Suggestions for putting weight on Leopard Geckos??

[Henritron]

Hi,

I have 2 leopard geckos. Im unsure of the age on them but im thinking they are anywhere from 3-5 months old.

Just wondering what people are feeding to their Leos to put weight on them and fatten their tails.

I have seen a quite a few pics of leos that look roughly the same size as mine but their tails are a little bigger so I just want to make sure im giving mine the best diet possible.

Currently i feed them about 5-8 (depending on how hungry they are) crickets per day. I dust them with some calcium once a week.
I also feed them 2-3 wax worms every couple of days which they absolutely LOOOOOOOVE.

Anything else i should be adding to their diet?

 

[cwatkins]

Waxworms aren't always the best idea to give... and should try and be avoided. They have very little nutritional value, and leos can get addicted to them and then not want to eat the more healthier insects. Waxworms are almost like giving them a donut if they were a human... I heard that butterworms can be used to get their weight up, but that was also from a petstore guy so that may not be true.. Maybe just take away the waxworms and increase the amount of crickets or add some mealworms in instead?

 

[Henritron]

Yes i have heard that wax worms dont offer a lot of nutritional value, but i heard that it helps to add weight in their tails - like the donut theory - give them the junk food and it goes straight to their rear the way it does with us humans

I have heard a lot of bad things about meal worms - like their outer shells causing impaction... is there a certain age or size i should wait for them to reach before i start giving them those?

Thanks for the butterworm idea... i will give that a try!

 

[cwatkins]

Yes i have heard that wax worms dont offer a lot of nutritional value, but i heard that it helps to add weight in their tails - like the donut theory - give them the junk food and it goes straight to their rear the way it does with us humans

I have heard a lot of bad things about meal worms - like their outer shells causing impaction... is there a certain age or size i should wait for them to reach before i start giving them those?

Thanks for the butterworm idea... i will give that a try!

My gecko doesn't like mealies,but I read that it helps to give them freshly shed mealworms? But I'm not entirely sure. If you give them mealworms that are small enough it should be fine.. Many owners feed their leos mealies, and if there was danger to them I'm sure it would be expressed a lot on here, they just cant be too big, it is the same with crickets, size matters.
And yes.. it may give them fat but its not good fat.. Same as if we humans get a big but from eating donuts, its not a healthy thing. If you're underweight you're supposed to eat good fats, such as fat in nuts.. That's just my two sense though from what I've read in many threads on here since I've gone through quite a lot of them .
I could be entirely wrong since I am just a new leo owner as well!

 

[Henritron]

Well thanks for all the information!

I just want to give them the best life possible!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Yes i have heard that wax worms dont offer a lot of nutritional value, but i heard that it helps to add weight in their tails - like the donut theory - give them the junk food and it goes straight to their rear the way it does with us humans

I have heard a lot of bad things about meal worms - like their outer shells causing impaction... is there a certain age or size i should wait for them to reach before i start giving them those?

Thanks for the butterworm idea... i will give that a try!

Skip feeding waxworms entirely. Feed variety.

For both young leos and adults, lightly dust crickets, roaches, grasshoppers, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, mealworm pupas, freshly molted mealworms, and locusts (smallest locusts possible)

Phoenix worms (calciworms) should NOT be dusted.

 

[Hilde]

Have you had them checked for parasites, or other problems that could stop them from gaining weight?
Are the tails definitely thin, or do you just want them fatter because you've seen it in pictures? Some leos are so overweight that their tails are huge which isn't at all a good thing.

 

[Henritron]

Have you had them checked for parasites, or other problems that could stop them from gaining weight?
Are the tails definitely thin, or do you just want them fatter because you've seen it in pictures? Some leos are so overweight that their tails are huge which isn't at all a good thing.

Oh no they aren't sick or anything. They have been steadily growing since i got them.

I dont plan on making them excessively obese at all.

My only goal is to make sure that I am doing everything right and giving them the best diet possible. And because of pictures I have seen where ones that are around their size had slightly bigger tails, it just made me doubt a little that I had them on the best diet.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Did you ever find out if the one's an AFT or not?

And are they housed together?

~Maggot

 

[lozza.bella]

if feeder items are well gut loaded they offer a greater nutritional value and taste 'sweeter' so are more readily eaten by the gecko.....

 

[Koghis]

Most captive geckos are unnaturally overweight. 5-8 crickets per day is way too much. Just live with the fact that these animal don't normally eat as much and are not full grown after a few months. What you are trying to do is not healthy.

 

[Henritron]

Most captive geckos are unnaturally overweight. 5-8 crickets per day is way too much. Just live with the fact that these animal don't normally eat as much and are not full grown after a few months. What you are trying to do is not healthy.

