Overeating??

veronzi

veronzi

New member
Hi I was just wondering if anyone knew if you could actually overfeed a leopard gecko? I just adopted a little guy or girl? I unfortunately dont have anything to weigh BUBBLEGUM (my sons name for our new pal) she is def. a baby and today ate 10 small crickets and cleaned out her mealworm bowl everytime I filled it for a total of about 20 mini mealworms today.
Basically I am just unsure.... do they only eat b/c they are hungry or do they just eat b/c food is around. I've had other lizards but never one with such an insatiable appetite.
Thanks for any answers you can give.
 
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baseball2k26

New member
Bubblegum may just be hungry. Make sure you dont feed him/her too much fatty foods or they get FLD (fatty liver disease) its common and hard to get rid of. Its where fat builds up on the body, not the tail. But i think those two foods are v ery healthy for a gecko. So theres no such thing as "overfeeding" if your hungry your hungry. :] thats just my view.
 
Holly12

Holly12

Member
Well my girl can be that way sometimes they should be able to eat as much as they can eat in 10 minutes after you see them move away from thire food whatever is left in the cage must be taken out an now is your leo a baby or a adult? when leos are young they can tend to eat alot more then they would when they are grown. :)
 
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baseball2k26

New member
They are still growing and developing so they need teh energy to grow and develope. I recommend just feeding them what they can eat in 10 minutes or 15. Some do 30-1hour. So just feed him for 10 mins, then remove the food. Keep a bowl of mealworms in there for your buddy/girl to eat and your fine.
 
veronzi

veronzi

New member
wow, thanks for the quick replies everyone. The 10 minute rule sounds like a good one. I offered her crickets twice today, the second time was when i realized she wiped out her mealworm bowl. She is just a baby and I know they always have heartier appetites. I actually refilled her her mealworm bowl 3 x's today and she cleaned it out every time.
So does anyone have a suggestion on feeding time. She was being fed in the morning at the pet store so I was going to keep to that schedule but am thinking since they are nocturnal maybe night is better. And what age is good to offer waxworms, how many, how often?
 
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baseball2k26

New member
Some people start offering waxworms early once or twice a week to fatten them up if they are skinny. I would recommend feeding when he is the most active. I don't have a gecko but im really active on getting one and I think I would feed when he seems to be active. So maybe after you eat or around 6 or 7 P.M.
 
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theturvs

New member
SoCo (my baby leo) actually tells me when hes hungry. I put his food in front of the front door to his home when I'm feeding him, and he comes out for it. Thats the only time he uses that door, because there is a back door he prefers to come and go by. I've noticed when hes hungry and I'm not on it, he'll start watching me from that door until I come to feed him. As far as overfeeding, heck no. As long as Bubblegum is pooping, you're golden. SoCo is trying to eat me out of house and home currently, so I know.
 
veronzi

veronzi

New member
Feeding him at dinnertime!! That is a great idea! My kids will love it... I bet they'll eat all their veggies in a hurry now so they can go feed our baby BubbleGum! Thankd for the great idea!
 
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baseball2k26

New member
Hehe SoCo is a monster. Hope i get a leopard like him.

** edit

Veronzi haha yeah. Daddy can we feed bubblegum. Finish your broccolil. What a bribe. You eat then he eats. You cant ever forget haha
 
veronzi

veronzi

New member
All I can say is thank goodness crickets are cheap! and if BubbleGum keeps eating this way I may just start breeding my own food lol! Thanks for the tip I think if I can get in a routine my baby will def. start giving me clues as to when she's hungry. Do you coax Soco out with a worm? or just place a cricket right at the door. I've been just dumping them in but was thinking of placing them in the tank in a bowl.
 
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baseball2k26

New member
They would jump out of the bowl. Most people feed in another container thats big enough for movement but also easy for the gecko to see its food. Like a plastic container or a shoebox. I would just recommend taking a meal worm and placing it where your feeding your gecko, then put your gecko where the mealworm is and if it goes for it, feeding time.

