How many mealworms should i feed my baby leopard gecko?
Don't listen to the first answer.. You can feed your leos a staple diet of mealworms. They are NOT fatty, if anything, they have less nutrition than crickets actually. Waxworms, butterworms are very fatty and should only be fed as a treat. I have been successfully breeding my leos for 3 years and their staple diet is mealworms. There really isn't a certain amount to feed. Feed him as many as he'll eat. But obviously don't over do it. He may eat as many as 12 in one sitting or more or less.
How many mealworms should i feed my baby leopard gecko a day and how much should i feed it when its older?
Mealworms aren't the best staple diet for leopard geckos. Crickets or roaches are better. For a baby, feed it as much as it will eat in about 15 minutes, at least once a day. Don't leave any uneaten crickets in the cage more than about an hour, though if you're feeding something that can stay in a dish (mealworms or some roaches), you can just leave the extras in the dish to be eaten whenever your leo gets hungry. When it's older, same thing, but you only need to feed it every other day.
What are leopard geckos, and how can you feed them mealworms?
Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are lizards from Eastern Asia including the Indian subcontinent. They are common in the pet trade. They eat things like crickets, mealworms and cockroaches, which are simply put into their aquarium for them to “hunt”.Very handsome lizards!
Why won't my leopard gecko eat crickets?
well leopard geckos are lazy @$$es my leopard gecko who is perfectly healthy would rather go after the slower superworms then the quick hopping crickets their tactic for hunting is sit and wait and if none of the crickets come near her she wont even bother plus mealworms are almost as good as crickets for it so i woudnt worry your leo is fine p.s. unlike what the previous answerer said waxworms are bad for you gecko and leos get hooked on them they are almost like twinkies(high in fat) plus leo geckos know how to eat mealworms/superworms it you watch them they will attack the head so it will kill the worm before it is digested. sand is a bad substrate they can be impacted and die and the less humidity the better too much humidity can lead to breathing problems with your leo you only need a moist hide and thats it but im sure you already knew that
Can I feed my leopard gecko only mealworms with some occasional super worms and waxworms instead of crickets?
You could and the gecko probably wouldn’t die, but I doubt that’s a risk you want to take. I wouldn’t recommend it due to it being not the best nor a good diet. The occasional superworm or waxworm is fine, as is some mealworms here and there. However, a primary diet of mealworms is a no from me.This is mainly because the exoskeleton on a mealworm is much tougher and thicker than that of a cricket, which makes mealworms difficult to digest and less nutritious. So not the best food for regular feeding.I’d recommend feeding crickets as a main diet, but if for whatever reason you can’t have crickets, a great alternative would be Dubia roaches. They have very similar care to mealworms and are healthier for the gecko than mealworms. Many people actually think that roaches are just as good as crickets if not better with the added bonus of not stinking or chirping.Just remember every insect that can be fed to a leopard gecko has pros and cons which is why a diet with variety is so important. The more options the better, and you’re definitely on the right track!
Can you feed mealworms to a leopard gecko?
Yes, in fact mealworms are an acceptable staple diet!Mealworm/Superworm Pros:CheapEasy to getEasy to handleLast for months in the fridgeNo need to feed except for gutloading 24 hours before being fed to petsMealworm/Superworm Cons:On the fatty sideVery little meat and a lot of chitin, which can be difficult for some reptiles to digest.Low nutrition. Dusting them can be a little difficult if you don’t have a sticky vitamin powder.They only contain a measly 10% protein.You may hear a rumor going around that they can eat their way out of your leo’s stomach. These rumors are absolutely not true. There’s absolutely no way they could survive the highly acidic environment of an animal’s stomach. This has been tested again and again.A bigger risk with mealworms is the chitin impaction. However, most cases of chitin impaction in leopard geckos have had other factors, like previous impactions, being kept on sand, or being kept at improper temperatures. If you have proper husbandry, this should not be a problem.However, I would recommend dubia roaches instead.Pros:Probably the best feeder insect commonly available. They have a lot of meat and a very soft shell and a whopping 36% protein.Very low risk of chitin impaction. I’ve never heard of a case yet.Eat anything.Very long-lived. Crickets live a few weeks. Dubia live for years.Lots of sizes available, something for every insect-eater.Can’t jump or fly. Can’t climb glass or slick plastic.Low escape risk. They move pretty slowly and can’t survive outside of a high-humidity, high-temperature environment.Easy to breed to establish your own colony.Cons:Hard to find and may be expensive. I’ve only been able to find them online.Fairly slow breeders because they are long-lived for insects. It could take as long as 6 months before you can feed from your own colony regularly.The whole 'these are roaches’ thing can freak some people out.Some people have allergic reactions to roaches and their poop. I haven’t heard of any serious reactions, but coughing is common. Wear a mask when you clean out your roach bin.Dubia can be hard to find, so I would recommend searching online for a reputable breeder.I get all of my feeder insects from Rainbow Mealworms, so I would recommend looking at their site and seeing if they ship to where you live.Please feel free to PM me with any questions!
