fed only mealworms and do just fine.

Aliza

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Even with 1 leo you will need at least 200 a week and those little coontainers from the pet stores have 50 worms for $3 or more and you never know how old they are when you can get a 1000 for about $11 shipped and have enough for the month for 1 leo maybe 6 weeks and if you don't want to keep and handle them just put them in a larger dish or a couple of dishes with the gutload and carrots, thats no different htan keeping them in a container with gutload and filling the dish again and again every other day.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Live food is much more nutritious and will provide your geckos with much of the necessary moisture they need in their diets. Dehydrated food is basically empty.

 

[Nigel4less]

I hate to say it its pretty hard to own Leos without feeding live food, they need the nutrients from these prey items, its like us eating Canned Soup every day its not very nutritious, And Mealworms aren't that bad I remember about 5 years ago when I got my first Leo I was scared to death of Mealies but now they dont bother me at all... If you are willing to try that then I think that will work out great...But if not I dont think Leos are for you.

 

[Evergreen]

I'm definitely set on getting a leo, so keeping live food will be overcome by me.

Can anyone give me a comprehensive guide (no, I don't want to screw up the life of my first leo because i'm a dumbass) on keeping mealies, and how much to feed, what I need to feed them with.. etc.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

You will do fine with live food, I think its yucky to think about at first but once you have the leo and feed them for a few weeks its like nothing at all, really!

Depending on how many you buy and what size etc here is some basic info:

1 - Keep them on dry gutload
2 - Only add enough moisture for a 24 hour period (so you don't have moisture in your gutload that can cause problems)
3 - Feed as much as they want, just fill the dish (gutload on the bottom,then teh mealies, then a slice of carrot then some cali on top)
3a - refill the dish as needed every day or two
4 - gutload a good 10 grain cereal (ground or smashed up) or vionate or (http://www.progeckos.com/~progecko/osCommerce/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=48)
5 - if you buy smaller (younger) worms they will last longer than large (full size almost adult worms)

 

[Evergreen]

Thanks!

But as far as keeping them, are they like in a tupperware container somewhere inside the leo's tank? Sorry if these are dumb questions lol, just trying to make sure I get everything right as a responsible owner!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Its OK, we have all asked questions and no question is dumb!

Ok if you buy a bulk lot of mealies say 1000 you can keep them in a plastic shoebox or larger container (depending on the amount of worms) out of the leos cage to gutload and feed them then fill the leos dish as needed.

If you only have a leo or 2 (realyl no matter how mant you have) you can just overfill their dishes to cut back on handeling the worms and just gotload and feed them right in the feeding dish in the cage.

 

[Alusdra]

And mealies last forever if you refrigerate them. I lost a couple of those pet store tubs of them in the back of the fridge a couple of times for months (or more?) and came back and they were ok. Storing them that long can cause a lot of loss, though- but I'd say at least 80% will make it that long. Then you can take them out, gutload quickly and voila. DO NOT freeze them, though- they will all die within a day.

 

[Evergreen]

Alright, I just got back from my vacation in chicago, but I still have a few things I feel I'm missing or I'm not sure if I'm right (or I'm just overworrying lol). So I'm gonna say things I know.. you guys fill in anything you know is necessary

I'm gonna go buy mealworms from some local supplier. I put them in a tupperware container full of a 10 grain cereal. I get a mealworm dish from my reptile store and once they're gutloaded, I put (x) amount of mealworms in the dish. I'm going to need to buy approximately (x) amount of mealworms weekly for 1 gecko.



----

I should be getting him/her within a week, if I'm lucky! The tank is setup and ready to go minus the under the tank heater, but that should be in tomorrow. Then I'll be getting my first gecko!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

I would not buy from a local supplier but from an online facility, you get more for less and get better quality. (grubco.com sunshinemealworms.com rainbowmealworms.com ghann.com) Just find the one that gives you a better price delivered.

You can gutload them in the dish, just put in the gutload then the mealies in the feeding bowl, Ive seen the leos eat gutload trying to catch a mealie and you don't want them in the dish without gutload anyway, it doesn't last long in their systems.

I would buy them monthly to save on cost and don't forget the calicuim.

here is basically what I do:
ceramic dish
gutload
half a handful of mealies
carrot slice
calcium
mineral O one day then mineral I the next

Then every other day or as the dish gets low add more of the above for 7 - 10 days then replace the dish with a new clean one the same way.

You can also use, apples, potatoes, oranges, pears, watermelon etc instead of the carrot to add a variety of moisture for the feeders. I just use whats on hand and left over from what my children don't eat of their fruit.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[moosassah]

You're going to be surprised how quickly you change your opinion of mealies. Those heebie-jeebies that you're probably getting now will be gone soon. They don't smell or make noise (like crickets). You can keep 1,000 in a small container in the fridge for a long, long time.

Note: you will find that your local pet stores are NOT reliable with keeping stock of mealies for when you need them. I have 3 pet stores within 5 miles of my house & have switched to mail order mealies for reliability.

 

[ReptileMan27]

I have experimented with dead food in the past, alot of people say leos wont touch dead food but thats not true, had no problems getting all my leos to eat it. But just because they will take it doesent mean its best for them, I found out after using both canned and freeze dried cricks/mealies that its not really easier then live. Canned food only lasts a few days in the fridge after being opened. The freeze dried was a pain because it breaks easy, alot of the cricks/mealies would be in pieces and when the leos would bite them, they would break apart and make a mess. Live is best all around, I know crickets are a pain but leos do fine on mealworms, which are much easier then crickets and the leos will take them right out of a dish.

 

[Evergreen]

Thanks for all the help, I finally feel like I know what I'm getting myself into.

Final question.. How long will 1000 last for one gecko?

Just so I know when to place another order for more.

 

[moosassah]

You'll easily get 2 months out of that with only 1 leo. Just don't forget to take them out of the fridge every week to warm up & feed your supply. I saw you plan to put them in with 10 grain cereal--you'll need to blend it up/crush it to make it small enough for them.

 

[Evergreen]

About how much space will 1000 mealies take up in the fridge? I plan on putting this in our little coke fridge in the garage, so I need to know

 

[Nigel4less]

Its about the size of a small telephone...smaller then a 1 liter soda bottle but alot wider... I`ll snap a pic of my 1000 mealie containers

 

[Evergreen]

Thanks!