My Hatchling Diet Plan

[puppiesandkitties]

Please rate and comment. Criticism allowed.

I am in the process of making a hatchling diet plan. I am looking up the nutritional values of foods and making a plan according to that. The main source I have used is the leopard gecko wiki. I am doing this because I want to raise the healthest and biggest leos (grow as big as their genes allow them to be). Since the youth is where they grow the most. I am buying some at a reptile show, and four may be hatching in 2-3 weeks.

When they are very young: Mainly mealworms (since they contain more protein and nutrition than crickets) Sometimes crickets. (Also for nutrition, but so they can get used to hunting) Maybe a waxie once or twice per week.

When they get older: Superworms (when they get big enough. I heard that they contain more protein and a little more fat than mealies, and geckos who tend to eat these usually get bigger) Then I will still feed them the mealies, crickets, and the occasional waxie.

Then when they are old enough, I will feed them a pinkie once per week.

***All foods I plan to have gutloaded and supplimented.

 

[gage]

if you feed them a pinky once a week they will get over wheight the max you should feed pinkies is 1 or 2 a month max

 

[efx*]

Thats way to many pinkies...

 

[Tanner505Geckos]

One pinkie a week is like you eating a 10 pound steak one a week 1 pinkie a month or you will kill them

 

[puppiesandkitties]

So I should reduce the pinkies and waxies. How does once a month sound? Something told me that was way too many pinkies.

I try telling this to some people I know (do not know if they are on this forum--big leo fans). They feed their geckos nothing but pinkies. Thing has to eat two-four pinkies per week, since leos have to be fed often. One of them is obese. Has fat rolls, but the stomach is very jiggily.

So stick with the diet, and do it once a month with pinkies?

 

[lepgeckosrock]

I agree with gage efx and tanner about the pinkies and would also add to be careful with the waxies as they really have no nutrition and can be like giving a kid candy and make them want waxies instead of good food. Other than that sounds ok just don't forget the vitimin dusting and good luck as some leos will be stuborn about what they eat. I have 2 that are crix only 1 that is mealies and crix and 1 that is mealies only. But you are on the right track

 

[lepgeckosrock]

IMO from what alot of breeders say most don't use pinkies much at all. Some do but from what I have read and been told most don't.

 

[puppiesandkitties]

Yeah, I plan to feed them a waxie once or twice a week, or once every two weeks, since I am giving them the pinkie.

Then I have another question to ask. Flower, the gecko I started a topic about finally laid her eggs about 7 in the morning. I watched her at my friend's house on the way to work. They were very tiny, put we put them in the incubator right away, since we had to go.

When we came back, they still feel like they just been laid. They are still extremely soft and wrinkly, as they were when they were laid. We candled them--nothing. Could they be infertle? I plan to wait a few days to a week, to see if they harden or something. I don't want bad eggs being with my eggs that are hatching soon.

 

[lepgeckosrock]

As a rule of thumb you shouldn't throw eggs away untile they either start to mold or stink.Also you don't want to be handeling the eggs very much. Just make sure your temps and humidity are correct in the incubator.

 

[puppiesandkitties]

I love the name Miss Butters. (It is too cute) What made you name her that?

 

[lepgeckosrock]

As you can see from this pic her color is close to that of butter and with her being a female I just added the Miss

 

[puppiesandkitties]

She is very cute. Good job on her.