Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok i've ground up aload of waxies ready to paste onto my mealies, but how am i supposed to smear it onto crix, coz the box i got is chocked full of all different sizes of crix, so i cant put them in my leo's last cage, as many of the little crix would be able to get out, which no one obviously wants. also, the crix had like, i dont know what it is, but it looks like vermiculate i think, it looks "fluffy" but its very dark and because its full of crix, and the box gets humid from time to time, it smells like rotting fish. is there any quick and easy way to rehouse them without letting them run loose in my house?

also, this bit ocnfused me. but if waxworms arent good for a leo, then how will smearing other bugs in waxworm smush make the situation any better...?

i think because my tank is so humid, mould has started to form in on top back corner, most likely because the paper mache mix was flour and water, so what should i do about the mould. if i have to replace the background, then that'll mean i'll have to redo the whole background. will it go away after time or will i need to remove the background ASAP?

my leo isnt interested in the wax covered mealies either, i think he see's the waxworm and recognises it that way, not by smell..will he be able to survive on 3-4 waxies a week if he wont eat anything else...

dude if it doesnt eat dont keep feeding it the wax worms. if you drop some kind of smushed (crickets, mealies, baby food, ensure) on its nose it will lick it off (that is called eating). you will have to do this for a while!! everynight! it will eventually forget about the wax worms and realize live crickets are better then smushed ones. trust me ive been through this!

NO! your gecko can not live off just a few waxies a week you need to do what we all have told you!

I agree wax worms are like gecko crack .. seriously
theres nothin good about wax worms except they make your gecko fat ..

do exactly what the last person posted .. about feeding

crickets are the most better choice

i would suggest buying crickets in bulk from a online store or a reptile place near you ( dont go to pecto or petsmart only a place that deals with reptiles//

crickets are really easy to care for ..

you just need a 10 gallon tank .. some egg cartons a 1 dish for the cricket food/water ... and i add a extra dish for greens they love it and it makes the crickets healthy so ill make your geckos healthy too

( of corse i have a beared dragons as well so this helps me out with the whole buying crickets in bluk )
anyways you need a temp in there tank and the humidiy should only be 40 % if not your crickets are gonna die
if its too cold get a light fixture and put it on top of them .. a 40 -75 watt depends on the temps ...
( and yeah you have to clean them out or they will smell . there messy -

good luck - got questions just ask me
christina

well yeah when crickets start to die they smell like rotting fish and it is gross. i keep mine outside and i buy like a thousand at a time because i have several leos but you can put them in a big smooth plastic storage box or something. i keep mine in a very large sterilite box. you also need to feed them something like lettuce or apples, carrots or something because they will die without food and water. because those things have water in them and are a food source you have food and water covered. then once you get new crickets throw or flush the old ones and spray your box out with a hose so yu can put the new ones in. that should help with the smell. they also need LOTS of fresh air!!! otherwise they will die.

NOW, i dont know how many times we all have to tell you but you need to scent your food (crickets) with the scent of your (smushed wax worms) so your gecko will eat crickets.

yes the worms are not good for your gecko but you got it addicted to them. that is how you will wean him off of the worms.

i dont know how many more ways the people in the forrum can tell you. if you have problems maybe you should take notes or something. i have never seen somebody told somethng so many times, in so many ways. o well i hope you get it this time.

WERENT YOU SUPPOSED TO GO BACK TO THE VET TO CHECK FOR PARASITES, FOR A REALL APPOINTMENT? did you not go? if you didnt you need to lay off the hash or something.

Well, my suggestion may get me skeweered on these forums, but everyone has an opinion, and a you know what.

How big is your leo? If your leo has a nice plump fat tail, and is otherwise happy and healty, I say let him/her be for a few days. Don't offer any food items.

Wait about a week, and then start to offer superworms, if you're Leo is big enough for them. They are more active than mealies so seem to draw attention a little bit better.

Yes, I know It's cruel... It's harsh... It's wrong, but it is your fault the Leo is stuck on wax worms anyway.

I wouldn't suggest this if you are still raising a juve because I've nevered offered any other staples outside of crickets while young and then to supers while adults, never liked mealies.

PS, I have done this with my leo who got addicted to pinky mice. I haven't offered him one in over 4 months, and now he just munches on the superworms.

