patent mantle
I got a leopard gecko yesterday. She said he hadn’t been fed in a couple of days and should be fed today. I’m not sure his age. I know he’s young. Can you help me determine age and how much I should be feeding him? She said she was only giving him one mealworm a feeding, which seems like WAY too little. Poor guy. I have two small crickets (that’s all they had) and a 35 count mealworm. Also, do I dust mealworms too?
rare summit
nqa if hes under a year old, you feed as much as he can eat in 15 minutes giving him time to swallow. sometimes this means 7 feeders, for others it could be over 20.
every feeder needs to be dusted, please read up on !supplements
idle sparrowBOT
Supplements are a necessary part of a leopard gecko's (or most any captive herp's) diet. In the wild, they would be eating a wide variety of prey, and that prey would be eating a wide variety of foods itself. In captivity, there's no way to replicate this perfectly, which is why offering supplements and as varied of a diet as possible is crucial in preventing deficiencies and illness.
The exact schedule you use for supplements will depend on your individual animal, its age, and your feeding schedule. However, a good place to start is by picking up some calcium, calcium + D3, and multivitamins. If you use UVB, you will likely not need a D3 supplement since UVB allows reptiles to produce their own D3. This takes the guessing game out of how much D3 to provide (they can overdose on it) since they will regulate their exposure and D3 levels themselves. D3 is needed to use calcium in the body, so animals will become calcium deficient without D3. Additionally, make sure any calcium supplements you use are phosphorus free since they generally get enough phosphorus in their diet, and too much will cause a calcium deficiency.
Fluker's Calcium + D3 https://bit.ly/39lMQ9d
ZooMed's ReptiCalcium with D3 https://bit.ly/3f7lHdS
Fluker's Calcium (no D3) https://bit.ly/3ntLUpD
ZooMed's ReptiCalcium (no D3) https://bit.ly/2wrkeN0
RepCal Calcium (no D3) https://bit.ly/35DMY4u
Repashy Calcium Plus Multivitamin https://bit.ly/39kqVPu
RepCal Herpivite Multivitamin https://amzn.to/3lBo4rK
ZooMed Reptivite Multivitamin https://amzn.to/38NMQRL
Fluker's Repta Vitamin Multivitamin https://amzn.to/3lC8TON
If you'd like to learn more about how to assess supplement brands, here's a good article from Reptifiles: https://reptifiles.com/reptile-vitamins-reptile-calcium/
If you'd like to learn more about how reptiles use D3, here's an article from Arcadia: https://www.arcadiareptile.com/d3-cycle/
Example supplementation schedules:
http://bit.ly/3cpFcyO
rare summit
from 0-6 months, he should be fed once a day and from 6-12 youd be feeding once every two days
patent mantle
How will I determine how old he is?
rare summit
someone else can chime in, but a top down picture would help us a ton
patent mantle
Also, PetSmart told me that he shouldn’t be eating mealworms as a staple. Is this correct?
rare summit
incorrect.
nqa mealworms should not be a staple for other reptiles depending on species, but leopard geckos were evolved to digest chitin and can do so if theyre healthy
mealworms are a good and common staple
patent mantle
Okay good. That’s what the woman who had him before was feeding him. She said he liked them more than crickets.
Since they are kept in the fridge, should I let them get room temp before giving to him?
rare summit
itd be smart to keep them at room temp consistently and gutload them at least 12h before feeding
patent mantle
She told me the stuff they have in the container is what gut loads them. Is that correct? Lol
rare summit
feed your bugs to make sure theyre as nutritious as possible
rare summit
She told me the stuff they have in the container is what gut loads them. Is that...
no, thats oat substrate and likely frass. the mealworms eat it to stay alive but it doesnt gutload well if at all
you need veggies
!gutload
idle sparrowBOT
patent mantle
Oh no! So what do I do since I need to feed him today and I don’t have anything that has been gut loaded?
rare summit
nqa its fine for a day if you dont gutload, but in the future, you definitely should
patent mantle
Okay. How long do mealworms stay “good”? For lack of a better term. Lol
As long as they are moving? Lol
rare summit
nqa it depends on how you house them. mine will stay alive for months at a time as long as theyre well fed and the container is well ventilated.i keep up to 300 at a time in a deli cup with no substrate, and shredded carrots
dead mealworms will quickly turn black and crispy if they havent been eaten by other mealworms
patent mantle
Awesome! Thank you so much for your help! Last question, what should I use to clean his new food and water bowls?
rare summit
nqa i usually sanitize with rubbing alcohol and let it air out until theres no smell