One Dubia Enough?

[Weirik]

Hey all,

Just to give a little background, my leo will be one year next month and up until a few months ago, he was eating 8 or so small/medium dubias. He never went in his old Exo Terra humid hide, so he had a really bad shed back in December and quit eating for about three or four weeks. He wouldn't touch anything I threw at him. I decided to soak him in warm water in case his stomach was bothering him and the next day or so he pooped out his shed. It was at that point that I finally I got him to start eating again with silk works, then to mealies, and then eventually back to dubias.

After I finished with all my mealworms, I wanted to just stick with the dubias because I have quite a colony going now and would obviously like to keep this going versus having to buy mealies. I feed him every 2-3 days when he's hungry; however, he only seems to eat one now. If I offer a second, he'll act like he's interested, smell it, and then ignore it. He'll eat the first one every time. I'll sometimes leave a second in his hide and it's usually not there the next few days. He's pretty lazy though; I usually have to hand feed him.

I know if I toss mealworms in there he'll knock down about 10 - 12, so I'm starting to think he's just not that into dubias, which really sucks if that's the case.

I'm not sure if I should just stick with the 1- 2 (1 inch) dubias every few days or just switch to worms as his staple. As you can tell in the picture, he's pretty healthy, so I'm not really concerned; I'm just looking for some feedback.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

-Nick

 

[Angrychair]

my 3 leo's wont touch dubias

But my friends 10 year old female leo took right to them a year ago when I picked up a colony of dubias.

I too wish I could feed dubias.

 

[Fencer04]

The gecko looks very healthy, how large is the dubia that it is eating? I wouldn't be too worried. Sometimes it just takes a little while for them to get back in the groove after having some issues such as a stuck shed.

Also, just a suggestion with the hide. Get a lower but larger Tupperware and cut a hole in the top. It will hold the moisture much better and make the gecko feel more secure.

 

[Weirik]

The gecko looks very healthy, how large is the dubia that it is eating? I wouldn't be too worried. Sometimes it just takes a little while for them to get back in the groove after having some issues such as a stuck shed.

Also, just a suggestion with the hide. Get a lower but larger Tupperware and cut a hole in the top. It will hold the moisture much better and make the gecko feel more secure.

I usually feed him ones around 1 to 1.25 inches long and a half inch wide. He puts them down no problem. Its been 4 months or so since the shed issue so I figured he would be back in his groove now.

As for the hide, he never went in his old hide with the hole in the top. I don't think he likes to climb on top. This one actually looks smaller than it really is, but he really likes it. He's usually in there in the morning when I wake up and the coconut husk seems to retain moisture pretty good. I don't foresee him having a shed issue again now that he goes in there. Thanks for the feedback. I'll post a picture of the tank when I get home. There's not a ton of room where it's at to have a much bigger room, but I've been looking at how I can make a few adjustments.

 

[getgeckos]

If continue to have concerns, why don't you try a rotation schedule. I feed mealworms 3 days per week and crickets 2 days per week. I am planning on phasing out the crickets for Dubia Roaches as I just found a very reasonably priced local guy.

 

[marauderhex]

I do 1 appropriately sized (and well gutloaded) dubia ever 3rd day with my adult leos. Breeding females and hatchlings get more frequent (and generally slightly smaller) meals.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

1 dubia is more than enough for an average adult as they stop feeding like pigs once they reach adulthood. Plus 1 dubia is more meaty than a handful of mealworms, it fills them up very well as they are larger. So it's likely he gets full eating just 1. It's like a gecko eating 1 superworm vs 10 mealworms, 1 super is large enough to fill them up nicely.

If you are worried he's not eating enough, instead of every 3 days, feed him every 2 days.

 

[XoVictoryXi]

He is large and plump and I bet 1 dubia is enough for him, he isnt starving from the looks of things. heheh