What size feeders?

[Mantislover]

I will be getting my first geckos tuesday or Wednesday! A male and a female. I have not bought feeders yet and would like to know what size mealworms and dubias should I buy? I want to have some even though I wont be putting any in for afew days after they arrive.

The male was born 6/22/13. The female was born 9/17/13. Based on age, they are not giants, can anyone guess for me the right size feeders are best?
Thank you very much.

 

[Olympus]

Congrats on the new impending additions!

Without seeing them in person/with something for size reference I can only guess, but from their ages they are probably old enough to be able to eat adult mealworms and then perhaps small-medium dubia nymphs. You don't want feeders to be WIDER than the space between the gecko's eyes, so small ones will probably be more than safe but mediums may work as well. I can't say without seeing them.

 

[Samantha12]

Hi Robin,
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new geckos! Hopefully this message finds you quickly. As stated above, feeders should be smaller than the width of a gecko's head to be a safe size.
Additionally, that female is too young to be housed with a male. Your male is ready to breed at his age, but your female is not. Housing them together could be disastrous for your female's health as she is likely too young and underdeveloped to breed, and your male will almost certainly try to mate with her.
Please keep them in separate enclosures until your female is a year old.
Best of luck and please post pictures when you get a chance

 

[Mantislover]

Thanks Samantha12, I found out the male is a female. I will keep a close watch on the two together. I appreciate the info on feeder size.
Their shipping has been delayed because of snow at the breeder's location. That's ok, it gives me time to stock up on feeders and other things. I have mealworms set up and eating, dubias on the way and crickets too.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I usually get medium mealworms. In my opinion all but the smallest babies (under 5g or so) can handle large mealworms but the medium ones have longer to go before they pupate so they'll stick around longer. The size of dubias definitely depends on the size of your geckos. Many geckos don't eat for a few days after a stressful move. The bigger they are the longer they tend to wait. I wouldn't panic about not having food before you pick them up. If you order online you should get them within 48 hours

 

[Mantislover]

Thanks, I want the feeders to have time to eat up and grow. The mealies came and some superworms that are half grown. If too big I will save those for my mantis girls. They love em! I also got butterworms and shared some with the froggies and mantids.
Everybody will be sharing the same foods it looks like.
I might put acouple of mealies in the geckos dish but no crickets or butterworms just in case they look around.... I know my new girls will want absolute peace and sanity.