What to feed a juvenile leopard gecko

[Tristen124]

so the lady at the store told me to buy LARGE meal worms and LARGE crickets ive only been give my juvi leo one LARG cricket and one LARGE meal worms is that ok

 

[KashMoneyExotics]

yeah that should be fine I feed my leos large mealworms from juvis to adults

 

[Tristen124]

yeah that should be fine I feed my leos large mealworms from juvis to adults

thanks i just wasent sure if one large mealworm and one large cricket was enough food for him/her she/he could eat like 10 of them

 

[lisa127]

I have a 28 gram juvenile. He eats 12 mealworms each evening.

 

[Tristen124]

I have a 28 gram juvenile. He eats 12 mealworms each evening.

he /she is only 13 grams

 

[lisa127]

Mine was eating that many at 13 grams too. Thirteen grams wasn't that long ago.

 

[Tristen124]

Mine was eating that many at 13 grams too. Thirteen grams wasn't that long ago.

i just dont want to over feed her/him you know and when she/he is hungrey she only lickets crickets

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Mine eat about 5-10 mealworms every other day at 13g. How many really depends on how large a large mealworm is and/or if they're about to shed (although that doesn't slow most down!). I found the ones I've gotten from pet stores in the past have not been as big as the ones I get from quality mealworm breeders now. Personally I don't restrict how much my babies eat until they're over 25g. I try to keep a few in their bowl 24/7 but some are just chow hounds and snarf them all down on sight. I just don't give them more than ten per day and half the amount when they hit 25g.

 

[amygotgrace]

How long can you leave the mealworms in the bowl if they are not eaten right away? I'm a new owner and really want my gecko to be healthy. He shed last night and I only got him 2 days ago and there have been 2 crickets in there all day and they just go into his hide with him! He's not eating. :main_no:

 

[DrCarrotTail]

As long as they are alive and moving they're fine to leave in the bowl. I tend to remove the ones that are left and add fresh ones every 2-3 days if they're not eaten before then. They need to eat too and too long without food with make them less nutritional for your gecko or dead.

Sometimes it takes them a while to adjust. Crickets can chew on them and stress them out if he's not hungry. I would remove them and just leave him the bowl of worms. Give him another few days without handling him and then worry if he still hasn't eaten. If he's an older gecko then it may take longer for him to start eating than if he's a bitty baby.