how to feed by hand?

JIMI

JIMI

New member
Did you feed the roaches on carpet? If you place the Dubia on top of a tile or on the glass floor of the aquarium they struggle to readjust themselves whereas on carpet they can easily get back on their feet. If you keep poking them and spin them around a little maybe she'd show some interest and be able to catch them that way! Maybe you can even put them on top of a small smooth tile a certain distance away from her hide in her main tank, leave her and see if she's eaten it in a few minutes. Or maybe you can try the same thing in the feeding tank. You're probably going to have to experiment a bit. Have you tried silkworms or hornworms? They wiggle around enough and don't move around quickly. Good luck, I hope you can find a solution!
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
I haven't found any place local that sells hornworms or silk worms. I would try them. Perhaps I will look at ordering some online. Any suggestions where to order from?
 
JIMI

JIMI

New member
I currently purchase silkworms from Mulberry Farms. I like them, but shipping can make purchasing them pretty expensive. I tend to rely on a local pet store for hornworms especially during the summer because I am more likely to lose some during transit due to very high temperatures and won't be covered by the live arrival guarantee. :?Some other great silkworm and hornworm suppliers I've come across are Great Lakes Hornworms, Coastal Silkworms, The Silkworm Shop, Oregon Silkworms, Linda's Gone Buggie, and I'm sure there are more. You might want to compare their shipping policies and prices to see which you are most comfortable with. The closer they are to your location the cheaper shipping costs will probably be and the less likely they will die during transit. I like silkworms more than hornworms because they are growing machines. With just one leopard gecko to feed I lose money buying too many hornworms! They are worth a try for the sake of variety nonetheless. I keep them cool to slow growth.
 
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lbanta

lbanta

New member
Pretty expensive.

If I order silkworms or hornworms, how many should I plan on her eating? I found with shipping 20 hornworms on one sight were 1.85 each. Would she eat daily or every other day one worm? I have a mulberry tree in my yard so silkworms might be a good choice? I found some Pheonix worms pretty reasonable so ordered them to try. Some articles I read said their Leo's won't touch them and some said they love them. Last night Vastra got an injured cricket that was barely moving. She won't touch one that is not moving. So I am willing to try these different feeders to see if she will get them. But how many does a normal gecko eat? They seem to have lots of mass and would be equal to several crickets. Input?
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
How about incapacitating the crickets in some way like removing an entire back leg(s), so that there is movement but not much? I'm impressed that Vastra seems to notice the movement.

I've not tried silkworms. Having a mulberry tree in your yard simplifies silkworm food for sure. :)

Don't know about numbers. Phoenix worms are only about 3/4 long. My Petco carries those.
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
I have taken the back legs off of the crickets and she's not able to get them. the ones that she has been able to get have been injured in some way to where they're just kind of wiggling and not actually moving around. I put one in the other day that had just died and was not moving at all and she could care less about it. so I guess I could be kind of mean to the crickets and pull off more legs then just the back two. She might be able to find them and eat them then if I put them out in the middle of the floor of her tank. where she would have to walk right by them. I have seen her hone in on movement. What other reason would there be for her to pounce and pounce and miss every time. I assumed it was her eyesight. I do believe if I had some kind of a prey item that would wiggle but not move and run away she would be successful, and she does not like meal worms or super worms. the question I had was if I did choose to try silkworms or hornworms they seem like some pretty large items. So if you chose to use those would you just give them one? How many of those is worth how many crickets or how many days in a row would you feed them when you're using such large food. If I got 10 or 12 silkworms or hornworms How long could I expect to feed a gecko with that many. Would it last a month feeding every other day 1 worm. those of you that use hornworms and silkworms do you just feed 1 worm. do you feed every other day? Do you see them as a daily feeder item? I haven't seen anything to tell me what to expect. Those items are rather expensive to use as a daily feeder. If you would have to feed more than one or if you would be feeding them everyday it could be rather costly.
 
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JIMI

JIMI

New member
I typically feed 1-3 small hornworms or silkworms in one feeding. I feed every third day, but I try not to offer the same feeder back to back. I don't think it's a good idea to feed them as a staple because of how high they are in moisture content, you might start seeing some runny poops. They also lack essential nutrients as a staple feeder; I think you still need to feed insects that can be properly gutloaded and dusted. The silkworms can last me a little longer than a month, but I think the hornworms will grow too big by then.
 
