Leopard gecko: How much should she eat?!

[Angey]

Hi, I have a new leo, she is 1 1/2 years old approximately and I've had her for 5 days. How much should she be eating? Is there a way to over feed? She eats every day, about 6 crickets and 5-6 meal worms and seems to be looking for more! How many should she be eating at this age?

 

[Pokeefe88]

You should feed her whatever she eats in a 15 minute time frame. I feed mine one at a time in a separate container. Also I was mistakenly feeding her mini mealworms and she would eat anywhere from 30-50 mealworms at a time. Usually about 35-40 however some nights she was more hungry. She also eats about 30 crickets but I think they were to small for her.

Also Leopard Geckos dont over eat as they store the excess fat in their tails, however I have heard of baby leos over eating and throwing up however they only do that once and learn from the experience.

Hope that helps

 

[Geck-oh]

I feed my gecko until he doesnt want to eat anymore, when he is done eating hell crawl into his tree or into his cave, thats how i know hes done, and i clean out whatever he didnt eat

 

[Mardy]

My geckos have a way of closing their eyes when they are full, and kinda look away. It's the funniest thing I swear. They usually don't over eat, but if you are finding that you have to keep tossing feeders in there, you could possibly look into getting larger feeders.

For an example, instead of 5 mealworms, you could be feeding it 1 superworm and your gecko might feel plenty satisfied. Instead of 5 crickets, 1-2 dubia roaches could possibly fill your gecko up as they are more meaty and they have larger digestive tract where they keep their digested food.

 

[Yoshi'smom]

I feed my guy 2-3 times a week as much as he'll gobble down in about 10 or 15 mins. When he's done eating he'll turn right around and plop his little bum down and ignore me! It's adorable!

 

[Saskia]

I also feed mine everyday, as much as they want!! One it happened to one of them that she ate (at a juvenile age) 18 adult mealworms and it wass too much for her and she threw up, after that she stops eating when she is satisfied!! a little common sense and your little guy will tell you when to stop

 

[Angey]

Ok thanks
Tonight I'll feed her until she stops and see how much she really eats!

 

[M&S-328]

Its seems a little odd that an adult leo is eating everyday. Typically they should be eating everyother day.
If you are worried about obesity (which can be an issue) than Id suggest slowly cutting back each second day to about half of what she'll eat on a regular day. Then she will probably consume more on her "full" meal days and eventually you can cut back to feeding her everyday. But just so she will have something to pick at whenever she feels a little snacky, you should place one of those small feeding dishes with about 10-20 mealworms in it for her to eat on her off/no meal days and to snack on before/after her main meals.
When she does eat her big meals (when you get to the everyother day point) let her eat till she is full. And make sure the food is appropriately sized - so, for a full grown adult gecko she should have large/giant mealworms and 1 inch/full adult sized crickets. a good rule of thumb is that once the leo is an adult the feeder should be no bigger then the length across its head.
Also, be sure to dust and gutload her crickets. that will also actually help her to feel fuller faster and get all the nutrients she needs.

 

[Angey]

Her age is an estimate, the lady at the store guessed based on her size but after reading on sizes I'm not sure on the age because I dont think she is yet full grown. She is about 4 1/2" from head to tip of tail and weighs 27g. She is definately not overweight, I want to put a little more weight into her tail. She eats 2-3week crickets, they are the length of her head. The crickets and mealworms are both gutloaded with fresh fruit and veggies, the crickets get fresh fruit or veg daily and the meal worms are taken out of the fridge the night before and put into a container with fresh fruit and veg to gutload. They are all dusted with calcium and there is a dish of calcium in her tank.

 

[M&S-328]

Sounds like you are doing a great job with the feeders!

However I think the woman was WAY WAY off about age!!
At only 4 1/2 inches she is definitely NOT full grown! Is that her in the picture? by length Id say shes maybe between 3-6 months. Thats a pretty big age range, but I know 4 1/2 inches is a young juvie and (trying to go off the picture) she doesnt look to be too too small...
More pictures would be a huge help so we can help determine age.
And age is a very big factor in appetite. Babies and juveniles should eat every day, and as much until they are full ( typically anywhere from 6-14 crickets) and given a constatnt supply of mealworms to pick at. But remember, nothing should be left in the cage overnight if its not in a dish. Otherwise it will annoy your leo and eat her poop - very very bad.

Also, pictures would be great to see how her tail looks to us. A fat tail is the first and best sign of a health gecko -and sometimes helps to tell the age too!

 

[Angey]

http://http://s1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/AngeyK/?action=view&current=IMG_1777.jpg

I havent put in a picture before so we'll see if this works. If it does, I will take a few more pics to add.

Hmm... Not sure what I am doing, but it wont come up for me... ???

 

[M&S-328]

Ya, unfortunatly that didnt work. Theres an option when posting for you to add pictures. Ive personally never used it... but a lot of people on here could show you how. or there might even be a "sticky" on how to do that.

 

[Pokeefe88]

Hmm... Not sure what I am doing, but it wont come up for me... ???

I found you on photobucket.com You can embed the picture with the img code and copy and paste or copy the album URL and then we can follow it there, I will post your pictures for you.

I would try to get full body pictures so that we can see the nose to tail. :biggrin:

 

[Angey]

Thanks
I'll take some pics this evening at feeding time, it will be easier and I wont have to disturb her to get them

 

[M&S-328]

Looks great!

its tail is alright. Itd be good to get it a little fatter, but shes in no danger right now.

As for size, she looks to be a mid-juvie. Id say about 5-6 months old. She will get bigger! lol. She looks to be between 5 and 6 inches, and they typically get about 8-11 inches, but she wont be a huge monster or anything! no worries. lol

At her size id say she should be eating maybe aout 5-9 crickets a night (some are piggies though!) and should have the mealworm dish with her at all times.
To help her adjust to you handling her, and to help fatten her up: give her a waxworm once a week/every 5 days. Once she settles in you should begin the "taming" process by letting her get used to your hand near her in her tank for a few minutes each day, and then touching her, and then gently handling her everyother day and then everyday. At this time you can give her the waxworms as treats about once a week when you take her out for her daily handling.

Good luck!

 

[Angey]

I've researched a lot on how to tame her so we are doing great in that department.
I picked her up once yesterday to change the papertowel. I put her in a smaller carry cage when I clean the tank. I love it because I can see through the bottom to keep an eye on her belly.
I knew her tail was ok but thought it could use a little fattening. I havent given her waxworms yet but that is my next new purchase when I go back for her other food, as well as a food dish for mealworms. I'll try to get her measurments this evening too

 

[Mardy]

lol cute gecko and cute kid, you're doing fine.

I would avoid waxworms unless your gecko isn't eating and needs fattening up. Waxworms can become addicting for them, so if you do buy some, buy a small amount and only feed them as treats once or twice a week. Variety is fine. If you have a gecko who's eating well, you don't want them to stop eating everything else and get addicted to the yummy waxworms.

 

[TheOneBlueGecko]

Nice looking gecko!

I second the wax worm comment, unless your gecko is worryingly underweight they are not needed.

 

[Yoshi'smom]

I have never given my Leo waxworms ever! He's big enough without them! The last time I weighed him was a month ago and he was 78g. He's a normal and that's pretty big for a normal leopard gecko so I don't think that waxworms would be a good idea for your Leo.

 

[Angey]

She does eat well so I will take the advice on no waxworms.

After measuring her this evening, she is 6" long from head to tip of tail full length.
She is 27 grams in weight.
So she would be about 6 months old? 6-7?

She ate 10 crickets and 9 small meal worms. I put 10 in a dish and see how many are left in the morning.