Although I did try wax worms, and pheonix worms. I suppose they are to small to entice my leos.
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

Jamster, I don't mean to be mean, but your just not getting it. I'm new to leos, and i've come to this forum many times for answers, and i've always found the advice they give works if you follow it. Time and time again i've seen you come on here with the same questions and get the same answers, but you never seem to listen. Just leave him/her alone. the more you mess with it, the more you stress it out.
You have gotten your leo addicted to eating something bad for it. Your so worried about it starving (and I completely understand) that you give it something that you know it likes, and you know isnt good for it. I doubt that any animal will starve itself when there is a good HEALTHY food source available. Wait it out a few days. When my leo realized crickets and mealies were all she was getting, after about 3 days of just changing out fresh food and water the mealworms started looking pretty good! Now she eats like no ones buisness.
Think about it...Would you eat chicken if you could hold out a little while and get steak??? Again i'm just a newbie, I don't claim to be and expert and I may get yelled at for my opinion, but my advice... listen to the "experts" when the give you advice. Leave fresh mealies out at all time (they wont harm your gecko), and hold out.. as long as she has food and water available its his choice and will have a chance to eat. If an animal gets hungry enough it will eat whats available. Have you ever heard on a starving animal with a fresh bowl of food in front of it? Just my opinion.
PS: If you stop listening to their advice.. you going to find them not giving it anymore!

I understand what you're saying, Jamster. It's as much the physical appearance and movement of the crickets as it is the smell. And face it, crickets are a lot harder to catch than waxworms. It sounds like your guy isn't opposed to a little hunger strike now and then if he'll eventually get what he likes. And I also understand that you don't like the thought of him going a week without food (though he likely could with no complications). Please consider silkworms as an alternative to waxworms. They're somewhat similar in appearance, with similar movements, and they're far more succulent looking than mealworms or supers. Also, if your leo ate nothing but silkworms everyday for the rest of its life, it would be fine, in fact it would thrive. I rotate silkworms into the diet of all of my reptiles, most love them, and I know they're eating something really good for them. You can buy them in quantities as few as 100 from mulberryfarms.com. They also sell silkworm chow in case you don't have access to mulberry leaves. I encourage you to give it a shot.

Jamster, noticed you didnt reply.

Just wanted to say once again if you do try and let the leo wait it out a few days, make sure the leo can handle it. A nice plump tail, and that leo would make it no problem.

See, I'm from new Orleans, and the whole Katrina thing had my leos tested. I had just Sahara and Ghost back then, just hatchlings th both of them.

Anway, make a long story short. I left New Orleans for about 30 days and had to leave the leos there. They only had 25 mealies (I was new back then) each for 30 days, and I'm sure those mealies didn't make it the full 30.

These are some hardy animals, treat them right, and they will treat you right. I love watching my leos just lounge aroud they dont do much more than that anyway. LOL.
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

Yea i have tryed telling him several times and i just can't seem to grasp him i don;t think! LOL....JUST GET THE HINT!!!

It's ok to make mistakes just earn from them. That's all we ask, and you come here and continue to ask the samething over and over and over! It's been addressed so please address it!

I have nothing further to say on this issue unitl something is actually done about it!

ok everyone all these solutions are great! i just wanted to say i have had geckos go for about 3 months refusing to eat. they would get 5 fresh crickets in thier cage everynight! and they still refused to eat for 3 months. i also tried mealies at the same time. most dont take that long. after about a month and a half of this i started feeding baby food by dropping it on their nose and them licking it off. this went on for the remainder 1 1/2 months and then finally started eating on its own. by the way most only take about a month be for they realize they are hungry. the 3 months was the case with 2 extreme geckos, one was a fat tail and the other was a leo. im just saying they can go a very long time however its not that great but when you get worried you can hand feed water by putting a couple drops on their nose and wait for them to lick them off or you can also use baby food or ensure as an alternative food if it refuses everything.

i also think you dont live in the U.S. so it might be very expensive for you to order worms from mulberryfarms however i would look into it, also where ever you get your crickets from, they may know where to get silk worms.

also maybe if you are still having trouble taking in all this information have somebody read it out loud to you or read and discuss it with someone. it might help.

