Help with Weight of my Leo please?

[CWilson13]

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anybody here could help me get at least a good estimate of my new Leopard Geckos age, and what a good weight for him would be?
Long story short, I "rescued" him from unpleasant circumstances at a local pet store a week ago and so far he seems to be doing fantastic. His wound is healing, got bit by another male, he eats voraciously, and he is very attentive and alert during dawn and dusk hours.
On to the technical details though, he is approximately 8in long, and in my mind underweight at 46-48g. When I first got him he couldn't have weighed much over 40. I read that with Leos some are more prone to remaining slim and trim while others look a bit husky so I am not asking for absolute specifics, just a general idea. So, back to the questions;
1) What would be the "optimum" weight be for an 8in Male?
2) Is there any way to tell the age with this tiny bit of info? I have no way of contacting the people where he was born. The store said that he was already fairly large when they got him so they are of no help either.
The pictures are to try and help if someone needs to see him to judge better. The 2nd is from prior to 2 feedings ago, he is a little camera shy otherwise I would have a better shot with his tail in frame.

 

[CrestedL]

Although I cannot supply you on information about the specifics of age or weight, what I was concerned of was the fact your gecko has a wound straight out the petstore. From the pictures, I assume it is the bite-looking mark on the top of his head, you need to make sure you keep his tank very very clean to make sure nothing gets in there and infects it. If as you said the petstore was not very reputable, I would highly suggest looking into getting a fecal scan for him to check for parasites so problems that he picked up while in the care of said petstore do not become a problem with his health

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

CrestedL ~

You will find the beginning of this rescued leo's story right here.

Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/getting-to-know-you-introduction-/79408-hello-boston.html

 

[CrestedL]

Ah, my apologies that I didn't see that, but if what I offered as care were not mentioned please take notice to it

 

[CWilson13]

Although I cannot supply you on information about the specifics of age or weight, what I was concerned of was the fact your gecko has a wound straight out the petstore. From the pictures, I assume it is the bite-looking mark on the top of his head, you need to make sure you keep his tank very very clean to make sure nothing gets in there and infects it. If as you said the petstore was not very reputable, I would highly suggest looking into getting a fecal scan for him to check for parasites so problems that he picked up while in the care of said petstore do not become a problem with his health

Thank you for the great advice CrestedL! I do plan on having him checked very soon and getting the vet to do 2-3 fecal scans just to be safe. I already am EXTREMELY vigilant about keeping his home clean and sanitary. I change his water every day and I am going to be cleaning/sanitizing his decor weekly. Being that I have only had him for just over a week, this has only happened once so far.
As I mentioned in the introduction thread, this little guy deserves to be taken care of, especialy after what he went through before in his life.

 

[CrestedL]

Glad to hear sorry I can't be much more of help

 

[CWilson13]

No worries! I am grateful someone cares enough to offer any advice

 

[CWilson13]

Also, after digging through the depths of the internet I found that an adult should weigh 55-80g so he definitely needs to pack on some weight.
Would daily feedings help him or be too much?

 

[kholtme]

He looks to be a good size in the second picture. Not skinny by any means, but it never hurts to add a little weight. Be sure to offer a good supplement schedule too, also feeding well fed insects. My leo is about 9 inches, 84 grams, and approx a year and a half old if that helps.

 

[CWilson13]

Actually that does help a lot! I am waiting for the Phoenix worms to arrive sometime next week so I can try those. Only having him for a week means he is getting a large variety of food so far. He is not a big fan of crickets, he went crazy for mealworms and superworms though. I dust the worms with just calcium every other feeding, and once a week I dust with calcium and D3. Can you recommend a good gutload for meal/superworms? So far I have given them a few carrot slices and shredded turnip greens. I really want to make sure I do everything right for him.
If he reacts well to the Phoenix worms I will most likely stick with those.

 

[kholtme]

Im not sure on the best foods for worms, because i feed mainly roaches and have never bought phoenix, meal, or super worms. But i do know that it is best to keep the mealworms (i think supers too) in the fridge. Once every few days let them sit at room temp for 24 hours so they eat. While in the fridge they wont eat at all, and if you let them sit out of the fridge all the time they turn to beetles really fast.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

After you receive the Phoenix worms (black soldier fly larvae), the Phoenix worms are not supposed to be fed. They are very small (about 3/4 inch maximum). Some leos like them; some leos do not.

Phoenix worms are high in calcium.

Mealworms and supers do well on Zoo Med's Adult Bearded Dragon Food too.

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acpart/Aliza: superworms & mealworm tips
"1. Keep the superworms and the mealworms at normal room temperatures. The refrigerator is too cool for them.

