Separate container feeding?

[SkinnyPete]

Does anyone here use a "feeding" container?
My boy is a chow hound and VERY outgoing. I have only had him a week and half, and he already comes out when he hears the mealie container. Will eat from tongs NO problem.
My girl is a bit more shy, and she will usually only eat one or two mealies from the tongs. I haven't seen her eat much, but in the morning the mealies are all gone, and she isn't losing weight.
Ok now to the meat and potatoes of this question:
I am thinking about feeding her in a separate container. I have a smaller sized "critter keeper" that is just the right size. I went ahead and blacked out the sides and top with black construction paper so it is nice and dark and secure feeling. I am thinking about putting her in there with 10 mealies and leaving her for an hour or so so she can eat on her own un disturbed.
Or am I just being a worry wart?
Half of me says, she is eating and growing , no worries, the other half says : give her the best of the best.
What do you all think?
Thanks ahead of time for the input!
:main_thumbsup:

 

[jski711]

are they housed together?? im assuming they are separate but i had to ask. as long as they are gone in the a.m. i wouldn't worry too much as long as you are sure she is eating them and they aren't getting out and lost or being eaten by someone else. also a scale will be your best friend in tracking the weight of both your leos. HTH

 

[SC Geckos]

Sounds to me like they are housed together. Thats not a great idea, especially with a male and a female. I would house them seperatly. I think if she is shy in her enclosure you will just stress her out each time you move her to a "feeding tub" and she probably will not eat in there. She has a better chance of eating in her enclosure. I would rehouse the male.

 

[Gtwo305]

Usually wheb you handle leos they get scared especially if they are young and not used to it, when dropped in a diff environment as well. I tried this with one of my leos and he just layed there terrified n did not eat at all. Not even crix!

 

[SkinnyPete]

They are together, they came to me a a pair that had been housed together since hatching. They are great cagemates, they don't fight or bully one another. I am just being curious about how other people do things.
My over analyzing is one of my big problems, so I am watching every single thing they do like a hawk. Like I said, they are growing well, when I got them they were 13g, last week the weighed 15 (f) and 17g(m) respectively, and the girl shed out two nights ago. I think the boy shed out a few days before that, but he did it at night, I noticed some shed on his toes one morning and it was gone by the evening.
Right now I am not in the position to setup another tank for a week or two, so if things get worse, I will make a divider for the current tank.
Thanks for the replies!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I would separate them about 25g max. Keeping opposite sexed geckos together might encourage your female to start breeding before she's ready and could really hurt her and produce unhealthy babies.

I would agree to not switch them to a different container for eating. If the male eats everything in sight you might need to separate them sooner so she can come out at night and eat when she feels more secure. Some of mine are in your face beggars and some of mine only come out when I head to bed. I only know they come out because mealworms disappear at night - and they keep gaining weight

 

[SkinnyPete]

Thanks Doc! I will start getting the stuff together to separate them in a few weeks. They will probably be healthier and happier having their own 10gal living spaces anyway.

 

[Taesolieroy]

Every gecko has their feeding preferences. I've been fortunate in having been able to teach mine the behavior of climbing onto my hands for feeding in their separate container that I use. So when they see me getting the feeding setup out they're usually clawing away at the sides of the tank or over each other (in the case of Natesa and Yaheri) to be the first onto my hand for their mealies.

Having a dominant and active male can have an effect on your female, you might be pleasantly surprised after separating them that your little girl becomes a charming little lady that won't shy away from your hand. It is possible to house two leos together (NOT males - they are rather territorial), but female only and with enough space and hides for them to claim as their own - 20 gal minimum for that condition (Dani's spoiled, she gets a whole 29 gal tank to herself!)

As it is I hope you'll be able to find which works best for your leos. If you end up going out of town for a while it might be best to either set up a feeding schedule for a friend to come over and feed them with the tongs, or get them used to eating out of a dish so your pet sitter doesn't have to directly engage the bugs and geckos. A gecko who becomes too accustomed to eating from the tongs won't be able to comprehend the notion of snapping them up from a bowl readily.

 

[SkinnyPete]

^
Thanks for your reply! I am lucky that they both are eating from a mealworm dish right now. I am definitely going to get another setup ready for the boy to move into.
I could have done it sooner, but my daughters came home with a Garter snake a few days ago and I had to get it all setup. So next payday is Gecko housing.

 

[Cesar_Da_KIng]

I do that for my tegu, but hes big and fearless, a leos to small and scared.