How much should I be feeling George?

[geckomom23]

Hi all,
I am very new to owning a leopard gecko and was wondering if I am feeding mine enough? He is I believe full grown, I got him Saturday 5/7 at a reptile expo and he is slightly longer than my hand. He is a little over 3 years old. I fed him 5 superworms on Saturday and he ate 4 today but he still seems hungry. I've read that if you feed them too much they can get a bowl impactiion but I'm worried he isn't eating enough. He looks like a healthy weight but I was wondering if anyone has any advice!

 

[KassieL101]

Adult leos don't need to be fed every day. They can be fed every 2-3 days. I've read that some leos can be pigs, always wanting more and more food, so it's okay to set a food limit for your leo.

Do you feed him just superworms? Superworms are pretty close in nutritional value to mealworms. I think of them as "happy meals." Crickets are the most popular staple diet choice, and are way more nutritious for leos than superworms or mealworms. A variety diet is the best diet

 

[geckomom23]

They are mealworms but the container says superworms so I don't know. Crickets are not something I can feed him though, maybe as a treat but I am scared I will lose some and then I will have crickets all over he house. I am the type of person who would accidentally spill an entire container of crickets. Like I said I am still very new to this. I just want to make sure that I can feed him more food without it being detrimental to his digestive tract.

 

[KassieL101]

Superworms are larger than mealworms, and have less of an exoskeleton. In my opinion, I think superworms are better than mealworms simply because they're easier for leos to digest. Superworms also have a black head, and a black end, mealworms don't. You can look up pictures on the differences if you're still not sure.

I understand the concern with crickets, several have escaped me before. But, it's not a major problem. I haven't seen them since they ran away, very likely that they died somewhere since food is no longer available to them. I keep my crickets in a plastic container with air holes poked in on the lid. I cut in half the tube from a paper towel roll, and put those in the container. When it's time to feed my leo, I lift up one of the tubes, and shake the crickets out into a bag. It's rare when one escapes, but it can happen. They're easy to catch though. You could try this outside, so even if a cricket does escape, it won't be in the house.

I've read that another good option in place of crickets are dubia roaches. I haven't tried these yet, and I probably won't for a long time. My understanding of them is that they are just as good as crickets.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

They are mealworms but the container says superworms so I don't know. Crickets are not something I can feed him though, maybe as a treat but I am scared I will lose some and then I will have crickets all over he house. I am the type of person who would accidentally spill an entire container of crickets. Like I said I am still very new to this. I just want to make sure that I can feed him more food without it being detrimental to his digestive tract.

Sometimes bad luck happens and we spill +++ crickets! That has happened to me, but I recovered most of them. The others did NOT return to haunt me.

An egg flat is one good way to round up escapees. Crickets will not breed in your home.

Were you able to click the insect/worm comparison chart I posted in your earlier thread?

In case not, here it is: http://www.geckotime.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/table-large.png

Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...feeding-issues-/68574-cricket-guidelines.html

 

[geckomom23]

Thank you for the advice guys! They seem to be super worms from pictures because they have a darker head and a darker tail. A lot of them have been molting and leaving their exoskeletons all over their container. I have been feeding my Leo every other day but I am still concerned that 4 super worms, even the small ones, may be too much or too little? He still seems hungry so I'm not sure if I am under feeding but he looks like he is at a good weight and I've been feeding him 4-5 worms every 2 days.

 

[KassieL101]

Just out of curiosity, do you gut load the superworms? Gut loading feeders ensures that the leo will get the most nutrients out of their meal.

Like I said before, a variety diet is the best diet. Superworms are high in fat, they aren't the healthiest staple diet. Superworms are 59% moisture, 19% protein, 15% fat, and 6% carbohydrate. Crickets are 69% moisture, 21% protein, 6% fat, and 3% carbohydrate. (Source: Feeder Insects )

4-5 Superworms seems like a lot to me, just because they're so big. My leo only gets one, along with 4-5 small crickets. But she's also younger than yours.

I've owned my leo for approximately 2 months now, and I've learned that she loves to come out of her terrarium at night. Sometimes she more concerned with exploring rather than eating. Is that how your leo acts? (I'm not really understanding why you think he's still hungry?) Could be he's just exploring like mine does, or it could be that he's wanting something a bit more healthier for him? Every leo has their own personality though, so I can't say for sure.

 

[Britt005]

I had the issue of escaping crickets and switched to dubias and don’t plan on looking back. I <i>might</i> mix in some crickets here or there at some point to add some variety, but right now I’m using dubias and mealworms as her staple. One positive thing I’ve heard about dubias is that they have a longer digestive track and therefore are easier to gutload. And unless you are really careless (and say drop the entire open container on your bedroom floor like I almost did once!) it’s almost impossible for them to escape. They can’t climb up smooth surfaces, so I keep them in an old soup container and just tilt it over in the tank and let a few crawl out. No risk of them jumping in my face! Roaches sound so much grosser, but I far prefer them over crickets.

 

[Zux]

Like the others have said there are far better options out there than super-worms or meal-worms as a staple, in fact trying to avoid having any one insect form more than 40% of your Geckos diet would be best, even then it ideally this should be one of the more nutritious feeders out there such as the Dubia Roach or Silkworm.

The key thing with diet is variety.

No matter how well thought out a feeding schedule revolving around one type of insect is it will always be vastly inferior to a providing a varied diet in terms of giving the Gecko everything it needs.

 

[Aimless]

to contain crickets, I use a critter keeper with TP rolls in it. same idea as the ones they sell for that purpose that come with the tubes, but those allow for escape around the tube insertion place.

 

[geckomom23]

Thanks guys!! To answer some questions I do gut load my super worms with calcium and I also feed them carrots and peas. I read hey they can chew through their stomachs if they aren't kept full or if your gecko doesn't chew off their head and I don't want to take any chances with my Leo. I think he is hungry because he still looks at my forceps after I give him worms as if he is expecting more. My parents DO NOT want crickets in the house so that is probably only going to be a treat I can give him if they are out of town. If I feed mealworms instead of super worms how many should I feed? 3-4?

 

[KassieL101]

I read hey they can chew through their stomachs if they aren't kept full or if your gecko doesn't chew off their head and I don't want to take any chances with my Leo.

That's just a myth. The worms die pretty quickly, either they drown in the stomach acid or the gecko already killed it from chewing.

As for the mealworms, that really depends on how big they are. The ones you can buy in the pet store (don't buy giant mealworms) are very, very small. When I fed my leo mealworms, she would normally eat about 8. But the mealworms were bought online, and were already bigger than the ones you can get at a pet store. So, it really depends on the size of your gecko and the size of the mealworms.