How much should Donovan eat in one sitting?

OK, I've read the Leopard Gecko Care guide on here (and many others). I know that, as he is 18 mos or older, he should eat every couple days. I know to dust his food with calcium (with D3) and Vitamix (without D3). I know WHAT to feed him.

What I can't seem to find is how much should he eat in one "sitting"? When I feed him, do I keep giving bugs until he stops eating? Is there a formula for figuring out how much he should eat? I don't want to under feed, but I also don't want to over feed him.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
OK, I've read the Leopard Gecko Care guide on here (and many others). I know that, as he is 18 mos or older, he should eat every couple days. I know to dust his food with calcium (with D3) and Vitamix (without D3). I know WHAT to feed him.

What I can't seem to find is how much should he eat in one "sitting"? When I feed him, do I keep giving bugs until he stops eating? Is there a formula for figuring out how much he should eat? I don't want to under feed, but I also don't want to over feed him.

Please ask mom to take more pictures so we can see how you've grown so far. Then find out how long you are from tip of snout to tip of tail.

Leos are often fully grown by age 2 years. Each leo is different. Right now offer food 2-3x per week for about 15 minutes @ each sitting. Sometimes I leave food in the bowl overnight. It's usually gone the next morning. I contain bugs in a feeding dish, because that keeps more supplements from being groomed off. Walmart sells these Anchor-brand 8 ounce glass bowls.
100616047478978p.jpg
(click to enlarge)​

  1. I saw where your first meal in your new home = superworms. And that your next meal = D3 dusted dubia.
  2. What brand & exact supplements do you have?
  3. What food (gut load) will they be eating?
 
Please ask mom to take more pictures so we can see how you've grown so far. Then find out how long you are from tip of snout to tip of tail.

Leos are often fully grown by age 2 years. Each leo is different. Right now offer food 2-3x per week for about 15 minutes @ each sitting. Sometimes I leave food in the bowl overnight. It's usually gone the next morning. I contain bugs in a feeding dish, because that keeps more supplements from being groomed off. Walmart sells these Anchor-brand 8 ounce glass bowls.
View attachment 50378
(click to enlarge)​

  1. I saw where your first meal in your new home = superworms. And that your next meal = D3 dusted dubia.
  2. What brand & exact supplements do you have?
  3. What food (gut load) will they be eating?

I have Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 and Zoo Med Reptivite without D3.

The place where I got the superworms and Dubia suggested either potatoes or carrots, but I'm open to suggestions. I wondered about powdering THEIR food with the vitamins as well? OR would that be bad or just a waste? I have to grab a tote of some sort that I can use for the insects so I can put food in with them. Can they exist in the same container? Or do they need to be in separate containers?

I bought a small dish for him that has a lip around it designed to keep bugs in the dish. So far he hasn't eaten out of the dish but we'll get there. I'm thinking, tomorrow night, when I offer him the Dubia, I will put them in the bowl and then get his attention with the bowl so he'll know they are there.

Eventually I want to work on hand feeding him, but again, I need to work on patience (not necessarily my best skill).

Sorry, I missed the photo and measurement request at the beginning of response.

I will be feeding Donovan tonight and, if he cooperates, I will try to get some full body photos and get some measurements. I want to try and avoid stressing him out since he's only been with us a few days.

Question: I know with snakes, a lot of people feed them in a separate enclosure from their home enclosure. IS that done with Leopard Geckos at all?
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
I have Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 and Zoo Med Reptivite without D3.
Excellent news, Michele!

