[BADGERS MUM]

IVE JUST ACQUIRED A 3 YR OLD MALE GECKO,HES BEEN KEPT SUCESSFULLY IN A 2.5 FT VIV NO HEAT MAT NO SHED BOX JUST BLUE BULB STONE FOR SHEDDING AND FEED SOLELY ON MEALWORM I WAS TOLD HE WONT EAT CRICKETS BUT AS A TYPICAL NEW OWNER IVE BOUGHT HIM A SHED BOX COMPLETE WITH MOSS HE LIKES IT AND FED HIM A CRICKET DUSTED WITH LEOPARD GECKO DUST AND HE ATE IT,POINT IS HE ONLY EATS 3-4 MEALWORMS EVERY OTHER DAY ILL TRY CRICKETS AGAIN BUT WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING TO MAKE HIM A HAPPY GECKO,BARING IN MIND HE HAS BEEN FINE FOR THE LAST 3 YRS IN THE SET UP HE HAD ID APPRECIATE ADVICE FOR A NOVICE OWNER AS I DONT WANT TO OVER DO IT WITH THE THINGS IVE READ SO NEED LEO OWNERS TO HELP ME WITH WHAT WORKS SO I DONT GET IT WRONG..... MANY THANKS I HOPE TO GET SOME ANSWERS HERE P.S UNTIL NOW IVE BEEN STRICTLY A DOG OWNER SO TRUE NOVICE I AM!

 

[DeanThorpe]

Hi.
Not a leo keeper but ill keep the thread warm till someone else replies.

The basics
Crickets are better for any reptile than mealworms are.
Variety is good.
Leos dont eat a huge amount but should have a plump tail.
Moist hide for shedding is important.
Day temps between 75-95 are good i think.
Caps lock..be careful of it

 

[BELIAL]

he really shouldn't be fed mealworms...they are very high in chitin (exoskeleton) and hold no real nutritional value..stick with crickets that have been well gutloaded and dust every other feed..give waxworms as an occasional treat
the shed box is a good idea..

 

[zirliz]

Plus if the mealworms aren't killed and the Leo is weak they can eat their way out. someone I know lost a Beared dragon baby one doing that poor thing

 

[BADGERS MUM]

thanks to both of you for the advice,trouble with these things are you can read tons of books a trawl the internet which i have but nothing beats real owners advice,he has got a really fat tail and a reptile shop local to me has said if im worried i can take him in but hes been moved about quite abit so i thought id give him time to settle down,can anyone tell me how many crickets he should be eating roughly and what should i gut load them with,ive read fruit but i imagine some1 on here probably has a good suggestion,he appears to prefer big black crickets as i put 1 of each in and he left the little brown 1,i just want to do my best for the little chap,thanks again for replies.

 

[purejurrasic]

First thing to remember, he will be like the new boy at school for a while.

He has moved to a new enviroment with new smells and new sounds.

He will be a little timid for a few days until he finds his feet. Until then, dont worry if he dont eat much.

Best thing to do it just try him with say three crix. if he eats those, next day try 4. I wouldnt really go more than 6 a day. Some keepers feed a few more, but every other day. I prefer Daily.

As to which type of crix, only he has the answer. I dont like the black crickets as they are more likely to cause injury to your leo, but there are a few types you can try. Dont just take one day to decied, give it a few days in case he just not hungry.

You can use a slice of cucumber or potato for moisture as well as most fruits or vegs, carrot is good as a gut loadin feed.

You shoud get some calcium powder and some multi vit powder from the store. Place the crix you are feeding to him in a small bag, add a pinch of calcium powder and give it a little shake, then feed him. Next day do the same, but with vit powder, then next day plain crix. repeat cycle again. In other words, dust with each powder twice a week.

As far as his tank goes, try to get it 80-90f, a bulb is ok for this, but he needs a day night cycle, so a mat will help with this. Give him plenty of places to hide, some small logs to climb on, maybe a few plastic plants and he should be happy chappy for years to come !

Good luck

 

[BADGERS MUM]

thanks for that,didnt realise the black 1s would do him any harm,its what the pet shop advised me as they said theirs like them,they also told me a total powder is sufficient its called leopard gecko dust,do you think i should change this to the single types you suggeted? i feel ilke a real fool as i know nothing which is why i bought a well established set up n full grown lizard but it seems ive not got it quite right just yet,your advice is much appreciated sounds like you know your stuff.

 

[Kerry1]

Don't mean to contradict purejurassic , but if he's got a really fat tail, i'd be tempted to just feed him every other day. My adults have slowed right down because of the cold weather and are hardly eating at all.

My boyfriend was feeding his adult male 6 crix every other day, and last week we noticed he has large fatty deposits behind his front legs! So he's now on a strick diet :?

I don't rate mealworms at all to be honest. Lizards are predators and like to stalk their food, but how can you stalk something that doesn't move far or quickly?

