What do you feed your leos?

[cat_named_noodles]

I noticed in the thread I posted about overfeeding leos that it seems everybody feeds differently (what, when and how). I thought it might make a good poll. Also, do you raise any of your own feeders? I currently feed crickets, mealworms and waxworms, and am trying to start a colony of each. I have had lots of success raising crickets in the past (when I had two breeding pairs of Jackson's chameleons). I want to start raising and feeding Turkistan roaches too.

 

[Kitsune]

I feed mainly superworms to my adults. Those who will not take supers, eat crickets. I also have a fairly large colony of mealworms for my little ones. =)

 

[Palor]

My Leos get a variety of bugs. Superworms are the main staple and they also get crickets, roaches, silkworms and phoenix worms.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

What species are Phoenix worms if you know? Can they be bred easily (or even legally as I see only one "manufactures" them)?

 

[zack]

i feed mine meal worms but wood lick to try Phoenix worms

 

[Spots1230]

I feed mine meal worms.

 

[hyposhawn]

I feed mine crickets and mealworms and no i do not breed them.

 

[ColdBlooded]

I feed blaptica dubia roaches and supers mainly with mealies thrown in and crickets on occasion. I also breed the dubias, supers, and mealies.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

I feed blaptica dubia roaches and supers mainly with mealies thrown in and crickets on occasion. I also breed the dubias, supers, and mealies.

Quick question, how do you maintain your feeder colonies?

 

[ColdBlooded]

Quick question, how do you maintain your feeder colonies?

I keep them in bins. I don't have massive colonies by any means (I have a small collection so no need). My roaches are in a good sized storage bin and I use egg crate and toner stabilizers (card board things that support toner cartridges.. I work at Office Depot so I get these for free). I have a divided cat food bowl in with them full of high protein roach chow with water gel. I also feed them various things like apples, potatoes, spinach, and cereal.

I keep the meal worm beetles in a separate container from the larva and pupae where they are free to breed. I keep them on a whole oat substrate with some of the high protein roach chow mixed in and I keep a tea-light holder full of water gel in with them. I also feed them various fruits and veggies. The meal worm larva are in deeper substrate of the chow/oats mix and are offered potatoes and apples. The super worm beetles and larva are kept in the same manner, the only difference is when you want to make the supers pupate you have to separate the worms (putting them in film canisters or a bead container or something) and waiting a few weeks for them to pupate and turn into beetles.

My bugs are kept in the same room as my reptiles so they're fairly warm. Right now the roaches are under a red bulb (75 watt) but will be getting a heat mat soon. I live in the south so the humidity also stays up a bit so I don't have to worry much about that.

If you need anymore info or clarification just let me know

 

[matias]

I feed crickets, mealworms; dubia's and grashoppers (witch is not listed).

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

What species are Phoenix worms if you know? Can they be bred easily (or even legally as I see only one "manufactures" them)?

Phoenix worms are the maggots of the black soldier fly. They can be bred, but I don't think they're quite as easy to breed as say something like mealworms. Also be aware that not all geckos will eat these. I bought 1,000 of them to try out and couldn't get a single animal in my collection to eat them. Other people have had good luck with them though.

As for what I feed my leos...I feed a diet that consists mostly of lateralis and dubia roaches. And I give occasional crickets and mealworms to add variety. A varied diet is your best bet for a healthy animal. But roaches make a great staple and are easy to care for and breed at home. See the "food and nutrition" forum for lots of info on keeping and breeding various feeders.

 

[Kichi]

I feed mine Crickets and Meal Worms. Although she mainly eats crickets, as mealworms are not a good sole food source (Or so I've heard).

 

[Allee Toler]

I give superworms, waxworms, pheonixworms, butterworms, and silkworms. She lovveess butters. Gobbles ten up in no time flat.

Since she won't eat mealworms or crickets.

 

[zack]

is it rlly bad to feed just meal worms?
i use mostly crickets but i wood still like to know about the meal worms

 

[hyposhawn]

it is not as bad as other foods like wax worms but it has more fat then crickets. I feed mealworms 3/4 of the time and crickets 1/4. Mealworms also have less nutrition than crickets.

 

[zack]

o ty for clearing that up for me

 

[ColdBlooded]

I think another important thing to remember is that it is very important to make sure your insects have a good diet (gut loading) so they have as much nutrition as possible.

 

[zack]

what is :king:best:king: for gut loading?

 

[ColdBlooded]

Well, I personally use a variety of things. For my roaches I use a premade high protein roach chow that I buy from "The Roach Guy", I also use dry cat food, fish flakes, cereal, and an assortment of fruits and veggies. For my mealies/supers I use basically the same thing, plus the oat substrate they live in.