How many mealworms should I feed my leopard gecko?
Put a few in a plastic dish with straight sides, so they can't climb out, and see how many the Gecko will eat. A deep lid works well for this. You can always add more, but you don't want them escaping either. If they get out, they can mature into beetles that can bite your Gecko. You need to feed the worms for about 24 hours before feeding them to the Gecko. You can use a gut loader food found in pet stores. You can also add fruit, vegetables, carrots are especially good for water content. The Gecko will benefit from a well fed worm. Some people will say that you need to feed crickets, this is not necessarily true. Crickets can bite your Gecko and can increase the parasite load. They do this if you leave them in the tank too long. The crickets will eat the feces that contain the parasite eggs and the Gecko will eat the cricket. This can be a viscous cycle. Put a small container of calcium/D3 powder in with your Gecko. He will eat this as needed. You need to determine how old who are, the worms or the Gecko? The Gecko you can't really tell, the worms come in different sizes. Good luck!
What can you feed baby leopard geckos?
1/4 inch crickets or immature (NOT fully grown) mealworms, phoenix worms (soldier fly larvae), small silkworms, the occasional wax worm, or feeder roach nymphs. Insects fed should not be larger than the space between the animal’s eyes, and should not have excessively hard shells. Dust crickets and mealworms with a calcium/D3 powder - they are high in phosphorus and must be balanced with supplements to avoid deficiency disease in the baby gecko.However, if you are asking this question, it sounds as though you have a baby gecko, but you don’t know how to properly care for it. That’s a serious situation, because leopard geckos require special equipment to survive in captivity. The gecko will require a heat mat under its enclosure, and this MUST be controlled with a thermostat or rheostat. You must use a quality thermometer with a remote probe to check the temperatures. The cage floor should be 90F over the heat mat. Place it under only half of the cage, so the gecko can move from warmer to cooler areas.You will also need to provide a small margarine tub or similar container with damp moss or paper towel in it, and a hole cut to allow the gecko to go in and out easily. Keep this moist but not wet, and change it OFTEN.The gecko should have have a hide on the warm side and on the cool side - these should be small - just big enough for the gecko to fit inside - and should have a single entrance. (Those half-logs are useless, they don’t make the animals feel secure at all).Use paper towel or newspaper on the cage floor, NEVER sand - nor coconut fiber, wood chips, or anything else that consists of particles. Captive leopard geckos are prone to eating bedding and developing an intestinal blockage as a result (which is deadly). So, take no chances. Calcium sand is no good, either - it doesn’t digest and dissolve as readily as the manufacturer claims.
Can a Leopard Gecko eat wild worms over long periods of time?
Earthworms could be a great addition to a leopard gecko’s diet. Earthworms are commonly bred as amphibian food, but many other reptiles will happily eat a few earthworms as well. Wild caught insects can carry a higher risk of parasites, but so do crickets and other captive bred insects so it’s a good idea to get a fecal test run on your gecko at least once a year and treat them for parasites as necessary. Thankfully this is not expensive to do and it’s just good practice.Reptiles should have a varied diet, where no one feeder is more than 20% of the overall diet. So earthworms could be mixed in with crickets, roaches, superworms (instead of mainly mealworms, which are less meaty and more shell/chitin), silkworms, hornworms, and any other insect you can find commercially. The common leopard gecko logic of feeding them 90–100% mealworms is outdated and lazy - the more feeders you offer the more rounded the gecko’s nutrition and the healthier he’ll be in the long-run.