Meat

[Thorgecko707]

Do you feed cooked or raw meat to your geckos?

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Uh, NO.

 

[geckogirl3]

you don't feed meat. you feed crickets

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Try lucky charms, they're magically delicious.

Just kidding. But really, feed them the recommended diet for optimal health.

 

[ElapidSVT]

mine only eat the good cuts, filet mignon and top sirloin, salmon and tuna belly seem to be the favorite.

o wait, that's me. the geckos just get worms.

 

[Tailless]

Nope. Why do you ask?

 

[Thorgecko707]

I used to have a small bowl of goldfish that they just loved. I was curious because I was talking to a breeder. He said rat meat is the same as feeding pinkies minus the bone and fur and that it was good for them. I've never fed pinkies. I thought it was odd. Seems like too much work, but if it's good for them then I'd consider it. Any thoughts?

 

[ElapidSVT]

i have thoughts but they might get me banned, so i'll keep them to myself.

all i'm gonna say is, whatever works for ya!
good luck!

 

[im faster]

What about feeding fish? really though. live fish.
i wounder if they are healthy at all?
They would flop around enough to get attention of a leo

 

[Tailless]

I used to have a small bowl of goldfish that they just loved. I was curious because I was talking to a breeder. He said rat meat is the same as feeding pinkies minus the bone and fur and that it was good for them. I've never fed pinkies. I thought it was odd. Seems like too much work, but if it's good for them then I'd consider it. Any thoughts?

Interesting... I never thought about that. I don't feed pinkies (but I don't breed, either). I suppose if one were going to feed pinkies, high quality meat *might* be an okay substitute. I don't see anything wrong with this in theory...

 

[Thorgecko707]

Fish are very high in protien.

 

[Russ S]

i have thoughts but they might get me banned, so i'll keep them to myself.

Probably a good idea.

As for feeding meat, why would you want to. I know some people will feed pinkies to breeding females when they are laying to help maintain weight, but not all of them will eat them.

 

[Thorgecko707]

I wouldn't want to feed meat to something that mostly eats insects and fish in it's natural environment. After talking to the breeder I thought I'd ask here if anyone does that.

 

[PaladinGirl]

Think I'll stick with mealies, dubias and crickets for now. I'll try something new when one of the people here who have bred/raised leos for many years says it's okay to try other things I used to feed little minnows to my newts and salamanders, but I'm not sure that's okay for leos or not. Though if you can feed leos pinkies, who knows!

 

[M_surinamensis]

I wouldn't want to feed meat to something that mostly eats insects and fish in it's natural environment.

Are you suggesting that leopard geckos eat fish in their natural environment?

I don't really want to get banned either, so I'll keep this nice and neutral.

Leopard geckos should not eat fish. Their digestive system and metabolism has evolved to make use of the nutrient content of invertebrate prey, mostly arthropods. While individual animals will sometimes opportunistically consume worms (actual worms, not insect larvae), small rodents and other reptiles these items are outside of the nutritional needs and the digestive adaptations of the gecko. Fish are even more dissimilar, nutritionally and physically, and will not be a healthy prey item for the species.

Two things in particular to look at, especially with goldfish (which are about the worst feeder fish possible, not that any of them are good for leos) are the lipid content (especially saturated fats) and the amount of thyamine present in each fish. Fatty liver disease and thyamine overdoses are common dietary problems which develop as a result of consuming goldfish, even in species which are naturally inclined to consume a diet that includes fish. Both conditions are often fatal if the fish are used as part of a regular, medium term diet.

Fish of any kind should not be fed to leopard geckos. Goldfish in particular should not be fed to much of anything.

Prey suitability comes down to much more than the level of a single nutrient for most animals. "They're full of protein." is an interesting argument to make when feeding a wide ranging omnivorous species (like a human being) as part of a highly varied diet. It does not sufficiently address the nutritional needs (or dangers) of a species that has much more narrowly defined dietary adaptations, as an insectivorous lizard does. While one nutrient may seem to be present in an ideal way (it's not anyway, since the digestibility is dramatically different), the total nutritional value of the prey item and its place in a complete diet needs to be analyzed. The conclusion in this case being that fish are wildly inappropriate as gecko food.

