Needs to Fatten up

JVG · 01-24-05, 06:51 AM

I have a female leo that i'm pretty sure to needs to gain some weight , u can definetly see the difference inweight when compared to my other female, she doesnt seem to like the crickets, and i have only seen her take them a couple times, but she readily takes mealworms, superworms and especialy silkworms from my hands,but i'm not sure how much to give her how often. I've heard that these should probably not be used as a staple, so just wondering what i can do to get her maybe eating crickets, to a better weight and how much and how often of the mealies, supers and silkies
thanks

Slannesh · 01-24-05, 07:24 AM

I HATE crickets... hate hate hate them. Noisy, stinky little buggers. Not to mention the escape artist issue.

I also raise Leos

I've since moved to using Superworms and Silkworms as my staple feeder insects, supplemented by Mealworms, crickets, butterworms and waxworms with the occasional pinky thrown in, pretty much in that order.

In my opinion the most important thing is to make sure your feeders are well gutloaded. Pretty much any of the 'standard' ones (Crickets, mealworms, Superworms and to a lesser extent Silkworms) can be used as a primary food source in that regard.

LISA127 · 01-24-05, 08:50 AM

I have two leo's, and I almost never buy crickets. I use mealworms as a staple, with waxworms thrown in occassionally as a treat. Sometimes I will order butterworms, too. I do have superworms in the house for my blue tongued skink and the leo's used to eat those. Lately they won't, for some reason. But trust me, if I had to feed crickets to leo's, I wouldn't be keeping leo's!

JVG · 01-24-05, 11:49 AM

lol i usually keep 500 crix here, i do hate them, but i keep em in the basement so the usual noise and smell doesnt bother me, how many mealies(i usually keep small on hand) superworms, waxworms, silkworms should i be giving them, and how often

DragnDrop · 01-24-05, 11:54 AM

If she has been tested for internal parasites, is healthy and otherwise has no problems, just feed her as much as she'll eat. I don't count how many bugs and worms I feed each gecko, I let them decide. Some days they pig out, the next few days they don't eat much, it's their choice as long as they don't get too fat or thin.

peterm15 · 01-24-05, 12:09 PM

i fattened one of mine up in just a coupple days by useing wax worms... just a few a day alond with a few crix thrown in the cage and a bowl of mealworms.. her tail balooned up almost doubble( over exaration) withen a week... it maybe went from
___ that big to ____ that big in a week...

beanersmysav · 01-24-05, 12:36 PM

Mine love crickets so I give them what they want although when I go away for a couple of days I leave them two bowls of 50 meal worms which always seem to be gone when I get home. I order 1000 crickets a week and they stay in my basement. Any that get out don't last long because of the salamander I have running around down there, I'm sure a few snakes that are down there eat them too.

JVG · 01-24-05, 12:42 PM

hm thanks, does anyone kno if they can get addicted to silkworms liek they can wax worms, i was thinking one a day while still offering other things, because they seem to be her favourite

Slannesh · 01-24-05, 01:35 PM

I haven't noticed any of my leos refusing other insects in preference to silkworms. Some of them do love them and eat every one I offer while others are hit and miss.

I have the best success mixing it up a bit. One day offer more silks than supers... then if they start to lose interest in one or the other switch to a different type for a few days.

gargoyle · 01-27-05, 07:23 PM

I just got finished a "fat diet" on a 13 year old female that was very thin (body and tail). First thing I did was seperate her from all others. Give her multiple hides all over the place. then hand fed so I could keep track of what she was eating a combination of Silkworms, waxworms, butterworms and a few crickets coated with multivit powder (thought the exercise of chasing them would be good for her) within two weeks she looks like my best one again, nice and thick, great tail thickness and very active again. I stopped using any mealworms a few years ago. I've heard too many "rumours" about the exoskeletons being too hard for them to digest without problems. Just my experience. Hope it helps

TLH_Wär§cöötmän · 01-28-05, 02:56 AM

Personally, I think every gecko has their fav. I had a gecko that refused supers and meals, but absolutely loved wax and ate crickets in small amounts. Another doesn't touch supers, but eats kings and MAYBE crickets. To tell you the truth, try everything and see what is best. I have others that if they are hungry at all, anything goes, but bigger targets like supers get chomped up at least 1 even if they are not hungry.

Good luck, and try a wide variety. (I still haven't fed mine pinkys and they do just fine)