Weight Worry

[Jim]

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Hi Everyone!

I just bought a gram scale to weigh my Leos; however, I am not happy with what it is telling me. According to the standard weight charts the scale is telling me all my kids are underweight!

NAME SEX Description Distinct Marks/Coloration Wt In grams
CHLOE F Enigma Albino Banded Snow 29
NELLY F Enigma Albino Banded Snow 26

Juv#1 ? Appears to be HighYellow 23
Juv#2 ? Appears to be HighYellow 23

AYLA F Spotted Snow 40
Jondolar M? Yellow Spotted Snow 47

Short Tail F Striped Banana Blizzard/Snow 30
Miss Piggy F Yellow Raptor Hex 34

I was reading a weight chart that states (on the average) Females are 7" long and weight 50-70 grams, with Males being 8/9" long and 70-90 grams. If this is true than ALL the Leos in my collection are underweight !

 

[geckofactory]

Actually, I would consider a female leopard gecko weighing 50 to 70 grams overweight and might put her on a diet to get her back to around 40 grams. 40 to 50 grams is a healthy weight for a fully grown leopard gecko, as long as they stay fit and hunt for their food on their own.
Most leopard geckos that are considered "healthy", are actually overweight, if not obese.
And, just to state this, it is hard to tell wether your geckos are underweight or not if you just post the weight, you might also want to add the age and length of the animals. I have a fully grown female that is about 29 grams most of the time, simply because she is a really short built one.

yours,
Fabrizio

 

[Jim]

Actually, I would consider a female leopard gecko weighing 50 to 70 grams overweight and might put her on a diet to get her back to around 40 grams. 40 to 50 grams is a healthy weight for a fully grown leopard gecko, as long as they stay fit and hunt for their food on their own.
Most leopard geckos that are considered "healthy", are actually overweight, if not obese.
And, just to state this, it is hard to tell wether your geckos are underweight or not if you just post the weight, you might also want to add the age and length of the animals. I have a fully grown female that is about 29 grams most of the time, simply because she is a really short built one.

yours,
Fabrizio

Fabrizio, Thanks for your input. My spotted snow leos, are just beautiful and look hale and healthy. I agree with you that as long as they look good and hunt...all is well. I will continue to collect more data on weights vs length, as the two original leos I bought on Jan 2nd, 2012 are still sleek with no extra body or tail fat @ 27 & 29 grams respectively. These two I would like to see 8-10 grams more. I put them in a small animal container with lots of food but they just freaked out and I got no where with them, all I accomplished was to stress them out !, which I did NOT want to do.......jim

OK, Miss Piggy who weighs 34grams is around 7" long, give or take a little....jim