Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As a new leopard gecko owner, I'm finding that I have a variety of new questions and concerns every day, and this has been very much a learning experience for me.

The reason that I am posting is because I've gotten a variety of information from a variety of different sources, much of which does not agree with each other, so I was wondering if maybe a few people could please throw their 2 cents in on these questions and we could come to some sort of consensus:

1. For a new/young gecko, how much to feed and how often? The man who sold me the gecko said 6 small crickets every other day. Others have said more than 6 daily. Is 6 too few? Every other day too rarely? Please share your thoughts on this.

2. Dusting the food with powder - Some have said to use a vitamin&calcium powder every time. Others say to use Vit Calcium sometimes and just calcium others, because the gecko can get too many vitamins. Is this necessary in your experience?

3. Regarding the presence of a humid hide and shedding ... I've read some places that there ought to always be a humid hide available to the gecko. Others have told me that it is only necessary to have one when the gecko is about to shed. When I asked the person who sold me the gecko how I would know when he was going to shed, his answer was "you'll just know." I thought this was a crappy answer, but I didn't bother him any further about it.

Thank you so much everyone, I'd really appreciate as many people's thoughts on these issues as possible. This forum has been very helpful to me so far.

Cheers.
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0.0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko (The Juggernaut)

Here's my 2 cents:

>>1. For a new/young gecko, how much to feed and how often?

In our experience we feed leo's everyday as much as they will eat in a certain amount of time. Unfortunately, the amount of time depends on the gecko, we've had both really interested and more "opportunistic" hunters. I would say give about 5 or 6 crickets (half the size of the gecko's head) everyday and if they are all gone in less than 20 minutes you are fine. Once you reach full grown, you will notice a sharp drop in their interest in food, that's the signal to start feeding less often. With this method, we usually find our geckos are adult size in 8-9 months.

>>2. Dusting the food with powder -

Again, for young geckos I would dust every time with a vitamin/ cal powder. Something like Zoo Med's leo formual is great. When they get older you can cut down to once or twice a week. We tend to monitor their calcium "blisters" in order to understand their needs. I don't like leaving powder out simply do to the mess and that it is hard to keep it fresh.

>>3. Regarding the presence of a humid hide and shedding ...

You will notice the gecko getting pale before it sheds, you may even see the separation of the two layers of skin. As for humid hide it is suggested, but I have found it depends more on the humid in your area and the personality of the gecko. For instance, our current gecko won't go near a humid hide, but we have a large shallow water bowl and placed some plants overtop of it to hold in the humidity. We live in an area with a lot of humidity too, so that helps. She's never had a problem shedding, in fact she's faster and more efficient than any gecko we've cared for, but she hates moss I guess. I would try a humid hide, but don't be upset if the gecko doesn't like it, especially if you notice that it sheds completely, no big deal then.

Hope I got all the questions in there, these are my experiences, good luck... I like the gecko name, cute.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

1. For a new/young gecko, how much to feed and how often?

For my hatchlings and leos upto 9 months old, I feed them every day as much as they want to eat. I give several crickets and leave a small bowl of small superworms or mealworms or silkworms for them to eat as they please. Actually I give crickets to the hatchlings and start trying to wean them off of them around 10-12 weeks old. I don't care much for crickets, they stink too much compared to my other feeder insects, and large crickets make too much noise LOL I don't have any young leos right now, so I'm cricket free

2. Dusting the food with powder

This is always a big controversy. I've done a lot of reading on this issue and have seen well known breeders discuss what they do. What I decided to use as a schedule is . . . Hatchlings through 6 months old, I dust crickets or other feeder insect with plain calcium 6 days a week and then with a vitamin supplement that has D3 once a week. My Leos over 6 months old get plain calcium dusted feeders about 3 times a week and vitamins w/ D3 once every 2 weeks. I do have dishes of plain calcium in all the Leos enclosures. Now, I do raise some of my own feeder insects so I know that they are very well gutloaded and with the Silkworms being so high in calcium I don't feel I need to use calcium as much as I use to.

