Who Feeds Varied Diet?

[LizMarie]

Lately I've been feeding gecko half mealies, half supers and roaches at almost every feeding. Which for my leo is one every 2 to 3 days and for the AFT's which is everyday. I was wondering if anyone here did the same? If yes have you noticed a change? If not why not?

 

[Halley]

For a while I was like a lot of breeders out there, I just feed mealworms.

I recently started to do a varied diet. (I order mealworms, then crickets, then superworms with more expensive things on the side, such as waxworms, phoneixworms, etc.) All I can say is that there was an almost immediate difference in the weight of my geckos.

 

[prettyprincess3690]

I use mealworms/phoenix worms as a staple, with waxworms on occasion. Phoenix worms are a bit pricey, but totally worth it. I'm not much of a cricket fan though, it's mostly just a personal preference (the idea of them getting loose kind of creeps me out).

 

[RoflGecko]

i use mealies as the staple. with supers and phoenixs as treats. I guess thats varied lol

 

[Latlaw]

I try to give a variety too. I use mealies and crickets. Now I will try supers and I do some occasional waxworms. I can't bring myself to order any roaches though . . ;00

 

[Kristi23]

I use mealworms and roaches as my staples. I do buy some supers, silkworms, and waxworms to feed for variety.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

We feed mealworms and silkworms mostly,and some of the babies get crickets. We were thinking about trying out roaches but I think they might be illegal in Florida.....?

 

[gothra]

I do try to give them a small variety, but some of my geckos are stubborn eaters and will only eat 1 type of food. I use mainly dubias and silkworms now; with occasional supers as treats. And maybe some crickets once a year (yuck I hate crickets).

 

[Chewbecca]

I feed roaches 2-3 times a week, and I switch every other order or so with supers and mealies.

 

[Palor]

My geckos get roaches, crickets, phoenixworms, mealworms, superworms and silkworms. Yup, I spoil them.

 

[larry26]

i feed mealies and crickets. Usually 2-3 crickets and bout 10 mealies a day

 

[VitalTears]

I feed mine crickets, mealies, phoenix and waxworms for treats. Yeah, my geckos are picking and spoiled xD

 

[L-G-C]

I feed mine crickets and mealworms but I'm thinking about getting phoenixworms for them but not roaches because my mom said no...

 

[spykerherps]

We feed primarily roaches. dubias and lateralis pretty soon discoids but their very similar to dubia. We supplement with supers and a couple times a year we get crickets. once or twice a year as a special treat we will do Silk worms and Goliath worms.

 

[fikken]

i usually rotate meal worms and super worms. once in a while i will force myself into buying crickets despite my dislike for them. They are very dirty, smell funny and die quickly. i dont like the carrion bugs that result from having the crickets so i limit the cricket feeding. i was thinking of feeding some wax worms to change it up when my geckos are being fussy.

 

[Digby Rigby]

THere is no advantage to feeding superworms and mealworms. You are better off feeding the superowrms only in that case. Cockroaches by themselves would even be superior than feeding mealworms and superowrms. Cockroaches silkworms and superowrms would be far better. Variety in and of itself is meaningless. Variety where each item contributes something different is what is important. In fact your animals would be better off, as an example just feeding them superowrms instead of superowrms and mealworms.

Digby Rigby

Our feeders are cooler than your pets!

 

[leogecko88]

Yoshi gets a dish of mealworms daily. Every other day I will also offer three crickets. Sometimes, her dinner will be all crickets and no mealies. Once a week, I offer a waxworm or two. I would like to try other bugs, but I can't find them locally.

 

[Yamori]

I eat the same thing day in day out (bodybuilder/personal trainer) and you do get very bored and sick of eating the same thing and it dose effect your appetite.

Because i know what its like to eat the same old boring food i try to give my reptiles a varied diet made up mostly of crickets as the staple, occasionally ill throw in some supers and recently started using appropriate sized snails as a treat which are high in protein and calcium.

Land or aquarium snails can be bought at most big pet stores, for obvious reasons you shouldn't use wild snails or any wild insects for that matter.

I tried roaches a while back, damn things always escape or hide somewhere in the tank never to be seen again till i clean it.

-


Darren

 

[GeckoTrouble]

THere is no advantage to feeding superworms and mealworms. You are better off feeding the superowrms only in that case. Cockroaches by themselves would even be superior than feeding mealworms and superowrms. Cockroaches silkworms and superowrms would be far better. Variety in and of itself is meaningless. Variety where each item contributes something different is what is important. In fact your animals would be better off, as an example just feeding them superowrms instead of superowrms and mealworms.

Digby Rigby

Our feeders are cooler than your pets!

While this may carry some weight nutritionally, I would strongly disagree from an enrichment point of view.

Each new feeder provides new texture, movement, hunting skills, size difference etc.
Numerous studies and experiments in zoos and private collections have shown that enrichment (environmental, dietry etc) in all species (including reptiles) is beneficial not only to the physiological health of the animal, but also the mental health.

Just because an animal can survive in a tank with two hides and one feeder type, doesn't mean that it is thriving

This is something which hasn't really hit the non-professional reptile community (and by that I mean 99% of us do not make a living from caring for reptiles) yet from what I have seen.
It only really started to make in roads into the avian community in the last 5-10 years. But the concept has been there in various stages in the dog and cat world for a long time.

Because I am a parrot behaviorist and rehabber, it only made sense for me to carry on the enrichment from my birds to my reptiles. That's why my tanks are constantly changing as I discover new ways to provide enrichment. For me, providing a varied diet (mealies, supers, crix as a base, phoenix and wax occasionally) is essential to the well being of my geckos

 

[STUTFL]

My guy's running low on mealies, so I'm going to try some phoenix worms if I can find a good place online.
Can't breed roaches - may try supers after this. I just have the one gecko, so I worry about getting large (expensive) quantities of stuff he may not eat.