Okay, Jamster I just wanted to let you know that nobody here is against you or mad at you or nothing like that.

I've been browsing these forums since about 2005, and now I'm fulltime again, starting to get things back straight.

Anyway,

I just want you to know that the people who post on this forum, love leos. They breed them, and live them far more than myself.

I chime in my opinions because I've had Leos for about 2 or 3 years now, not because I'm an expert. I dont pretend to be one.

Anyway, said all that to say this. These people love your leo, I love your leo. You love your leo. That's the only reason we post constanly is out of love for the species.

Leos were a start for me and aren't my primary focus anymore. But all of these post are out of love for the animal, and we all just want to see the animal at its best, which of course would bring out your best as an owner.

So, just didn't want you to take any of these responses as degrading or trying to down the way you've cared for your leo.

Without the help of people like LeoLady, and the other veterans around this site no telling if my leos would still be alive today. So in closing....

We only want to see your Leo at its best...
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Leopard Geckos
Sahara (Normal)
Ghost (Blizzard)
"The Baby" (year old Albino)

Bearded Dragons
Junior(hopefully male/unsexed)

i've been really busy, i've only been home to give my leo his flagyl, offer a few crickets n then i go straight back out the door, girlfriends been in hospital for surgery so been with her pretty much 24/7.

i know i have came to this forum many times, asking pretty much the same questions i know, but im trying to cover every angle to work from to get my leo back on track, and i dont want to do anything i shoudnt. i know you are all trying to help me with my leo and i appreciate the help given, even the ones that seem kinda negative. i didnt read anywhere that giving waxies to a juvey would be bad, and when i did give him the waxies it was only one a week. everywhere i had read had all said the same, "only 1 a week or it'll get obese/fat/unhealthy/etc" so i did stick to the one a week. that's when it went off food all together, when i took the waxies away from him coz they started cacooning or w/e so i threw them away until they were gone n didnt buy anymore, as i wanted to get him eating properly first. nothing i've tried has worked, he even starved himself for 3-4 weeks coz i wouldnt give him waxworms, but i thought he wasnt eating beacuse he was impacted, but i got the all clear from that. i havent been able to get into the vet this week either sadly, and the next 5-6 weeks will mean college, but im going to squeeze a trip to the vet in whereever possible.

and your right, i come from the UK, and all the pet shops i've been into, silkworms is quite a delicacy. 4-6 large silkworms costs £4 (about $7), and these silks worms are about half the size of my leo, which i know is too big, as mines only about 5".i just looked on a site then aswell, 15 silkworms for £3 ($5), a bit extorsionate but i'll try get them. gotta get money in the bank first... =(

i'll keep my lil fella off the waxworms from now on, i've constalty got a tub of mealies in with him, but when they turn to the crawly insect form, i take them out.

my brother had weight gain quite awhile ago, and still has a few tubs of the powder lying about, if i made a mixture would this help him in anyway? it sounds extremely similar to vanilla ensure. (its vanilla flavoured also. it isnt like MAJOR weight gain, in a pint glass it has only 300Kcal, but has pretty much everything essential that a human needs, but i dont wanna try it, seems a tad risky).

i'll mush up some more mealies as scenting didnt work, and, would it be advisable to feed my leo in a seperate tank, i have the stuff to do it, just moving him about is my concern.

many thanks to everyone who's helping me, and sorry for being such a burden

No don't move him into a seperate tank. Just leave him be! Keep trying crickets and mealies. Try feeding the mealies out of tweezers, and try the baby food on the mouth and see if that works, all of these things will need to be tryed several times, and kept up on. Sorry to hear about your g/f, but just to let you know your leo may need you just as much.

