What the heck are these??????

[gecko4245]

this explains soooo much. I sent a message back to you but im guessing it got lost in connection. My LPS has cricket food but its price is ^^^^^ im wondering if i cant feed spinach and zuchini. The big question is if i need to boil the zuchini for them.

not spinach because it can bind the calcium. I guess zuchini is fine but they need grains for protein if not they will start eating each other. Thy don't sell Fluckers where you live? it's only like 3 buck here.

 

[Dimidiata]

actually all they sell here is flukers. EVERYthin here is flukers, wich is bad because its a suck brand. I dont hear enough good about it. Im working with flukers calcium aswell. Its 10$ for a little container. I just feed natural with potatoes, fruit and other veggies.

 

[Russellm0704]

I'm glad all is figured out! Young people on this thread should not be treated differently than others because it is all about the leo's regardless of the owners age. No point should be made about another's age. And dimidiata, I know your not a fan of mealworms but most people on these forums feed mealworms as a staple. They can be gutloaded and all the breeders on here will tell you there geckos don't become impacted. I have 5 and they all poop every night and at least once every other night. But I do give them crickets one a week for variety. I'm just skeptical of crickets because many diseases have been going around in crickets. But I am glad you give them a variety. Also try superworms because they are different from mealworms and even better for digestion than mealworms

 

[Dimidiata]

now im confused lol. Look back in here i was told no supers....GAH! some people say supers as a staple, others say no supers. I was told no giant mealworms, no mealies. Crickets imo are too sick now adays. Thats why i wish to breed em. Or i could start a colonie of local roaches(i have a colonie in my fish cabinet, darn things have 5 generations eating my fish food.)

 

[gecko4245]

now im confused lol. Look back in here i was told no supers....GAH! some people say supers as a staple, others say no supers. I was told no giant mealworms, no mealies. Crickets imo are too sick now adays. Thats why i wish to breed em. Or i could start a colonie of local roaches(i have a colonie in my fish cabinet, darn things have 5 generations eating my fish food.)

I never said anything about age, i don't know what he is talking about. anyway, crickets eat anything. oatmeal, baby food cereal and even plain cheerios crumbled up. Crickets are healthiest for them . I promise you. just try to breed your own. They are way lower in fat and have better nutrition. It's easy to breed them.

here is a link with good info.

http://www.anapsid.org/crickets.html

 

[Russellm0704]

Haha well in the last poll which asked what staple to use, mealworms won by a long shot and supers did not do too bad either. Supers should only be fed to adults and no more than 2 a feeding.
Crickets
Pros:
Better nutritional value
More active which makes geckos want them more and creates a hunting experience
Cheap
Cons:
Disease Risk
Smelly
Harder to Keep Alive
Can't be left safely in cage with geckos

Mealworms/Superworms
Pros:
Easy to keep alive in refrigerator or in a tub for supers
Can be left in cage in mealworm dish
Don't smell, Easier to dust than crickets
Cons:
Nutritional value lower than crickets(can be achieved through correct dusting)
this is the only con i see

 

[Russellm0704]

But that being said, if you don't mind dealing with crickets and going to get them on a weekly basis then thats absolutely fine.!!!!

 

[Russellm0704]

please don't talk to me like I am a kid. I am 32 with a son who is almost your age and I would not be happy if he gave that attitude to an adult.

not trying to start something, but here you referred to the OP's age. Or maybe i am looking at it wrong. Either way it is irrelevant to the main topic, which is to better ourselves in caring for our leo's

 

[Dimidiata]

Crickets arnt too cheap compared to meals lol. Still i have this odd attraction to crickets(hey, i have the money, im willing, and i have a keeper.) Not to mention mine get local tropical growth. So on the topic of The large mealworms.... any say how? I fed them for 1 month and imo rango like em, they were bigger then meals by far and his poops were fine(infact i just had a bad poop from him recntly with a half digested cricket) but it was a one time thing so i think hes ok.

EDIT: you posted the same thing in the message u sent me geck.

 

[gecko4245]

not trying to start something, but here you referred to the OP's age. Or maybe i am looking at it wrong. Either way it is irrelevant to the main topic, which is to better ourselves in caring for our leo's

Get a life. you have nothing better to do then try to start stuff.