3. Regarding the presence of a humid hide and shedding

Humid hides are the favorite spot for all 13 of my leos. Myself, I would always provide a humid hide, but my experience has been that my leos all love theirs. I've never had any problems with sheds either. Well, I have one female who once in a awhile has a small piece of shed left on the tip of her nose, it's funny looking when it happens LOL At least it's simple to remove And every one of them let me know if I've let the hide start to get too dry, they kick the Eco-Earth out of them and make a nice mess for me LOL

You can tell when they are getting close to shedding, they get pretty dull looking and right before the skin starts to separate it will have a whitish hue to it
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www.StoplightCityLeopardGeckos.com

I've had good success with young geckos feeding them every day. I have always started mine out with 4-5 small crickets daily, and more as they get bigger. Once they get big enough to go up a cricket size, I reset to 4-5 crickets of the larger size, rinse, repeat til they're at adult size, then eventually back off to feeding every other day, and adjusting the number of crickets based on the gecko's apparent appetite.

Juveniles under my care get vitamin dusted crickets at every feeding, adults every other or every third feeding, and this seems to work out well.

I would start out by providing a humid hide at all times, because each gecko seems to have its own personality about them. Some will use it all the time, others not at all. You have to let the gecko choose. Mine haven't made much use of humid hides, but it tends never to get much below 35-40% relative humidity where I live, so given that they've always got a water bowl available to them, they probably just don't need it here. Give the gecko the option and adjust from there. If you never ever see him/her use it, you can probably remove it.

As far as knowing when the gecko is about to shed, it is pretty obvious. They'll get duller in color than you're used to seeing a day or two in advance of shedding, and then right before they're about to do it, they'll go white as the top layer of their skin starts to separate from the layer below. If you get a chance to watch them in the act, it's pretty entertaining, cause they look so silly/pathetic when doing it .

With regard to the shedding itself, you should make sure to closely inspect your gecko within a day or two after each shedding to check on how good a job he/she did. Make sure all the shed skin has come off, particularly around toes, as the shed skin will shrink around a toe if it's left there, eventually cutting off circulation and causing the gecko to lose the toe. It's not a big deal to take care of as long as you pay attention and notice that there's an issue - harassing the gecko with a wet q-tip will usually suffice to remove any unshed skin.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

First of all I would like you to know that I am new to leopard geckos as well, but I will share what I was told and what I do for mine since I've had other reptiles in the past.

1) As for feeding I offer a variety to my geckos. I offer each gecko 6 crix and 3 melworms a day. Every now and then I throw in some butterworms for a change. I was told that babies should eat every day and I believe that is right since my babies are all waiting by the time I come to do my rounds at night. They are also jumping at the crix and melworms as soon as I throw them in.

2) Vitamins with D3 and Phosphorus I do once a week. I was told that by some people on this forum. Calcium is always accessible via a small dish which I put the melworms in. If a gecko wants Ca it will just sit in the dish and lick it up. Seems to work for me. I also dust my crix everyday with Calcium, just in case. FYI Make sure you "gutload" or feed your crix before you give them your geckos. I did't know if anyone told you that.

3) I leave a humid hide that is big enough for all of them to fit into in the enclosure at all times. I just use paper towels and water and I put new paper towels in there everyday. I put it on the warm side and I find that even when they are not shedding they will go in there and hang out for a few if they feel like it. Plus I'm not good at noticing when they are ready to shed and I don't want to miss it and them have a bad shed.

Sorry if it was soo long and sorry if I covered something someone else covered.
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Vicky Lord
1.0 boyfriends (Jeremy)
1.1 cats (Oscar, Angel)
1.1 dogs (Toto, Jesse)
1.0 San Felipe Rosy Boa (Herman)
1.0 Catavina Rosy Boa (George)
1.2 Leopard Geckos (Edge, Jazzy (short for Jasmine), and Dot (so named for the cute dot that is right above her tail))