And also people do breed food. but crickets are about .14 cents each so 100 are 1.4 dollars. Relatively cheap.
 
cat_named_noodles

cat_named_noodles

New member
Yes, but your own feeders, raised in your home are practically free! Roach nymphs make great food for lil leos. And you can put them in a dish and they can't crawl out (some species can climb, but most sold as reptile feeders do not). I raise my own B. lateralis colony, as well as mealworms and crickets, and haven't had to buy feeders for months. I did buy a few waxworms for the babies (if they are small, say 1/4"-1/2", they've fine for baby leos, IMO).
I had to start colonies simply because it was annoying, and getting expensive, driving to the pet store to get feeders twice a week.
Both Athena and Keenan STARE at me when they're hungry or I forgot to refill their bowls or when it's feeding time. I believe you can not overfeed juveniles. If they do eat too much at one time (which they rarely do, except for maybe gecko crack, aka waxworms, which is one reason to limit them), they could throw up, which is very stressful.
 
veronzi

veronzi

New member
cat_named_noodles said:
Unless you have 4 hungry juveniles that eat 10+ crickets and 10+ mealworms a night, with the occasional wax worm. I was spending ~$20 weekly on feeders!
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or unless you have two kids who always need "just one more fish" or some silly toy for their hamsters and a softee mom who just can't say no.
I was actually joking about breeding but really we love all animals, including insects and I think it would be a pretty interesting thing to do, I may even start growing all my own produce for my family too ;-)
 
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baseball2k26

New member
Haha very productive Veronzi. My mom is soft and my dad isnt, gotta toughen up. He's saying no to a gecko but she says yes. Mom's always win though so yeah. In my oponion hamsters do not need toys. They eat, drink, poop, run, and sleep ALL DAY. each of those toys is a waste. they need a simple cage, a wheel, food bowl, water, and bedding and they are good for 3 years.
 
cat_named_noodles

cat_named_noodles

New member
veronzi said:
or unless you have two kids who always need "just one more fish" or some silly toy for their hamsters and a softee mom who just can't say no.
I was actually joking about breeding but really we love all animals, including insects and I think it would be a pretty interesting thing to do, I may even start growing all my own produce for my family too ;-)
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I HATE hamsters. lol. No, i don't hate them, but I don't really like them. SO far as furries go, I'm a rat person myself.
I love the biology of insects. Besides the feeders we raise, which have a very good life btw, albeit a short one lol, we also keep/have kept caterpillars (Monarchs, Spicebush Swallowtails, Painted Ladies, and Black Swallowtails), praying mantids (I really want an Orchid Mantid!), Harvestet Ants (Ant Farm), and the odd scorpion/spider. Raising feeders just seemed like a natural thing to do. And it's incredibly convenient.
I wish I had a yard (we're apartment dwellers atm), and we'd have a HUGE garden, (and an outdoor pen for Dozer, our sulcata), I can guarantee it! My mom still grows lots of veggies at her house (tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, artichokes, cardoon, onions, leeks, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuces, etc.....mmmmm, I'm getting hungry). We get some of it too!
 
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baseball2k26

New member
Haha yeah. I have a big backyard. 1 acre. But i don't know what i'd grow back there and leopards dont need grass space, as well as i'd probably lose him. Its open ground with grass, very nice since im in upper middle class.
 
veronzi

veronzi

New member
baseball2k26 said:
Haha very productive Veronzi. My mom is soft and my dad isnt, gotta toughen up. He's saying no to a gecko but she says yes. Mom's always win though so yeah. In my oponion hamsters do not need toys. They eat, drink, poop, run, and sleep ALL DAY. each of those toys is a waste. they need a simple cage, a wheel, food bowl, water, and bedding and they are good for 3 years.
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yeah, ok, thanks for the parenting and hamster advice, even though I wasn't asking for it. Seems like my thread has gotten a bit off topic. Thanks to everyone for the good advice on feeding my very hungry baby gecko. And I'm open ears to anyone with any other good ideas out there. :idea:
 
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baseball2k26

New member
After he eats, give him time to rest, don't move him too fast but put him in his cage and make sure he has a hide on the warm side he can go into to digest his food. It helps digest quickly. Everything else is pretty common knowledge i hope :]. Just don't feed anything bigger then his mouth or half his mouth
 
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