As previously stated, i have no intentions of making them as fat as possible, nor am i under the impression they will grow magically within a few months, and my concerns were that i wasnt sure if they were in fact underweight for their size (being that i got them from a petstore and not all petstores sell animals in perfect condition)

The information i gave was only so that i could gain some HELPFUL insite as to how best to go about feeding them. Not to reveive low blow comments about the "unhealthy" things you are convinced im trying to do to my pets.

Thanks

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi,

I have 2 leopard geckos. Im unsure of the age on them but im thinking they are anywhere from 3-5 months old.

Just wondering what people are feeding to their Leos to put weight on them and fatten their tails.

I have seen a quite a few pics of leos that look roughly the same size as mine but their tails are a little bigger so I just want to make sure im giving mine the best diet possible.

Currently i feed them about 5-8 (depending on how hungry they are) crickets per day. I dust them with some calcium once a week.
I also feed them 2-3 wax worms every couple of days which they absolutely LOOOOOOOVE.

Anything else i should be adding to their diet?

Adrienne ~

Thanks for checking in to provide the best for your leos. How about sharing pictures of them? If 3-5 mos is accurate, they probably aren't sexable yet. http://www.reptilecare.com/leopardgender.htm

Are they caged together? Soon it is very advisable to separate them. If both are males, you definitely don't want them together. They will fight. If you have a pair, best to separate cuz the female could become gravid before her time. Even 2 females caged together can bully one another. Leos are solitary geckos and really don't need buddies.

You mention dusting with calcium once a week. What kind do you use?

Do you have a small bottlecap of pure calcium (no D3) in the tank 24/7? Also need a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin.

Best not to use waxworms cuz they can be addictive and then that is all the leo wants.

A great and more nutritious worm is a hornworm. Leos love them ! Scroll through the caresheet linked in my signature to find more info on hornworms, posts #33 and #47.

 

[Henritron]

I attached some pics.

The first is when i first got them.

And the others were taken this morning. The albino has had 2 sheds since i have had them and the other is about to have his second.

 

[Henritron]

As to everything else, they have seperate living spaces now, but i still bring them out together the albino just sits on my chest and the other crawls on my lap.

The crickets get dusted with a calcium with D3 - i read that thats what im supposed to do??

And plain calcium is available at all times in their tanks

Ill try the hornworms.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[Henritron]

I also made another attempt at figuring out if they are male or female. Im pretty sure they are both females, but im thinking i will have to wait a little longer to be sure.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

As to everything else, they have seperate living spaces now, but i still bring them out together the albino just sits on my chest and the other crawls on my lap.

The crickets get dusted with a calcium with D3 - i read that thats what im supposed to do??

And plain calcium is available at all times in their tanks

Ill try the hornworms.

Thank you for the advice!

You are welcome

***Lightly dust prey with Zoo Med's Reptivite WITH vitamin D3/vitamin A acetate 2x per week. Reptivite contains both vitamin D3 and other vitamins. It contains vitamin A acetate (important for eye health among other things) in contrast to the beta-carotene provided in Rep Cal's Herptivite. Leave a small bottlecap of 100% pure calcium carbonate powder in the tank 24/7 for consumption as needed by your leo.

OR

***Use the Reptivite with D3 1x per week

+ a phosphorus-free calcium with D3 1x per week

I feel it is important to use supplements containing vitamin D3 2 x per week.

 

[Henritron]

Awesome, i will make sure i pick up all the right products if i am missing anything.

Thanks again!

Do they look decent weight in the pics i posted? They both seem to be steadily growing the darker (Dilly) a little faster then the albino (Ciego). - im not really sure on the age.. of course getting them from a petstore.. they didnt know a heck of a lot about them or their care.

 

[sampownya]

Personally I leave a bowl of mealworms in the enclosure at all times so he can eat whenever he pleases. You can use this in addition to the crickets you feed them. Also Silkworms, and Hornworms, only get the smaller ones because both worms can get pretty big.

In terms of supplements, I personally use Repashy Calcium Plus, it's a balanced supplement that has everything you need. It will be the only supplement used and is used at every feeding. I also keep plain calcium in the enclosure just in case.

Hope this is useful,
Cheers

 

[Henritron]

Personally I leave a bowl of mealworms in the enclosure at all times so he can eat whenever he pleases. You can use this in addition to the crickets you feed them. Also Silkworms, and Hornworms, only get the smaller ones because both worms can get pretty big.

In terms of supplements, I personally use Repashy Calcium Plus, it's a balanced supplement that has everything you need. It will be the only supplement used and is used at every feeding. I also keep plain calcium in the enclosure just in case.

Hope this is useful,
Cheers

Thank you!

I found the hornworms that are sold in my local petstores are very big and i feel nervous feeding them something large. Ive never asked to see the silkworms so i will ask when im in there next, maybe they are small enough to fed to my two.

I do already have the plain calcium in their tanks and i do dust the crickets but i think i will try to see if my petstore supplies the calcium with all the added vitamins.