Add to that the increased frequency of zoonotic parasites and bacteria often carried by feeder fish and bait fish, not that there really needs to be any further reason to discount fish as prey for an insectivorous, desert dwelling, terrestrial lizard.

Edit: Meat, assuming that means beef, pork, venison and similar is also right out and totally inappropriate. So is poultry. Arthropods are perfectly ideal. Broadly opportunistic feeding responses should not be mistaken for evidence of prey suitability, most leopard geckos will never consume vertebrate prey in their entire lives.

 

[rickmoss95]

Are you suggesting that leopard geckos eat fish in their natural environment?

I don't really want to get banned either, so I'll keep this nice and neutral.

Leopard geckos should not eat fish. Their digestive system and metabolism has evolved to make use of the nutrient content of invertebrate prey, mostly arthropods. While individual animals will sometimes opportunistically consume worms (actual worms, not insect larvae), small rodents and other reptiles these items are outside of the nutritional needs and the digestive adaptations of the gecko. Fish are even more dissimilar, nutritionally and physically, and will not be a healthy prey item for the species.

Two things in particular to look at, especially with goldfish (which are about the worst feeder fish possible, not that any of them are good for leos) are the lipid content (especially saturated fats) and the amount of thyamine present in each fish. Fatty liver disease and thyamine overdoses are common dietary problems which develop as a result of consuming goldfish, even in species which are naturally inclined to consume a diet that includes fish. Both conditions are often fatal if the fish are used as part of a regular, medium term diet.

Fish of any kind should not be fed to leopard geckos. Goldfish in particular should not be fed to much of anything.

Prey suitability comes down to much more than the level of a single nutrient for most animals. "They're full of protein." is an interesting argument to make when feeding a wide ranging omnivorous species (like a human being) as part of a highly varied diet. It does not sufficiently address the nutritional needs (or dangers) of a species that has much more narrowly defined dietary adaptations, as an insectivorous lizard does. While one nutrient may seem to be present in an ideal way (it's not anyway, since the digestibility is dramatically different), the total nutritional value of the prey item and its place in a complete diet needs to be analyzed. The conclusion in this case being that fish are wildly inappropriate as gecko food.

Add to that the increased frequency of zoonotic parasites and bacteria often carried by feeder fish and bait fish, not that there really needs to be any further reason to discount fish as prey for an insectivorous, desert dwelling, terrestrial lizard.

Edit: Meat, assuming that means beef, pork, venison and similar is also right out and totally inappropriate. So is poultry. Arthropods are perfectly ideal. Broadly opportunistic feeding responses should not be mistaken for evidence of prey suitability, most leopard geckos will never consume vertebrate prey in their entire lives.

lol. why do you have to write a "book" every time you answer a post??? all these big long explanations and "big words" make you look smart??? or are you a college professor??? lol, just wondering why you cant just get to the point and not go into some rediculous drug out chapter???

 

[ElapidSVT]

it's nice to see someone take the time to compose a well thought out response with detailed information rather than a toss out a flip comment as i'm prone to do...

 

[rickmoss95]

i understand that, and it is obvious to me that suri knows his stuff, just seems a bit..."over done" sometimes, especially in EVERY POST....and i am in NO way putting anyone down, i am just wondering....

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

why do you have to write a "book" every time you answer a post??? all these big long explanations and "big words" make you look smart??? or are you a college professor??? lol, just wondering why you cant just get to the point and not go into some rediculous drug out chapter???

I find it refreshing and stimulating to have posts here on GF that are informative, well-thought out, and cerebral instead of the usual sophomoric blather that many posts are. Sometimes we have to be careful in case we actually learn something... God forbid!

 

[Russ S]

lol. why do you have to write a "book" every time you answer a post??? all these big long explanations and "big words" make you look smart??? or are you a college professor??? lol, just wondering why you cant just get to the point and not go into some rediculous drug out chapter???

I felt the post was well thought out, and addressed the reasons why one shouldn't use fish or "meat" as food for geckos.
If you don't like his posts, simply don't read them and certainly don't respond in this way.