Fatten Leopard Gecko up and His Tail

[ecaraballo126]

Hey my Gecko Lex, is now looking healthy again after the vet. He is alert and all but he did drop some weight. I wanted to fatten him up with some wax worms. But i want it healthy. I wanted to figure out what to give him . He is about 3 to 4 years old? He is about 6 inches long. The vet suggested i get his tail nice and plump again. I cant give him roaches for one that my mom will 100% beat me up and she refuses that in her house. Ofcourse any mother would. So, I wanted to figure that out. Also how to correctly gut load my crickets? I mean i give them those little carrot bits and those yellow water soluble chunk you get from cricket something at pet smart and i have some high calcium diet mix to throw to them i mean it with the oats. I dunno if that being properly done but I wanna do it right now. Thanks every bit helps..

 

[AnthonyRenna]

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...rition/49403-feeder-insect-diets-gutload.html
that thread has great gutload recipes. simple for crickets though is carrots and potato slices. they get nutrition and moisture, you can use the yellow gel as well though not nessecary. You can order the repti worms you saw as well as silkworms or butterworms. Im very happy your looking to do it the right way, youll have your gecko for many years to come if you do it right

 

[ecaraballo126]

Awesome thanks! Also, I set up a wax worm near his hut he came out and got into the trance. But he just opeend to lick it and then got unterested and I found two meal worms that must have escaped under the news -___- the other two i cant find i took it out now and not finding them -__-

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...rition/49403-feeder-insect-diets-gutload.html
that thread has great gutload recipes. simple for crickets though is carrots and potato slices. they get nutrition and moisture, you can use the yellow gel as well though not nessecary. You can order the repti worms you saw as well as silkworms or butterworms. Im very happy your looking to do it the right way, youll have your gecko for many years to come if you do it right

 

[ecaraballo126]

Would dried up flys be okay for him to eat and dried meal worms?

 

[AnthonyRenna]

skip the flies and mealworms neither are that great especially when dried

 

[ecaraballo126]

Alright so u think if he maybe sees something different hell eat . I hope he does. He looks soo uninterested in the foodies

skip the flies and mealworms neither are that great especially when dried

 

[AnthonyRenna]

I think he'll chase crickets, mealworms are a very boring hunt they dont move much

 

[whackett]

My wife refused to allow roaches in the house too, but as long as I call them beetles and not mention the word roaches I can now start my colony of roaches sorry beetles.

 

[lets-go-geckoz]

You could order some phoenix worms, or wax-worms. Personally I have been fattening up my gecko with a primary diet of dusted gut-loaded crickets (as much as he can eat in 15 minutes once a day), and then some small meal worms every third day. But I'm about to order some phoenix worms. Phoenix worms are great cause they are very healthy for your gecko and don't escape. They also wiggle like crazy to get your leopard more interested. also for gut-loading I just buy Flunkers Farms gut loading cricket food, its a huge bottle for 5 bucks and its gonna last months. Anyways I would look into Phoenix worms as a feeder separate from the fattening up part..because the amazing thing about them is there natural calcium levels.Meal worms do have a high fat content.But For fat I'm going to start using the wax-worms.

 

[AnthonyRenna]

You could order some phoenix worms, or wax-worms. Personally I have been fattening up my gecko with a primary diet of dusted gut-loaded crickets (as much as he can eat in 15 minutes once a day), and then some small meal worms every third day. But I'm about to order some phoenix worms. Phoenix worms are great cause they are very healthy for your gecko and don't escape. They also wiggle like crazy to get your leopard more interested. also for gut-loading I just buy Flunkers Farms gut loading cricket food, its a huge bottle for 5 bucks and its gonna last months. Anyways I would look into Phoenix worms as a feeder separate from the fattening up part..because the amazing thing about them is there natural calcium levels.Meal worms do have a high fat content.But For fat I'm going to start using the wax-worms.

The flukers gutload they mention is good and cheap, but im going to advise against waxworms they are a good bi-weekly (once every two weeks) treat but thats it

 

[ecaraballo126]

Yeah im going ot try it today ordering the phoenix worms and maybe more wx worms . Cuz i elft two meal worms in the dish and he didnt eat them And the 4 wax worms Nothing. one turned super black and dried up threw it out the other one is black, and the other two are still yellow but he hasnt eaten them so he isnt eating sigh __--___- i think im going to have to force feed him but, how would i do that again he is a wriggly lil guy

You could order some phoenix worms, or wax-worms. Personally I have been fattening up my gecko with a primary diet of dusted gut-loaded crickets (as much as he can eat in 15 minutes once a day), and then some small meal worms every third day. But I'm about to order some phoenix worms. Phoenix worms are great cause they are very healthy for your gecko and don't escape. They also wiggle like crazy to get your leopard more interested. also for gut-loading I just buy Flunkers Farms gut loading cricket food, its a huge bottle for 5 bucks and its gonna last months. Anyways I would look into Phoenix worms as a feeder separate from the fattening up part..because the amazing thing about them is there natural calcium levels.Meal worms do have a high fat content.But For fat I'm going to start using the wax-worms.