Well done for getting a moss box Mine love their's. One of my males lives in there almost permanently. He buries himself in it :lol:

Good luck with him. I'm sure you will love him to bits and get bitten by the reptile bug! I started with 1 gecko 6 months ago and have now got 13! They are truly addictive

P.S I can't recommend books enough. The Leopard Gecko manual by Phillipe de Vosjoli is top notch and cheap too

 

[Kerry1]

Oh and as for Leopard Gecko dust, Nutrabol is better and better value for money. You will need Calypso Calcium dust as well. Both of these are available on www.livefoods.co.uk and if you order before 3pm, they get delivered the next day Dust with Nutrabol twice a week and Calypso Calcium at all other feeds. I feed black crix without any problems. Depends what you gecko is used to tho. Blacks are slower, but crunchier. Not speaking from personal experience of course :lol: If you feed you crix with bug grub, they shouldn't bother your boy. And if there are any left in the morning, make sure you take them out.

 

[K.J.Geckos]

i feed my 6 leos with a variety of diff foods.They dont seem to like crickets that much and to be honest i dont rate the black crickets much either..iv always tried the browns.My leos love hoppers and meal worms and the odd wax worm as a treat.Id agree with the nutraboll stuff to.iv always used it and its like my bible for my leos.Keeping a leopard gecko is easy and they are a great started lizard if your a little wary of keeping exotics.I'd defo recomend the The Leopard Gecko Manual book though...its a great read and full of pretty much all you need to know about keeping a leo.

 

[DeanThorpe]

Oh and as for Leopard Gecko dust, Nutrabol is better and better value for money. You will need Calypso Calcium dust as well. Both of these are available on www.livefoods.co.uk and if you order before 3pm, they get delivered the next day Dust with Nutrabol twice a week and Calypso Calcium at all other feeds. I feed black crix without any problems. Depends what you gecko is used to tho. Blacks are slower, but crunchier. Not speaking from personal experience of course :lol: If you feed you crix with bug grub, they shouldn't bother your boy. And if there are any left in the morning, make sure you take them out.

I would have thought the leo gecko dust would be specifically sesigned for leos and have most of what they need [would expect to maybe have to suplement extra calcium]
Is it the stuff from the sandfire ranch?

 

[mike515]

my pair get 6-8 crix every other day each. Same cycle as above; calcium, vits, then plain.

Occasionally they get small hoppers for a bit of excersise as the crickets crawl out of a tub into the viv and are caught straight away but the hoppers jump around

 

[BADGERS MUM]

thanks every1 looks like ill be trying all those things to see whats his fave,think he will be the most spoilt leo around with all the choice he will be getting! as for me seems ive got some more reading to do,im not sure who makes the dusting powder as im at work but ill let you know so any1 can advise me if its good or not so good or if he needs extra supplements,shame hes not like my dogs got a staff cross and a lab who will eat anything lol!..........prob even the crickets ha ha

 

[BADGERS MUM]

hi all yeah the food is food sandfire its top ingredient is calcium but what do you think any good? ive now discovered black crickets not top priorty as hes ate the brown ones too,the previous owner said he wouldnt eat crickets that the vet had suggested starving for a month and try him but he still wouldnt so not sure why hes eating them now at 3yrs but i feel better that he is,im gonna try hoppers next,tho i cant even touch the crickets how will i cope with them!!!!!!!! ill let you know if its a thumbs up,by the way how much dusting do these all need? complete coverage or a small pinch,im learning so much hes sure to be a happy boy at the end of it!

 

[zirliz]

Yeah Black crickets bit peolpel also I've gotten bitten lotsa times

 

[crosby]

I mix it up as well and feed brown crickets and mealworms on differant days. I also fast them 1 day in five. They have a dish of calcium powder in the viv and everyfeed is dusted, i also dust with nutrabol once a week.

 

[BADGERS MUM]

a dish of calcium powder? this is new to me,no surprises there its all new to me,is this what i should be doing? also hes been on zoo med vita sand quite happily but ive read alot about slate tiles but what sort do they mean? just regular 1s you can get from the diy store or special reptile tiles lol! i mean speciallly made ones this is all so confusing bless him he doesnt realise the fuss hes caused since coming into my life a couple of days ago!

 

[purejurrasic]

Hey Kerry,

No worries, not contradicting, just putting forward a different way. I always say there a wrong way, but never a single right way !

To be honest, I missed the bit about the really fat tail.

I do feed mine daily, but , as mentioned, also throw in the odd fast day every 7 to 10 days.

The main thing is to get him eating, so its worth trying most things.

Nutrobal and calypso are great, i use nutrobal, but an unbranded calcium powder.

A calcium bowl is good for leos as they will activly hunt out calcium if they feel they need it, thats why calci sand is so bad for leos. Just put like a milk bottle top with a spoon full in the viv somewhere, lasts for ages unless he takes a liking to making foot prints with it !

We use, 3 banded brown field crix, reg and giant mealworms, some wax worms and 3rh hoppers, with some normal undyed fishing maggots on a mix and match basis.

Leos can be fussy and go off one type of food, so its always best to use a selection in case.

 

[BADGERS MUM]

hes doing me proud my boy and eating the brown crickets like a trooper,ive ordered some calcium powder so ill be doing the milk bottle top thing asap any other ideas on keeping him happy.............being a dog person i do stroke him he seems to like it or am i kidding myself??

 

[Lesley M]

I have one who 'likes' a stroke too or more a tickle on the top of her head, however my other one stroke=bite .... I tend not to tickle that one too much