So Crickets or Mealworms? Please help!

CoffeeLuver87

New Member
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9
Location
Springfield, MO
I have a 5 month old juvenile leopard gecko, my very first reptile. She has been with me for about a week and I've been trying to make everything as comfortable as possible for her. We started with crickets in a can but she wouldnt touch it, then we switched to live crickets which she enjoys but has the hardest time catching them. I hate feeding them and trying to get all the nutrition right for them but I love her and want her to be healthy. Today I got so fed up with watching her constantly try to catch crickets and miss. She is also on reptile carpet so the crickets are sneeking under the carpet and getting lost or dying under the carpet. The pet store suggests tweezer feeding but I'm afraid the tweezers will hurt her mouth. So I purchased some meal worms today, took them straight home and feed her four, she seemed to love them. Can this be a staple diet for her? I will do whatever is possible to make her happy and healthy but mealworms are so easy! She is about 6inches long and the mealworms are a little bigger than her head, is this bad? She didnt seem to have any problems getting them down. Thanks for any advice, it is much appreciated :)
 

Enigmatic_Reptiles

Quality is Everything
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6,779
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Corona, CA
Mealworms are a great staple diet for them. I would offer variety occasionally (crickets, roaches, waxwroms...etc). I use Mealworms and Superworms as a staple for all of my leos. I hate working with crickets...they just stink, die, and make noise.
 

monkeytechahoo

New Member
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344
Location
Elgin, Tx
Mealworms and superworms are a good staple for leos. Since your girl is little, stick with mealworms till she's bigger. For crickets though, you can take a back leg off to help your little one hunt it. I've read this advice quite a few times. I don't use crickets anymore since I found how easy it is to keep worms and roaches. *lol*
 

CoffeeLuver87

New Member
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9
Location
Springfield, MO
Thanks!

:DThank you for the advice, makes me feel better about the mealworms, I almost bought a cricket keeper, so glad I didnt. Would house hold roaches be okay? I kinda have a roach problem in my apartment complex and I plan to move soon, but if I started catching them, could I gut load them and feed them to her?
 

T-ReXx

Uroplatus Fanatic
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1,745
Location
Buffalo, NY
:DThank you for the advice, makes me feel better about the mealworms, I almost bought a cricket keeper, so glad I didnt. Would house hold roaches be okay? I kinda have a roach problem in my apartment complex and I plan to move soon, but if I started catching them, could I gut load them and feed them to her?

Definately not. Wild insects(especially roaches, which have an immunity to many sprays) may contain pesticides in their bodies. They also carry parasites. Stick to captive bred feeders.
 

fl_orchidslave

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4,074
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St. Augustine, FL
Even if you don't use pesticides who knows what your neighbors may use. Bugs are known travelers :) IMO mealworms would be your best option because they can be stored in the fridge where other pests can't get to them and their food.
 

monkeytechahoo

New Member
Messages
344
Location
Elgin, Tx
+1 on NOT using wild insects, it's not a good idea and not healthy at all.

Wait a while an get ta know your lil girl. Her eating habits and such. Then a few months down the road do some research on the different roaches available and how to keep your own colony going, see if she'll even eat them, if you & other humans in the house even like them, then start your own. I took a few months reading up on different feeders and I've only had my dubia roach colony a few months and so far so good. My breeding superworms is slow going, but that's what is said about starting out, it's all slow going.

My gecko was a year old when I got him and my daughter's is a year old too, I think. We got them from breeders here on the forums so the question of "what to feed them" was an easy answer for us.
 

Moe

New Member
Messages
106
contrary to popular belief

mealworms are hard to digest for leopard geckos

because of theyre hard shell like skin as well as superworms

thats what this exotic pet store owner told me

they said try waxworms and only crickets:main_thumbsup:

as well as blue worms
 

T-ReXx

Uroplatus Fanatic
Messages
1,745
Location
Buffalo, NY
contrary to popular belief

mealworms are hard to digest for leopard geckos

because of theyre hard shell like skin as well as superworms

thats what this exotic pet store owner told me

they said try waxworms and only crickets:main_thumbsup:

as well as blue worms

Incorrect. The chitin that makes up the exoskeleton of mealworms and super worms is easily digested by leopard geckos. And wax worms are extremely fatty.

And what exactly is a "blue worm?"
 

Sidhe

New Member
Messages
53
Location
California
As others said, mealworms are a fine staple diet. I feed crickets for variety also, and my gecko's not the greatest hunter either. What I do is use the feeder tongs and hold the cricket by its back legs, in front of his mouth. He nabs it off the tongs every time, and they don't hurt him; the tongs never touch him. :)
 

Moe

New Member
Messages
106
Incorrect. The chitin that makes up the exoskeleton of mealworms and super worms is easily digested by leopard geckos. And wax worms are extremely fatty.

And what exactly is a "blue worm?"

i can't remember the name, im going to buy some tomorrow at that exotic pet store i went to

they have no hard skin like superworms and mealworms

theyre blue and get up to 5 inches long

and theyre a dollar a piece, i'll tell you the name tomorrow

they look like caterpillars almost, looks good to eat for leopard geckos

ive been googling blue worms trying to figure out the name i forgot its some weird exotic name...
 

ZooKeeperKarin

New Member
Messages
291
Location
Canandaigua NY
I agree... he just wants to sell his worms for $1 a piece! Boy, he got you suckered!
A varied diet is optimal, but a all-mealie diet is just fine. I started out with ONLY crickets until I found out how easy mealies are. Now, by my geckos choice, they are ALL strictly eating mealies and won't even LOOK at a cricket.
The only reason I still raise crix is for my RETF.

Mealies are a great way to go... and MUCH cheaper! Throw in a silkworm just for some variation, but you really don't have to, and your gecko will do just fine.
 

monkeytechahoo

New Member
Messages
344
Location
Elgin, Tx
I think the "blue worm" would be a hornworm?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:25&biw=1024&bih=655

We give our beardie Boga these, some are green and some are blue. I would think they were a bit big for a young to juvi leo. They even look too big for my adult leo, but I haven't had them for a while since summer temps were too hot for shipping. Hornworms are good but pricey, $1 a piece is a rip off when it's cheaper online, when I get some shipped to us I'll see if Griff will take one.
 

Moe

New Member
Messages
106
I think the "blue worm" would be a hornworm?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:25&biw=1024&bih=655

We give our beardie Boga these, some are green and some are blue. I would think they were a bit big for a young to juvi leo. They even look too big for my adult leo, but I haven't had them for a while since summer temps were too hot for shipping. Hornworms are good but pricey, $1 a piece is a rip off when it's cheaper online, when I get some shipped to us I'll see if Griff will take one.

ya it is a horned worm, can leos eat those? i got the smallest one for my juve gecko but its still kinda big for a small worm ?
 

monkeytechahoo

New Member
Messages
344
Location
Elgin, Tx
I think the rule of safety is

don't feed anything larger than the space between your gecko's eyes

so if the smallest horn worm is the same size or smaller than that and the same size as the worms you are feeding then I would think it's safe.

I have an adult gecko and will try him with a horn worm when I get some shipped to me.
 

T-ReXx

Uroplatus Fanatic
Messages
1,745
Location
Buffalo, NY
Leopard geckos are capable of eating APPROPRIATELY SIZED hornworms. However, there is absolutely no reason to feed them to them. They are expensive, high in fat, and get entirely too large for even an adult leo to eat. I do use hornworms for treats for my tokay geckos and giant leaf tailed geckos, but I wouldn't feed them to a leopard gecko. They are also capable of biting, something that may cause severe damage to a small gecko.
 

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