I Need Help Making A Diet

[Emily-Fisher]

Okay..I am going to show you the diet which I give each of my leos. Please tell me if it's too fatty, if there is not enough nutrition, or if I should add another kind of food onto it.

<b>MONDAY:</b> 10 Mealworms, 5 Crickets<br>
<b>TUESDAY:</b> 5 Mealworms, 5 Crickets<br>
<b>WEDNESDAY:</b> 15 Mealworms<br>
<b>THURSDAY:</b> 9 Mealworms, 1 Waxworm<br>
<b>FRIDAY:</b> 9 Mealworms, 1-2 Silkworms<br>
<b>SATURDAY:</b> 8 Crickets<br>
<b>SUNDAY:</b> -WhAt ShOuLd I fEeD mY lEoS oN sUnDaYs?-<br>

I am thinking of starting to buy butterworms also but I would purchase them online from silkworms.ca but I only have 2 mouths to feed and I am not sure how long 100 butterworms will last if I only feed them one day a week. So should I change my feeding schedule at all? Should I add more/less food? Should I feed any other food items? Thanks!! (Note: Most food items are dusted with calcium and there is a bowl of calcium available at all times.)

[Leo-Land]

Wow... I never feed anything other then mealies to my leos. They wont take anything else! They will only take a pinkie every month and a half or so...

I would use what you have for wed. for sunday's feeding. It wont kill them to have the same thing again, believe me!

heh

[MartinW]

I only feed my adult geckos 5 crix each every 2nd day. Is that too little? It's definitely a lot less than Emily.

Martin

[Emily-Fisher]

I say, give them as much food as possible. My leos don't overfeed and stop eating as soon as they are full so its usually better if you give them lots of room and see that there's leftover food because that means that the gecko has eaten the right ammount and hasnt eaten too little. 5 crix every second day is starvation to me :p

[Alicewave]

Emily Fisher: Wow, that's a lot of thought you put into that. For my adults I just feed them as many mealworms every other day until they stop eating (10-15 minutes, 10-20 mealies). Once in a while I toss in some crickets and once a month or so I get some waxies for them. While there is nothing wrong with setting up a scedule, chances are your Leos wont follow it. Most are very good at knowing when they are full. Not to mention the fasting period that many of them go through in the winter.

Vic, it takes around a month or so. Although this question would be better off in a new thread.

[ReptiZone]

I just would like to advise you that that too many insects in the same cage as your gaeco is not a good thing yes a leo can scarf down a bunch of stuff but it can only fit so much in it's mouth and and if crikets can chew up a baby crocodilans eye lids out just imagine what can be done to your gecko.

MY leo has 3 crikets in his cage at all times and I hand feed him meal worms but i dont do the whole in a bowl thing cause they alwas find a way to climb out.

It has ben recorded that meal worms chewed there way out of a gecko cause it was not dead that is why when my leo snatche his worms I make him pull until it rips in half and he comes and get's the second half after that way there is nothing left the hurt my gecko.

remember all things can defend them selves never under estamate the littel guy.

[Emily-Fisher]

If you glaze the bowl, then mealworms cant climb out and the thing about the mealies eating out of the gecko is a tale...but not true. It hasn't been reported but it has been reported that it has happened to frogs since frogs eat their food whole and have a soft body. Plus...How can they eat through a leo if they are dead?

[peregrinefalcon]

I would not set up a schedule but just let the leo pick how much he want to eat. Just offer crickets one day and mealworms the next etc. Also if you have access to silkworms I would feed him more, they are very good for him. If the leo does not eat one day don't worry, they can go a while without eating. My leo has not eaten anything at all this week and she is fine, she is also much more active. She is perfectly healthy, check out her pics in the link under my avatar. To make sure the food is healthy just give the insects lots of varied and nutritious food.
Adam

[Emily-Fisher]

Yeah I know all that, peregrine, and I allow them to eat as much or as little as they want...but thanks for your time :) My leos often eat virtually everything in their bowls and on sailkworm days,t hey actually DO eat everything in their bowls! I have been emailing the people on silkworms.ca with questions about silkworms etc and will soon be ordering 250 small ones a month for my leos to replace half of the mealworms in their diet :) Thanks a bunch, everyone!

[peregrinefalcon]

That's great! :D It's good to know just one more person knows what they're doing with these guys :)
Adam

[MartinW]

Looks like I better reconsider my feeding regimen! I've only been feeding them 5 crix each every 2nd day and a couple mealies a week! They must be starving!

Martin

[Tim and Julie B]

Martin W-I would have to guess that 5 crix every other day is probably not quite enough. Feed them 5-10 each to start and if they eat them all, add a few more until they no longer want to eat, then remove the uneaten crix for another feeding. They also need other insects in their diets too. Try a few waxies(treats only) and some mealies. Silkworms are supposed to be great for them.
Emily- I am impressed by how much you love your reptiles! You have a good diet planned for them. Hopefully they will agree with the menu each day.:D Sometimes they are so darn picky. Test it out for a while and you'll soon figure out how to change it to suit your leos. Nice to see such a variety of insects for them! Keep up the good work:D Julie B.

[Emily-Fisher]

Yeah my babies are not picky and eats just about everything in their bowls =) So I guess I don't need to work around them =P