2. I keep both my mealworms and superworms in ground up grain bedding. I buy my ground up stuff from a USA supplier. In Europe you could do one of the following:
get a variety of grain and cereal and put it in the blender (they can eat whole grains but it will be much easier for you to get them out of the bedding if the grain is ground up)
OR buy some chicken feed

You can also feed superworms and mealworms vegetable pieces that you would normally throw away: potato peels, Bell pepper cores, eggplant peels, carrot ends, sweet potato ends, broccoli stalks. They completely demolish them!

3. I feed superworms by dropping 1 at a time in front of the gecko. For a very reluctant gecko, I hold the gecko and gently poke the superworm at the mouth until it bites the worm. I have a gecko that rarely eats in the winter and a few years ago he was losing a lot of weight. I used a hypodermic needle to poke the superworm, got some of the guts on the end of the needle and poked it (gently) into the gecko's mouth. He didn't get much, but it did some good and he eventually started eating again. He's about to go into his annual winter fast, but he weighs 90 grams right now."

 

[CWilson13]

I read that Phoenix Worms were good because of the calcium to phosphorus ratio... Among other reasons. That is disappointing news.
I really would prefer to not just go with meal/super Worms. Every where I checked had dead or close to it Dubias though. I guess I will be ordering a fair amount online then. Going to be checking out the Dubia colony tips for sure now.

 

[CWilson13]

Wait, just to clarify, did you mean I'm not supposed to give food to Phoenix Worms or I should not feed Phoenix Worms to Apollo?
I know Phoenix Worms don't need gut loading if that was what you meant. Just was curious about good things to give his current supply of meal/super Worms for gut loading. The bearded dragon food sounds pretty simple. Would I need to crush it up or prepare it in any way?

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I read that Phoenix Worms were good because of the calcium to phosphorus ratio... Among other reasons. That is disappointing news.
I really would prefer to not just go with meal/super Worms. Every where I checked had dead or close to it Dubias though. I guess I will be ordering a fair amount online then. Going to be checking out the Dubia colony tips for sure now.

Just don't feed the Phoenix worms (black soldier fly larvae) any food. They are high in calcium. Feeding the Phoenix worms to Apollo is great. I hope that he likes them.

Wait, just to clarify, did you mean I'm not supposed to give food to Phoenix Worms or I should not feed Phoenix Worms to Apollo?
I know Phoenix Worms don't need gut loading if that was what you meant. Just was curious about good things to give his current supply of meal/super Worms for gut loading. The bearded dragon food sounds pretty simple. Would I need to crush it up or prepare it in any way?

Try the adult beardie food uncrushed at first. Keep the dry food dry. Off to one side add a dish of chopped collard greens and/or pesticide-free dandelion flowers/greens for moisture as well as high calcium/low phosphorus.

Here's a link for dubia tips. Go to the second post to see kholtme's great ideas for a self-cleaning dubia bin.

Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...ckets-blaptica-dubia-hornworms-silkworms.html

 

[warhawk]

On his age I would guess at 10-12 months. I have seen them hit the pet store as young as 3-4 weeks but those guys are very small. I would bet he gained most of that weight while at the breeders because the pet stores don't really feed them well. And every time they get moved they will stop eating so that delays the growth a bit more. Most of mine hit that size at 6-8 months old but I do feed a bit heavier than the pet stores.

Sounds like he is eating well and you have the other stuff under control.

 

[CWilson13]

If you're right that is great news Warhawk! I want him to stay with me for as long as possible and I was afraid he was well over a year old. Right around a year means he still has lots of years left, which is great.

 

[amsdadtodd]

Good luck with the phoenix worms. My leo's did not eat them at all and I tried everything! Someone had suggested rinsing them, which also did not work.
You are not supposed to feed them at all. They have been purged before shipping so their digestion is stopped, feeding them will undo that whole process.
They are extremely nutritious, I hope you have better luck with them than I did, but if you don't they are also extremely beneficial in the compost bin!

Todd

 

[CWilson13]

Well at least they have multiple uses! Given how excited he gets over meal/superworms I think he will like them. Still considering a small scale Dubia colony though. Just for variety. I will definitely keep everyone updated on how the Phoenix Worms work out.

 

[amsdadtodd]

Please let us know. I was quite surprised that none of mine liked them, they are voracious eaters and hunters. Good luck with the roach colony also. I find them much easier to maintain than crickets, and my pets certainly love eating them!

One other comment on the phoenix worms, even my Venus Flytraps had to be enticed to close on them, although they seem to have digested them well.

Todd