 

[ecaraballo126]

So what would be best diet to put him on now ? Crickets phoenix worms and what else?

He isnt going after the wax worms or the meal worms so...

 

[ecaraballo126]

Yeah i cannot have zero roaches plus those give me the chillies ewwww

 

[AnthonyRenna]

best diet w/o roaches wold have to be
Crickets, phoenix worms, and silkworms (can be bought pretty cheap) maybe throw in some butter worms.
regarding force feeding, don't do it until your gecko hasn't eaten for at least a week and a half. it could be not eating due to stress and trying to force feed will only make it worse. Keep a dish of phoenix and silkworms in the enclosure so should he get hungry he can go for it, put in a few crickets but be sure to take them out if not eaten within 15 minutes. Or you can break their jumping legs and put them in the bowl as well after the 15 minutes so they wont bother your gecko. For the time being you can do mealworms and crickets in the bowl JUST until your phoenix (and maybe silk) worms come then ditch the mealworms all together

 

[lets-go-geckoz]

The flukers gutload they mention is good and cheap, but im going to advise against waxworms they are a good bi-weekly (once every two weeks) treat but thats it

What would you recommend for fattening up a gecko? I figured the wax worms where a better choice then meal worms as they are not a risk for impaction. what other feeders are high in fat?

 

[lets-go-geckoz]

Yeah im going ot try it today ordering the phoenix worms and maybe more wx worms . Cuz i elft two meal worms in the dish and he didnt eat them And the 4 wax worms Nothing. one turned super black and dried up threw it out the other one is black, and the other two are still yellow but he hasnt eaten them so he isnt eating sigh __--___- i think im going to have to force feed him but, how would i do that again he is a wriggly lil guy

You could either look for a more enticing high in fat feeder or hope that the phoenix worms get him interested in the other feeders in the dish. But i would not force feed him until he hasn't eaten In a week/week and a half. all in all good luck my friend!

 

[AnthonyRenna]

What would you recommend for fattening up a gecko? I figured the wax worms where a better choice then meal worms as they are not a risk for impaction. what other feeders are high in fat?

Dont use fatty foods to put on weight, think of it this way if you wanted to put on healthy weight would you eat a ton of mcdonalds or would you eat larger quantities of healthy foods. Meal and wax worms are like mcdonalds. For good healthy weight gain use dubia roaches, crickets, silkworms, phoenix worms(black soldier grub), butter worms, and an occasional (small) hornworm

 

[lets-go-geckoz]

Dont use fatty foods to put on weight, think of it this way if you wanted to put on healthy weight would you eat a ton of mcdonalds or would you eat larger quantities of healthy foods. Meal and wax worms are like mcdonalds. For good healthy weight gain use dubia roaches, crickets, silkworms, phoenix worms(black soldier grub), butter worms, and an occasional (small) hornworm

I agree with you to a degree, If the gecko is willing to eat that much then you should feed him something with less fat. But if its an older gecko who only wants to eat every second day then you gotta rely on the fatty feeders.

 

[AnthonyRenna]

I agree with you to a degree, If the gecko is willing to eat that much then you should feed him something with less fat. But if its an older gecko who only wants to eat every second day then you gotta rely on the fatty feeders.

If they eat every other day then use crickets and once a week a wax worm or two

 

[ecaraballo126]

Its been about almost 2 and half weeks that lex hasnt eaten so i think its time he does eat. he drinks but dont eat. And i noticed he shed possiblyMonday night from 12:00am to Tuesday early morning maybe like at 6am maybe he got some stuck to his vent im going to give him a bath right now. And he hasnt eaten at all so could someone tell me how to force feed him I mean i tease him with the food and all and nothing works sooo its kinda time now. And im going to possibly look and see what the nEW YORK REPTILE EXPO HAS . ITS happening in white plains so imma check it out. Who's a good vendor to buy cages and worms and stuff from.

You could either look for a more enticing high in fat feeder or hope that the phoenix worms get him interested in the other feeders in the dish. But i would not force feed him until he hasn't eaten In a week/week and a half. all in all good luck my friend!