The place where I got the superworms and Dubia suggested either potatoes or carrots, but I'm open to suggestions. I wondered about powdering THEIR food with the vitamins as well? OR would that be bad or just a waste? I have to grab a tote of some sort that I can use for the insects so I can put food in with them. Can they exist in the same container? Or do they need to be in separate containers?
  1. DON'T add supplements to the superworm container or to the dubia container. Adding supplements could result in excessive supplementation. Offer superworms & dubia DRY food like Repashy's Bug Burger or Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload (1 pound bag) to cover the basics + a few veggies on the side.
    Here's a link: Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload
    [*]A light dusting of ZM Reptivite multivitamins withOUT D3 @ 1 feeding per week will give Donovan ALL the pre-vitamin A acetate (retinol) he needs for healthy eyes & skin.
    [*]Because of Olimpia's recommendations in my next message, I don't recommend potatoes.
    [*]Carrots are good for a beta-carotene source. Beta-carotene = pro-vitamin A.
    [*]I recommend separate containers for each feeder. I don't know whether dubia would devour superworms.

I bought a small dish for him that has a lip around it designed to keep bugs in the dish. So far he hasn't eaten out of the dish but we'll get there. I'm thinking, tomorrow night, when I offer him the Dubia, I will put them in the bowl and then get his attention with the bowl so he'll know they are there.
Good for you!

Eventually I want to work on hand feeding him, but again, I need to work on patience (not necessarily my best skill).
To me it seems like independent feeding (like dish-feeding) is better than hand-feeding.

Sorry, I missed the photo and measurement request at the beginning of response.
OK

I will be feeding Donovan tonight and, if he cooperates, I will try to get some full body photos and get some measurements. I want to try and avoid stressing him out since he's only been with us a few days.
I understand.

Question: I know with snakes, a lot of people feed them in a separate enclosure from their home enclosure. IS that done with Leopard Geckos at all?
IF possible, I suggest feeding Donovan within his home. It seems like that will be less stressful for him.
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
\/ \/ \/
In addition to a balanced dry diet to cover the basics, offer your geckos' feeders some veggies and fruits from these lists.

Gutload Ingredients for Bugs & Worms . . . . . . thanks to Olimpia -- August 2013

"A commercial gut loading food like Bug Burger or Superload (both by Repashy), Cricket Crack, Dinofuel, etc. is going to make your life easier AND provide a nutritious diet to your crickets at the same time.

"If you opt for making your own gutload at home, here's a list of great ingredients to use:
BEST: mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion flowers & leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress, and alfalfa.
GOOD: sweet potato, carrots, (oranges), mango, butternut squash, kale, apples, beet greens, blackberries, bok choy, and green beans.
DRY FOOD: bee pollen, organic non-salted sunflower seeds, spirulina, dried seaweed, flax seed, and organic non-salted almonds.
AVOID AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE: potatoes, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, grains, beans, oats, bread, cereal, meat, eggs, dog food, cat food, fish food, canned or dead insects, vertebrates."
 
OK, I was able to get two pictures of him and with my husband's help, we determined Donovan is almost 17 cm long.

He ate about 5 Dubia tonight with Calcium D3. There's still one more in the dish and I added 3 superworms.

He grabbed one and took it into the moist hide with him. Apparently Donovan likes to snack in bed.

I'm waiting (less than patiently) for the Ultratherm UTH to ship so I can switch out the UTH. The ceramic heater is good, but he's really only hanging out on one side of the enclosure.

Also, I've been told that crickets are not good for him (or dangerous somehow). Is that true?

Also, curious about black solder fly larvae? Good/bad?

And what about keeping the insects in the refrigerator? (Specifically the solder fly larvae - but, realistically, any types.) When I had my box turtle, I was able to keep them in the refrigerator. But now I'm being told they die?

Oh, and I'll be ordering that pro-gutload. Thank you.

And thank you for being so patient about answering my million and one questions.
 

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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Please select the best top down photos you have & share on this thread or another thread you've already begun on this topic. Photos on separate messages within a current thread will be more accessible than the same photo in Albums.

Here's how to post a photo. First click "Insert Inline" & then click "Done".
cap.JPG Capture.JPG

DSC_0155.jpg
Here's my leo.
(click each image to enlarge it)​
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
OK, I was able to get two pictures of him and with my husband's help, we determined Donovan is almost 17 cm long.
For the record 17 cm = 6.7 inches. Donovan seems short for being ''fully grown".

