Should I feed him more often? Is he too little?

[kyahbean]

OK, so I've had Puzzle about a week now. He's a bit under 4 months old, and I've been feeding him 10 crickets every other day. He snaps them all up really fast, and never leaves any.

I got a digital scale today because I was curious about his weight. He weighs just under 8 grams. Is this like way small? I see all these geckos other people have and they are the same age as Puzzle and they are like twice that weight.

I'm wondering if I should be giving him crickets every day instead of every other? Or is it really not a big deal, and he will beef up eventually? I've attached some pictures of him that we took Sunday night of him hunting, you can tell me if you think he's too little, or whatever. Any feedback is good, I've had him a week and I worry. I want him to be healthy and happy. Knowing zilch about geckos means I might not be able to tell if he doesn't look right.

Thanks in advance, guys.

 

[Spooki]

most people seem to feed juvies every day. you can try offering food every day and see if he takes it.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Feed every day

Crickets 5 to 10 - (DUST THE CRICKETS and don't forget to gutload)

And leave a bowl of mealys in the cage too (DUST THEM TOO).

Leave some Calcium in a dish.


I have a female (Snowy) that was hatched in July 2008 and she weighed 45 grams on 11/25/08. I feed her every day ... 5 to 8 crickets, access to some mealies, and I have also fed her some other stuff for fun and variety.

I have heard that at about 40 grams they start to eat every other day but, it has not happened yet.

But, I have missed some days but, usually it is every day.

 

[kyahbean]

most people seem to feed juvies every day. you can try offering food every day and see if he takes it.

I guess I was just wondering also if it's possible to overfeed? Like will he just eat and eat and eat like dogs too until he is sick or overfull? Or should I be assuming that if he's eating them, he's still hungry?

And other than that, does he look ok?

 

[Jenn]

he seems small. I dont have a weight on my babies lately but just by looks they seem so much bigger. they both wont be 4 months until the 30th. I dont feed crickets but I do free feed mealies.
these are my 3 month old babies, they seem so much bigger.

 

[Spooki]

most reptiles seem to stop eating when they are full. i have an adult and he refuses food when he's had enough. they're not like some dogs who will eat until they explode, lol.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Eating

I have read that some of them will eat until they throw up.

Then, they discover that they do not like to throw up. It also takes away energy to throw up.

So they learn to eat until they are full.

Mine just stop eating when they are full. They may still look but, they don't touch.

 

[kyahbean]

Where do I buy mealworms? I saw some at ******** and ***** but they looked...not very alive. Where do you guys get yours?

 

[kyahbean]

he seems small. I dont have a weight on my babies lately but just by looks they seem so much bigger. they both wont be 4 months until the 30th. I dont feed crickets but I do free feed mealies.
these are my 3 month old babies, they seem so much bigger.

Those do look bigger.

 

[2bacop]

a lot of the people on her order mealies off line but those come in bulk, but you should be feeding crickets everyday. Growing leos need as much nutrients as possible to help them grow.

 

[kyahbean]

a lot of the people on her order mealies off line but those come in bulk, but you should be feeding crickets everyday. Growing leos need as much nutrients as possible to help them grow.

Yeah, I can't order them in bulk, I only have the one AFT. Plus we have 3 cats, and a huge bin of mealworms is not conducive to this environment. They already go nuts when I uncover the cricket feeder. I guess I'll have to go around to pet stores tomorrow and see if there are any mealies worth buying.

 

[acpart]

Puzzle looks great and in good proportion. Remember, he's not a leo he's and AFT so his body shape and proportions are different. My AFT pair seem to weigh less for their size than comparable leos; I don't know why. I do agree that it's good for juvies, especially if they weigh in at 8 grams, to eat daily. I have seen a trememdous difference in weight among hatchlings. I have one hatchling born 8/22 who weighs 14 grams and another unrelated hatchling born 8/26 who weighs 37 grams.

ALiza

 

[acpart]

I meant to add that many AFT's don't eat mealworms, but you can try.

Aliza

 

[voretaq7]

Yeah, I can't order them in bulk, I only have the one AFT. Plus we have 3 cats, and a huge bin of mealworms is not conducive to this environment. They already go nuts when I uncover the cricket feeder. I guess I'll have to go around to pet stores tomorrow and see if there are any mealies worth buying.

If the rest of the household doesn't mind bugs in the refrigerator you can always buy 1000 at a time and throw most of them in the refrigerator. Works out pretty well for me.

 

[kyahbean]

Puzzle looks great and in good proportion. Remember, he's not a leo he's and AFT so his body shape and proportions are different. My AFT pair seem to weigh less for their size than comparable leos; I don't know why. I do agree that it's good for juvies, especially if they weigh in at 8 grams, to eat daily. I have seen a trememdous difference in weight among hatchlings. I have one hatchling born 8/22 who weighs 14 grams and another unrelated hatchling born 8/26 who weighs 37 grams.

ALiza

He was born 8/14 and weighs 8 grams lol. So he's like way tinier than those guys. I'll feed him crickets every day from now on until he gets a bit bigger. But I'm glad to hear he looks in good proportion. Being a complete gecko n00b I totally worry.

What about shedding? How often do your AFTs shed? I've had him a bit over a week now and haven't seen him shed yet. I'm not sure how to tell if he's about to or what. I don't really know what his normal colors should be, so I can't tell if he looks pale or not. He hangs out in his humid hide like ALL THE TIME. Day and night lol.

 

[nats]

What does "AFT" mean? :main_huh:

 

[kyahbean]

What does "AFT" mean? :main_huh:

African Fat Tail. He's not a Leopard.

 

[Haligren]

Tiamat is a juvi but she doesn't seem to like crickets as much as her mealies. Someone said one should be feeding their young leos/AFTs crickets everyday. Well, what if she doesn't seem to like crickets but maybe once a week? Does it matter as long as she wolfs down mealies by the bowlful?

And I didn't mean to steal your thunder, Emily. This thread got me to thinking about my own leo's diet. From what I know about AFTs, yours looks healthy. He has a nice fat tail and his proportions look great. I wouldn't worry if he's a little small - for some reason most AFTs often weigh less than they look. Especially compared to leos of the same age. This, I know - I was interested in getting an AFT before a leo until I found out there was no place that had them up here. So I did some research.

Anyway, he's as cute as he can be, but I would start feeding him every day since he's still young. Just my two cents. :3

 

[Libby15]

Try like seven every day and see what happens.

 

[acpart]

He was born 8/14 and weighs 8 grams lol. So he's like way tinier than those guys. I'll feed him crickets every day from now on until he gets a bit bigger. But I'm glad to hear he looks in good proportion. Being a complete gecko n00b I totally worry.

What about shedding? How often do your AFTs shed? I've had him a bit over a week now and haven't seen him shed yet. I'm not sure how to tell if he's about to or what. I don't really know what his normal colors should be, so I can't tell if he looks pale or not. He hangs out in his humid hide like ALL THE TIME. Day and night lol.

In all honesty, I have too many geckos to keep track of how often they shed and I only have adults. The adults seem to shed monthly or less often and the babies seem to shed about every 2 weeks or less. It is possible to have a gecko for quite awhile and not know they've shed because it happens from start to finish at night.

As I said before, I have this feeling that AFT's may be lighter for their size than leopard geckos. I got an adult male who was at least a year old from a pet store and he was only about 42 grams when I got him, but he looked a pretty decent size. Now he looks huge but he's about 68 grams. My huge looking leos are more like 90 grams. As long as Puzzle is eating regularly, you have nothing to worry about.

Aliza