Reduced feeding frequency...now they are more active...good or too hungry?

[tb144050]

6 of my Leo's are 10-12 months old. Of the 6, 3 of them are gravid females. I was feeding them every day and removing uneaten crickets an hour after putting them in.

------------------
The males and 1 ungravid female never came out of the hide, but would eat a few as they came in the hide. They also were very inactive, even at night.

The 3 gravid females have unpredictable appetites...they are either hunting or completely off-feed for 5-7days at a time.

----------------------

I reduced to feeding every OTHER day (1 nonfeed day gap). Now they all, except the 1 ungravid regen-tail female, are ALOT more active. These 5 are roaming about every 30 minutes even during the day or night.

Is this roaming and increased activity actually a sign of them being hungry (browsing/hunting for food that isn't there)? Or is it a sign that they aren't stuffed and sleeping all the time as if they just finished Thanksgiving dinner?? I like seeing them more often, but I wanted to make sure that they are old enough to feed every 48hours.

 

[lisa127]

They are definitely old enough to be fed every other day. I have a 6.5 month old juvenile that no longer wants to eat daily.

 

[tb144050]

Thanks!! They are more active after switching to every other day. Maybe they just aren't being "stuffed and lazy" now?

 

[Olympus]

They may be more active because they don't have to be glued to the hot spot, digesting? Frees them up to pursue other activities lol

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I feed all of mine over 25g every other day and those over 40g every 2-3 days. Gravid females usually stop eating a few days to a week before they lay their eggs. Males often are too preoccupied. I generally weigh my geckos every 7-15 days (depending on how old they are and if they're actively breeding or not) to make sure their maintaining weight. I expect females to lose 2-3g with each clutch but no more than 15-20g over the course of the breeding season (depending on how big and how chunky they were to begin with. I make sure breeding females have a dozen or so mealworms in their dish at all times and offer superworms and/or dubia every few days.