He ate about 5 Dubia tonight with Calcium D3. There's still one more in the dish and I added 3 superworms.

He grabbed one and took it into the moist hide with him. Apparently Donovan likes to snack in bed.
Ha, ha, ha! Snacking in bed is great fun, except for crumbs.

I'm waiting (less than patiently) for the Ultratherm UTH to ship so I can switch out the UTH. The ceramic heater is good, but he's really only hanging out on one side of the enclosure.

Also, I've been told that crickets are not good for him (or dangerous somehow). Is that true?
I order crickets all the time from Armstrong's or Fluker's. Too often older crickets die prematurely. When crickets die, they should be removed quickly. I recommend picking up just the crickets you may need for a week from a pet store.

Also, curious about black solder fly larvae? Good/bad?
Let me copy & paste a section of feeder bugs & worms in the next message.

And what about keeping the insects in the refrigerator? (Specifically the solder fly larvae - but, realistically, any types.) When I had my box turtle, I was able to keep them in the refrigerator. But now I'm being told they die?
At least the insects and worms you're feeding to Donovan should be fed 24/7 for several days PRIOR to feeding them to him. Instead I believe that feeding them 24/7/365 with your Pro-gutload dry diet builds a better bug. Thus I always keep crickets at room temp.

Oh, and I'll be ordering that pro-gutload. Thank you.
You're welcome!

And thank you for being so patient about answering my million and one questions.
Ha, ha, ha!
 
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Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
From Leo Care sheet

  1. Insect & Worm Resource

  2. Bean Beetles

  3. Black Soldier Fly Larvae: "Phoenix/calci/reptiworms & NutriGrubs" are different trademarked names.
    BSFL are very healthy feeders. The largest BSFL worms are only 3/4 inch long, They are recommended for leos. They are often popular with young leos. Rinse them off prior to feeding! Once you receive your Phoenix worms, they should neither be dusted nor fed!!!

  4. Blue Bottle Fly Larvae

  5. Butterworms Do NOT feed butterworms to crested geckos or to gargoyle geckos. Crested geckos & gargoyle geckos experience chemical-type burns when fed butterworms. Please read the following link to understand why not. :(

  6. Hornworms -- Leopard geckos love them!

  7. Mealworms Freshly molted mealworms or mealworm pupae are recommended for variety, NOT as a staple food.

    Aliza (GU's acpart) uses Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload Dry Diet for mealworm (& superworm) bedding. She puts about 2" of gut load into a Kritter Keeper (14" x 8" x 5") and dumps in the mealworms. Eventually you'll see a lot of mealworm skins. Remove the mealworm skins, so it's easier to get the mealworms out. At some point it starts looking like grains of sand instead of dry gut load. This is mealworm droppings. You can either sift out the sandy stuff and throw it away or just add more dry gut load.
  8. Roaches including Dubia
  9. Silkworms are a soft-bodied feeder high in vitamin A (retinol).

  10. Superworms
 
OK, I was able to get two pictures of him and with my husband's help, we determined Donovan is almost 17 cm long.
For the record 17 cm = 6.7 inches. Donovan seems short for being ''fully grown".

He ate about 5 Dubia tonight with Calcium D3. There's still one more in the dish and I added 3 superworms.

He grabbed one and took it into the moist hide with him. Apparently Donovan likes to snack in bed.
Ha, ha, ha! Snacking in bed is great fun, except for crumbs.

I'm waiting (less than patiently) for the Ultratherm UTH to ship so I can switch out the UTH. The ceramic heater is good, but he's really only hanging out on one side of the enclosure.

Also, I've been told that crickets are not good for him (or dangerous somehow). Is that true?
I order crickets all the time from Armstrong's or Fluker's. Too often older crickets die prematurely. When crickets die, they should be removed quickly. I recommend picking up just the crickets you may need for a week from a pet store.

