ZooMed leopard gecko food

[Edwin]

Is anyone using this on their leos? Can this be used as a replacement for crickets without and negative side effects?

I would like to get a lizard (I have an empty 20gallon), but I cannot abide crickets. So if zoomed's canned flies are an acceptable alternative, I may finally be able to get myself a pair of leos.

Here is the manufacturer's link:
http://www.zoomed.com/html/leopard_gecko_food_info.html

[Rebecca]

They also eat meal worms. You could buy them instead of crickets. But you should buy crickets once ina while to vary their diet a bit. PBand J wouls be boring ALL the time right??

[Linds]

If you want (if your geckos will even eat it) to feed ZooMed canned food it won't hurt your lil guy, but those preparations aren't suitable (despite what the can says) to completely replace their diet. I don't keep crickets in my house, I feed them once in a blue moon, but for the most part my geckos (and definitely myself) favour feeder worms (mealies, supers, waxworms, silks, butterworms, etc). Geckos can be sustained on a diet based soley on worms - though it is good to vary their diet a little, it isn't completely necessary to feed crickets. With that you don't have the worry of esacpees and chirping, and the odour is certainly one that can be lived without...lol :p I wouldn't however, recommend trying to sustain a gecko soley on a ZooMed diet.........

[BoidKeeper]

Also I would like to add this question, what is better a can of peaches or a nice fresh peach? Canned food is canned food, not natural. Geckos in the wild have a varied diet so why should captivity be any different? You could try a variety of live worms and use canned crickets once and a while to added some variety.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Clownfishie]

I tried that stuff with a couple of my guys, and they never touched it -- it didn't move, therefore it wasn't food. However, if you can get them to eat it, it's not harmful to them. I'd definitely suggest feeding live insects occasionally though. Mealworms are what my guys' main diet consists of, and they get the occasional treat of crickets. At this point I just pick up enough crickets for one feeding when I go and pick up a bunch of mealworms, and they get their treat on the day that I go bug shopping -- that way I don't have to worry about escapees, smell, chirping etc... :) Seems to work fine, and all the geckos are happy and healthy...

I hope you do get a pair of leos, they're great :D

[Edwin]

Do mealworms need vitamin supplements (vitamins and calcium), like crickets?

Do I need to feed the mealworms?

[Clownfishie]

Well, what I do is put the mealies into the leo's calcium dish -- that way when they're eating them, they're bound to get a bit of the powder as well. I tried dusting my mealworms, but it didn't really seem to work at all -- the powder didn't stick to their "skin" very well.

As for feeding the mealworms -- what I do is keep mine in a margarine container with holes in the side near the lid (far up where the mealies can't get anywhere near them), in about 1-2" of bran. The mealies eat the bran, and I occasionally put a piece of veggie in there with them -- carrot, potato, celery, etc -- for moisture. There's complicated gutload recipes out there to give the bugs extra wonderful nutrition, and get them growing like mad, but I find that the bran works just fine.
If you don't really want to feed the mealies, you can keep them in the fridge most of the time (they'll go dormant), and just take some out 24 hours before feeding time to get them warmed up and gutloaded in time for dinner ;)

[Edwin]

Thanks for the info, Jen. I think I can live with the mealies, it doesnt seem too complex.

[Linds]

Originally posted by BoidKeeper
Also I would like to add this question, what is better a can of peaches or a nice fresh peach? Canned food is canned food, not natural. Geckos in the wild have a varied diet so why should captivity be any different? You could try a variety of live worms and use canned crickets once and a while to added some variety.


Obviously a fresh peach is better than canned peaches. People prefer convenience however, not because it is better for us but because it is easier. For variety there are loads of different feeder insects that geckos can eat, and it is apparently beneficial for them to enjoy some baby food and succulents from time to time as well. Obviously these prepared items won't harm an animal, and sure they can be used as a treat if your animal will even eat them, but I would definitely avoid using them as a staple diet.

Originally posted by Edwin
Do mealworms need vitamin supplements (vitamins and calcium), like crickets?
Do I need to feed the mealworms?

I don't usually dust my mealies, my geckos eat ample amounts of calcium from their dishes. But it is important that your mealies are healthy to begin with. I keep mine in a substrate of:

<center>-rolled oats
-white bran
-red bran
-fish food flakes
-rye flakes
-wheat germ
-dry baby cereal (pablum)
-12 grain mix
-bottom of the bag of mazuri rodent chow
-oat bran
-shredded coconut
-orange peel
-peice of carrot, apple, green bean, or whatever veggie I have handy for moisture
</center>

I find this keeps them gutloaded nicely, after all, you are what you eat, right? ;)

[krrc]

I really wouldent use it at all (you may have already said this but I dident read to closely) there is no garntee that the feed the crixets right to begin with and I dont know how they perserve them but really like I say in someones post its all for convenince and is not in any way looking out for the best intrest in your leo (as soon as new keepers relise that the manufature are only trying to take your money and really couldent care any less for your animal the sooner you will be succsessful in keeping your reptile. its sucks to learn this the hard way)

[Alicewave]

Linds, you mentioned silkworms. Are they hard to keep, feed, raise etc? I have heard that they are the best bust not so efficient to keep alive. Any thoughts?

[Linds]

They are awesome and very nutritious. High in calcium and even picky feeders love em. Unfortunately they are very difficult to raise. I have never kept them long term, I just buy them occassionally as a treat for my guys and I only buy a couple day supply. One of the big pains about raising them is that they are moth caterpillars, and its impossible to keep moths from escaping. Another thing is that they only eat mulberry leaves, so you can't really just go down to the store to get some food if you run out. I buy them at the shows every 3 months from <a href="http://www.silkworms.ca">Silkworms.ca</a> and they come with a small supply of food (enough for 2-3 days), and you can also purchase the food from them if you want to purchase a larger quantity of worms or if you wish to sustain them longer.