 

[Russellm0704]

The prices just depend on the location i guess and whether you order in bulk or lps. I'm skeptical about large mealworms because many say they are given a growth hormone. That's why i just feed medium sized mealworms until they are large enough to eat supers. I order 500 supers from grubco for about 13 dollars(shipping included) and i have 5 geckos. If my geckos eat 2 a day(which sometimes they only eat 1 a day and that is still plenty), then that is 10 supers a day max. That means that I only pay 13 dollars to feed all 5 of my geckos for 50 Days!!! (plus carrots for supers and oat wheat bran for bedding) but still it works great for me. But what works for me may not work for you since you only have one gecko

 

[gecko4245]

Haha well in the last poll which asked what staple to use, mealworms won by a long shot and supers did not do too bad either. Supers should only be fed to adults and no more than 2 a feeding.
Crickets
Pros:
Better nutritional value
More active which makes geckos want them more and creates a hunting experience
Cheap
Cons:
Disease Risk
Smelly
Harder to Keep Alive
Can't be left safely in cage with geckos

Mealworms/Superworms
Pros:
Easy to keep alive in refrigerator or in a tub for supers
Can be left in cage in mealworm dish
Don't smell, Easier to dust than crickets
Cons:
Nutritional value lower than crickets(can be achieved through correct dusting)
this is the only con i see

That is because they look for what is convenient for themselves instead of thinking what is best for their leos. Dimidiata knows best.

 

[Dimidiata]

^ with that i have to say is right in some cases. In others its more of the meal worms being more trustworthy and overall better off then crickets. If you cant house crickets mealworms can be used, they just need more supps. The one issue i have with them is gutloading. HOW. i keep em in the fridge, they dont typicaly eat when their cold. Do remove them, gutload them when they warm and then fridge or should i just remove some a day early and gutload them and then throw em to rango?

 

[Russellm0704]

I have raised many leo's on solely mealworms and solely crickets. I have leo's die at a young age from crickets and leo's live until they were 16 on mealworms. I believe with correct supplementation and with a weekly option of variety, both ways can be just as healthy. As i said before, i feed mealies/supers as a staple, and every sunday all the leo's get crickets for a variety.

 

[Russellm0704]

^ with that i have to say is right in some cases. In others its more of the meal worms being more trustworthy and overall better off then crickets. If you cant house crickets mealworms can be used, they just need more supps. The one issue i have with them is gutloading. HOW. i keep em in the fridge, they dont typicaly eat when their cold. Do remove them, gutload them when they warm and then fridge or should i just remove some a day early and gutload them and then throw em to rango?

for gutloading, you should take the amount of mealworms you want to feed out of the fridge a day in advance, put them in a container with a little bit of wheat bran, and give them carrots/potatoes or any gutload. It's like preparing the mealworms a day in advance to be devoured!!! haha

 

[gecko4245]

I have raised many leo's on solely mealworms and solely crickets. I have leo's die at a young age from crickets and leo's live until they were 16 on mealworms. I believe with correct supplementation and with a weekly option of variety, both ways can be just as healthy. As i said before, i feed mealies/supers as a staple, and every sunday all the leo's get crickets for a variety.

whatever you do is your buisness. It does not mean he has to do the same. How you are 20 years old and and kept a leo for 16 years. I don't buy it and you are still feeding them on the weekend so I know it's not true because if they died from crickets you won't be feeding them at all. If that was the case half the leos would be dead on here. I have been feeding crickets for 15 years without a problem. they probably died from something else. you shouldn 't be scaring him into feeding higher fat foods.

 

[Dimidiata]

He said his gecks live 16years NOT that he kept them 16years lol. Also, he doesnt scare me, he know that very well. Its his opinion that mealies are better(and they may be for youngins,skinny and preggers) and he already agreed that crickets have a higher nutrition. He stopped with crickets after the babbies died so thats how.
I can atest that russel knows what hes doing and has very healthy gecks.

 

[Russellm0704]

When did i scare dimidiata?, if you read my post you would see that i said what works for me probably won't work for him since he only has 1 gecko. And my first 2 geckos were 8 years of age(they were clutchmates) when i got them at 10 years old. My dad is a vet and has had many different animals which is how i got into them so early., But, and dimidiata will back me on this one, I did state that whatever works for her is probably different from me. I was just asking her to consider mealworms before she downs them. there is nothing wrong with giving information.

 

[Dimidiata]

And now we reach the climax*slaps russel* im a dudem-_-'

 

[Russellm0704]

EDIT: When i said i had leo's die at a young age I was not referring to babies. I was referring to 5 and 6 year old leo's(which is a young age to die based on all of my leo's)
I apologize that i did not clarify that.