Shouldn't have....

[Elgreco]

Fed my female some crickets. I figured I would mix it up a little. Now she won't touch mealworms and superworms . Crickets are such a pain to keep too.

 

[Akari_32]

Just don't offer the crickets. She'll get over it soon lol

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I'd agree. If she's an adult and a healthy weight I would just not feed her for a week before offering her mealworms again. Two weeks if she's really stubborn. If she ate a lot of crickets she could be full for a long while

 

[Elgreco]

The supers are fast so she will stalk it, get right up to it, and then look away lol. Not sure on age but she isn't an adult yet. Still trying to fatten her up so I just broke down and got a bunch of crickets.

 

[Akari_32]

My guys tend to pig out on crickets and then not eat, or eat very little, for a week or two. Crickets are really meaty, and fills the gecko up more than meal worms. My youngest male will still hunt prey even when he's not not hungry. He just won't eat it. That sounds like what yours is doing when she follows, then walks away.

 

[Elgreco]

They can't hide.
The look of a spoiled gecko after 4 good sized crickets.

 

[Akari_32]

That is a face I know all too well. I get that look from Raven every night when I tend to the meal worm colony LOL "Hey! Hey mom! Whatcha doin'? Can I have some? Feed me! Love me!"

Psh! 4 crickets is nothin'! Raven can lput down a good 20 when he wants to. The record is about 40. He acts likes I don't feed him. Which is why he now weighs 90 grams at 5 1/2 months old... <.<

 

[Elgreco]

That is a big gecko. Mine is probably less than half that lol. These crickets are probably too big. At most pet stores here they have either big crickets or tiny crickets with no real in between. The tiny crickets just aren't worth it for 1 cent less.

 

[Akari_32]

He eats 3/4 inch plus sized ones. He prefers larger crickets for some reason. My other two like 1/2-3/4 inch ones.

That's how most stores are. I buy my crickets from a reptile shop, so they get about 6 different sizes, as well as wax worms, supers, discoids, silk and horn worms, and all kinds of goodies! The good news is with crickets though is they grow quickly if you feed them lol

 

[Olympus]

I don't see the problem with offering a more varied diet. You don't have to keep 500 crickets if you don't want to but buying a handful now and then to add variety to her diet is a good idea.

 

[Akari_32]

That's what I do. They're nasty, and I don't want to house more than a night or twos worth lol

 

[tb144050]

I have tips on how to handle crickets more quickly and cleanly. You can see the hands/free dusting/distribution on the video on this link:

http://geckoforums.net/f173-do-yourself/98594.htm

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

But overall, this is what I do:

1) Rubbermaid tub, atleast 10" deep, with packing tape perimeter at 6" and at the top.
2) Put a 1" layer of peat moss.
3) Crushed dogfood in a shallow lid for food. Also, in addition to the dogfood staple, using a $2 bag of salad mix will feed&water up to 1,000 crickets for a whole week....you can use cheaper veggies to feed smaller colonies.
4) a "ball" of wadded toilet paper in a shallow lid; spray to moisten 2x/week.
5) old papertowel and toilet-paper rolls for housing/hides.

That's all they need to be maintained. Once you have this setup, you just add dogfood, lettuce, water (spraying the water-wad) every 3rd day or so. Buy enough for 1 week, and just dump them in the bin. Take the tub outside as needed (once/2 or 3 months??), dump the peatmoss, rinse with water hose. Then put in more peatmoss. Replace "cricket hides" as they come available in your home..(save the empty pt and tp rolls). I find that crickets survive ALOT longer in this comfortable habitat than they do in "cricket keepers" from petstores.

For handsfree feeding:

1) Pick up a tp-roll and shake ## of crickets into a teapitcher (see video on the linked page).
2) "Shake & Bake" (see video on linked page)
3) Feed leo's without touching crickets anymore.

 

[Olympus]

Do NOT maintain your feeders on dog or cat food, this is too much protein and it's just asking to give your reptiles gout. Additionally, use better gut loading than cheap lettuce, this is not sufficient. Gut loading is important, it's not just what keeps your insects alive but everything that you feed your feeders goes straight into your geckos and other reptiles - the good or the bad. Good, strong gut loading will give you healthier animals, with potentially better color and better vitality than cutting corners and using cheap gutload like potato or lettuce. Especially when gut loads are easy and affordable to make yourself (or just buy a high-quality commercial gut load) as long as you stock up on fresh fruits and veggies and a few healthy dry ingredients.

It's true that keeping crickets is easy when you give them space, keep their space clean, and always give them fresh food and water. I buy my crickets 1,000 at a time and never have issues with them stinking up the room or anything. It's just a matter of keeping their bin clean and changing out their food and water so that they stay alive and healthy.

 

[tb144050]

Do NOT maintain your feeders on dog or cat food, this is too much protein and it's just asking to give your reptiles gout.
.....
Especially when gut loads are easy and affordable to make yourself

That's the problem with the internet..As many FAQ's as I read, here is a fact (about gout) that no one mentioned before. Can you pm me or post here how to make a quality home-made gut-load/cricket-food? I am always aiming to improve my methods, especially because I know I still have alot to learn.

 

[Olympus]

Here is a list of ingredients written by a vet that I usually follow:

Suggested Ingredients
Best - These gutloading ingredients are best because they are highest in calcium, low in phosphorus, oxalates and goitrogens. They should be the primary components of your gutload:
mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress and alfalfa.

Good - These gutloading ingredients are good because they are moderately high in calcium and other vitamins/minerals. They should be used in addition to those from the previous category:
sweet potato, carrots, oranges, mango, butternut squash, kale, apples, beet greens, blackberries, bok choy and green beans.

These fresh fruits and vegetables can be combined with dry gutload mixes or home made mixes for optimal well-rounded nutrition. Dry ingredients can include:
bee pollen, organic non-salted sunflower seeds, spirulina, dried seaweed, flax seed and organic non-salted almonds.

Avoid These Ingredients
Avoid these gutloading ingredients because they are low in calcium, high in phosphorus, goitrogens or oxalates: potatoes, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, grains, beans, oats, bread, cereal, meat, eggs, dog food, cat food, fish food, canned or dead insects, vertebrates.

--

I buy a lot of these fruits and veggies for myself, so it's just a matter of putting some aside for the bugs. If cost is an issue, look into buying frozen fruit instead, or buying these things when they are in season and freezing them.

Commercial gutloads (like Repashy Superload or BugBurger, Cricket Crack, etc.) might be a good alternative for busy people. You just scoop out a little, use something else to provide water (either water or fresh fruit/veggies) and you're done. The bigger the bag the better it might come out, cost-wise.

 

[Elgreco]

I bought a little plastic critter keeper and use commercial gut load and water cube thingys. I buy like 20 crickets at a time.

 

[tb144050]

Thanks for the tips Olympus!! I've been using carrots also as a regular veggie, but I will substitute the dogfood and lettuce for some greens off the first list.

Elgreco, that's what I did..until I got 6 or 7 more leos...lol Now I need 30-40 each day, depending on cricket-size and shedcycles..