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Can leos also be fed exclusivly on mealworms? I'm going to let mine have a bit of a varied diet, but I was just wondering...
Thanks

Allie
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Can you tell me what rhymes with moon,
And can be written on a page,
Or on a rock for age on age,
This ancient letter tell me soon!

I'll get yelled at if I don't say "yes it is fine" here, but let me make my constant comment when this question comes up... (warming, personal opinions to follow!)

Some breeders tend to feed mealworms because they are easier to keep and feed in large quantities. Kids living with their parents will feed mealworms because mom won't have crickets loose in the house. So why feed anything else? Why are crickets still so widely available? Crickets are different nutritionally and offer something that worms do not: the hunt. Remember that these geckos are predators, they hunt for their food. Think of it this way: a dog is both a predator but also a scavenger. In their natural environment they are ok with find food left out and eating it (scavenging) so putting the food in a bowl isn't that different. But a leopard gecko eats live prey, running around prey, is it fair to them to put it in a bowl? For us, we feel strongly that the psychological health of the gecko is better served allowing them some exercise in hunting. (Yes, we watched too much Croc Hunter, but he knows his stuff.) Besides, you would miss the "hunter aspect" of your gecko. Anyone here will tell you that it is too cute to watch them stalking, slinking their tails back and forth and then, just before they strike they wiggle the tip of their tails and CHOMP!

That being said, you can also use different species of worms as treats (fed with tongs if necessary) Waxworms are common, silk worms are good too. Back in the old days, people would catch moths and stuff at night and feed them, but you really don't want to do that these days due to pesticide use. Hope that helps!
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Thats great advice thanks! I don't think that I can get silkworms where I am, but I know that I can get a supply of mealworms and crickets, so thats great But I was just wondering, how do you get your crickets out without them 'taking a leap of faith' everywhere? Crickets loose around the house is not very ideal for me, but I do know that this happens a bit so how can I reduce that risk? Thanks

Allie
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Can you tell me what rhymes with moon,
And can be written on a page,
Or on a rock for age on age,
This ancient letter tell me soon!

I have noticed on this site mealworms are very popular. Before I got my leo everything I read said that mealworms were too fatty and should only be fed as a treat. The breeder said they fed babies mealworms and switched over to crickets as the leo got older - 6months . Everyone on this site certainly seems to love their leos so are mealworms too fatty or not?

I havn't really had a problem with crickets escaping. I just grab an egg carton, and shake it over my gecko's enclosure. They don't seem to know what's going on for a second, that's what I aim for.

To feed crickets in small quantities this method has worked great for us:

We keep them in a "critter" keeper designed for small mice or the like with some egg carton (they need places to stand and hide to keep from stressing). We use a gut load formula that contains food and water (in that respect we are lazy, we don't want to deal with separate food and water stuff). Some brands are better than others, we like the "Yummies" brand the best as they are all natural and smell like apples, but anything works. When we need a "serving" we use a tube from paper towels or "kitchen roll" I believe it is called in the UK. Insert tube into small opening in critter keeper, crickets crawl up the tube and you transfer the tube to the shaker or a plastic bag to coat them with vitamin dust as you would for all prey items, worms included. A simple tap is all that is needed to get the crickets off the tube BTW. The best way to practice is to place the shaker and the critter keeper in a spare 10 gallon or in the gecko's enclosure if there is room. Even the bathtub would work! That way, if you lose any they are easily caught or eaten by the waiting gecko. After about a week, you'll be an expert.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I see a lot of experienced keepers feeding their leos exclusively mealworms, and have had no problems. I know people who feed them exclusively crickets with no problems. As long as you dust the prey item with multivitamin and calcium supplement everyonce in awhile your leos should be OK. But you can feed them a varied diet if you like; I think that tends to be better.

Ok thanks guys, sleepy your method sounds great so I'll try that one out,thanks! I dont think we get the 'critter keeper' thing over here, but I have seen cricket things where you put the crickets in, kinda similar I suppose Thanks again!

Allie

P.S: Kitchen roll is correct sleepy
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Can you tell me what rhymes with moon,
And can be written on a page,
Or on a rock for age on age,
This ancient letter tell me soon!

You can really make your own cricket home without too much difficulty. I just cut a hole in the top of a 20qt container, hot glued it shot with some screen, and toss the crickets in there. Pictures later.