Also, curious about black solder fly larvae? Good/bad?
Let me copy & paste a section of feeder bugs & worms in the next message.

And what about keeping the insects in the refrigerator? (Specifically the solder fly larvae - but, realistically, any types.) When I had my box turtle, I was able to keep them in the refrigerator. But now I'm being told they die?
At least the insects and worms you're feeding to Donovan should be fed 24/7 for several days PRIOR to feeding them to him. Instead I believe that feeding them 24/7/365 with your Pro-gutload dry diet builds a better bug. Thus I always keep crickets at room temp.

Oh, and I'll be ordering that pro-gutload. Thank you.
You're welcome!

And thank you for being so patient about answering my million and one questions.
Ha, ha, ha!


So yeah, I have been wondering about that after we measured him. I was told he's between 18 mos and 3 years.

I'm going to try correctly inserting the images we got of him last night mid-shed (didn't know he was shedding until we were taking everything out of the enclosure to change out the UTH. So these were taken for the brief moment the cover was off of his moist hide. And as of this morning, he fully done with his shed. I don't see anything sticking to him and it looks like he ate the whole thing (since he was under one of his other hides first thing this morning, I took the opportunity to clean his moist hide and change the paper towel for him.

Tonight I'll be offering him more Dubia roaches dusted with Vitamin powder.

As of this morning, post shed and with a new (bigger) UTH, he's already testing out new locations in his enclosure so maybe he'll eat more than a few of the roaches. I will probably go with the 12-18 mos feeding schedule you shared elsewhere, at least for awhile.
279374803_1324690824609095_2361502423181650295_n.jpg279352824_5110843752342558_7532494913581815822_n.jpg279034850_496017685599083_9187678347949258199_n.jpg278951760_797211171261171_4328689001991683489_n.jpg278723912_414541323821423_7426671667685083256_n.jpg
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
So yeah, I have been wondering about that after we measured him. I was told he's between 18 mos and 3 years.

. . . . . .

Tonight I'll be offering him more Dubia roaches dusted with Vitamin powder.

I will probably go with the 12-18 mos feeding schedule you shared elsewhere, at least for awhile.


You did GREAT inserting those images! It's much more convenient to see them when you post directly on the thread. Donovan did GREAT with his shed! Thanks for getting that 11 x 17 Ultratherm! Now Donovan has more "wiggle room".

Donovan's belly has seemed "full" after he eats.

Don't lightly dust with the Multivitamin (Reptivite) more than all feeders once a week!

Can you buy some NOW brand plain calcium carbonate from Amazon OR get some Zoo Med Repti Calcium withOUT D3 for Schedule 125: 12-18 mo?

 
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You did GREAT inserting those images! It's much more convenient to see them when you post directly on the thread. Donovan did GREAT with his shed! Thanks for getting that 11 x 17 Ultratherm! Now Donovan has more "wiggle room".

Donovan's belly has seemed "full" after he eats.

Don't lightly dust with the Multivitamin (Reptivite) more than all feeders once a week!

Can you buy some NOW brand plain calcium carbonate from Amazon OR get some Zoo Med Repti Calcium withOUT D3 for Schedule 125: 12-18 mo?


Already ordered the NOW Calcium Carbonate and it should arrive either tomorrow or Saturday. I dusted Donovan's bugs with the Calcium with D3 (Monday), but not with the vitamin mix yet. I was going to do the vitamix last night but since he was shedding I didn't feed him.

I'm hoping we'll be able to make friends with each other over the weekend. When I held him at the seller's, he was super chill and comfortable with being held, so I'm hoping now that his shed is done and he eats tonight, he'll be ready to socialize a bit over the weekend. Fingers crossed. If he's not ready, I'm sure he'll let me know and I won't push.
 
My little man chowed down on about 7 Dubia tonight. Very proud of him!!

**Correction: 8 dubia and 2 superworms. Shedding is hard work.
 
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