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hmarie186

hmarie186

New member
Try some blue bottle fly larvae. They wiggle like crazy and when you lightly dust them in a shallow bowl or lid they don't go anywhere. You can order them cheapest from jada bait, you just have to remove them from the pine shavings and rinse with warm water or the softwood dust and smell are off putting taste wise. I usually switch bedding to aspen and clean them all when they arrive.

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/feeders-food-and-nutrition/77781-blue-bottle-fly-larva.html?highlight=Blue+bottle
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Thanks for your feedback, lbanta.

I just updated one of the Hornworm Guidelines' links and added this comment under tips: "When kept by the following method, it is easy to keep hornworms alive (and of edible size) for many leopard geckos for about 3 weeks."
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
HMarie186, Thanks for telling about rinsing them. I just ordered some of them yesterday are they the same thing a Pheonix worms?
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
hmarie186

hmarie186

New member
They are different. Sometimes they are called "spikes" but the blue bottle flies are large, harmless pollinators. The larvae are much bigger than housefly larvae, about waxworm sized. I linked a previous post in my other reply. :) You can see Tidus eating them so it gives you an idea of what they look like and their size.
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
Well last night about 4 am I was in the kitchen and noticed Vastra was up so I thought I would try to give her the two crickets I had coated in Reptivite last evening. I had left them in the tank in a dish hoping she might find them. I had taken off their back legs so they weren't moving much. I set them down right in front of her one at a time and I'll be darned she ate both of them. So I thought I'd try another fresh one , I grabbed it by it's back leg and wiggled it right in front of her. At first I didn't think she would take it, she was looking past it and seemed distracted by the tongs. All the sudden she saw it and grabbed it.Needless to say I was very happy! So back to bed I went doing a happy dance!:yahoo:
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
lbanta said:
Well last night about 4 am I was in the kitchen and noticed Vastra was up so I thought I would try to give her the two crickets I had coated in Reptivite last evening. I had left them in the tank in a dish hoping she might find them. I had taken off their back legs so they weren't moving much. I set them down right in front of her one at a time and I'll be darned she ate both of them. So I thought I'd try another fresh one , I grabbed it by it's back leg and wiggled it right in front of her. At first I didn't think she would take it, she was looking past it and seemed distracted by the tongs. All the sudden she saw it and grabbed it.Needless to say I was very happy! So back to bed I went doing a happy dance!:yahoo:
Click to expand...

I love this! :cheer: Your happy dance: :banana:
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
Oh my goodness! I just saw Vastra sitting outside her warm hide so I thought I would see if I could get her to eat again. I put a cricket down in front of her and she took it immediately. After losing two more under her hides she ate three more. So four more crickets down the hatch! I am so happy! I want to sing Pharrell's song!!! I had to chase down the two that got away and spray down her moist hide and she crawled right in there for a nice full belly nap! Good girl! Vastra! :)
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
Two more Crickets last night. :lol: She looks like she may be may be getting ashey for a shed. So I won't expect her to eat much for the next couple days.. Hopefully we have made a turn to the better in the eating department. I did try pheonix worms she did look at them and even tongued one but didn't seem to want to eat it. They are kind of small.
 
lbanta

lbanta

New member
My pretty little aqua hornworms arrived this week. They were very tiny and have grown quite a lot already. Today I fed vastra four of them. It took a little coaxing for her to be interested in what they were but once she ate one of them she was happy to have four. Should I continue to feed these hornworms to her until they are gone, or should I change it up with some crickets in between. I know they are soft and no hard shell so will they make her have odd fecals? I was glad to see how well she ate them since she is so challenged with other insects. These move but not very much so she was able to catch them and gobble them down quickly. they were very expensive I paid about $23 for 24 of them, that is counting in the $12 it cost for shipping. I probably can't afford to use this as a principal feeder. I would also like to try silkworms I have not bought any of them yet. they probably will go over just as well as these hornworms but will also be soft bodied and very moist prey. I have been advised that this kind of feeder is not good to use all the time. I did buy some Phoenix worms and vastra was not interested in them at all. I can't get her to eat mealworms. So goes the continuing Odyssey of trying to feed this gecko.
 
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