What are your temps at? Has he been pooping at all? Try leaving a dish a mushed mealies and crickets and see if he may eat them on his own.

i know my leo will probably need me just as much, and i know this may sound harsh, but it is replacable, although i dont want to have to replace mine. i havent moved him to a different tank yet, just wanted to know if this would help his feeding. i did leave smushed up wax and meal worm in with the tub of meal worms, but i think in the end it just dried up. he's pooping pretty much every other day, although i think one day/night he pooped twice. im not sure but one night there was no poop, the next there was 2. he hasnt pooped since, this was like sunday night, but i'll probly wake to a suprise in the morning. im finding it kinda hard to regualte the temps, im working on finding a ceramic lamp holder that will be suitable for my tank. i find it hard to get his temp to about 70-75° because this is alot lower than room temp. but i keep a little window open which is about 1ft away from the coolest side of his tank, and on the night the cool side steams up quite a bit. i just lift the lid up so theres a gap to let the warm air seep out. i have pierced holes into the top of the lid, but this doesnt seem to do much, and i dont want to make more holes (i've left 2-3 little crickets in with him should he choose to try and eat them) aswell as the tub of mealworms. temp on the during the day/evening is usually around 85-90°, if it starts going higher i open all my windows, turn off his light and slide the heat pad out a bit. i also put greens in with the mealworms every other day, also helps keep the crix under rap. i've tried mealies in tweezers, he didnt turn his head like normal, but didnt take to it. and also offered him a cricket between my fingers (he was runnin loose and thought i might aswell try it while i have one in my fingers) but he didnt want that either. i tried feeding him smushed up mealies with a syringe, but because i cant get it to a fine smush as the shells are hard to grind completely, and he ended up with a big dollop of mealie smush covering half of his face, which i removed with a cotton bud (i think you call them q-tips..)..i've been absolutely swamped aswell with college work, exams, and a 14hour practical i have in 2 days, for which i am greatly unprepared, aswell as 3 birthdays (i even forgot my mums was today... o.0 ) but baby food will most likely be on the shopping list for tomorrow, i'll make my mum buy it. what flavours should i get? pure meat ones? i mean we get meat paste (which i find particualry nasty) but babyfood will be mentioned first for some reason right? lol. also, would that vanilla flavoured "weight gain" be suitable for him (a weak mixture if it could work) although if no one knows, i wont take the risk. ummm...think this covers everything you asked for...

for the long post lol but i dont want to leave anything out. oh and i will be trying the mealies in tweezer and food on the nose trick in a day or two, i tried last night but dont want to disturb him too much ^^ ( im learning ;p )

but it is replacable, although i dont want to have to replace mine

Worst thing you could ever say! You just showed everyone how much it really means nothing to you! I could say this to....You can always just replace your g/f as well. She is only just your g/f!

You should not ever own anything again! You should also think about selling your leo to someone who will give it the proper care! I will not even read your posts because of the comment you made above! I can't even believe you would say something like that! Horrible!! Really Horrible!

i know the comment is harsh i know that completely. it is the truth though. its like an army general saying his troops are expendable, they are and there isnt any ignoring that. but if i didnt care for my gecko would i be trying all of these extremeties to get him to get properly? this might sound weird but i dont have emotions, my dad has had a stroke and it doesnt worry me, my g/f had ovarian cyst's and i wasnt worried. if sh1t happens it happens. i mean would i have spent about £200 (about $320) on something i woudlnt care about? i keep my leo in the best conditions i can, even my friend cares for his less, even when he puts it in quite bad danger (feeding it big black bug things the side of the gecko's head) and hardly cleans the poop from the cage. it's not that i dont care for it, it's that i care for my g/f more than my leo. we've been together for 3 1/2 years and are childhood sweethearts, would you choose your husband who you love over leo's? yes you can love both, but not with the same type of love. i care for my leo greatly, but would put my g/f ahead of it any time of the day. im sorry but it's just the truth. ignoring the truth doesnt make it any less true.

I don't get it Jamster.. I think you want your cake and eat it too. You say you love your girlfriend, but are not worried about her health? What would worry you then? Also, A commander who thinks his troops are expendable doesn't care for their safety and probably has troops who hate him. You have posted question after question after question and every one has given you advice. If he can be replaced so easily to you why waste everyone's time. You gecko may be expendable (in your opinion) but makes him NO LESS worthy of your undivided attention! By purchasing him and putting him in a cage you put him completely at your mercy, he can't get up and go to the store for his dinner. If you can't give him the time he needs you need to give him to someone who can. It sounds like you are extremely busy and you leo probably isnt getting the attention he needs. If you don't get emotional as you say.. Why have you been so worried and posted so many questions about your leo? My last advice to you now.. get rid of him while HE still has a chance.
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This is courage.. to bear unflinching what heaven sends. -unknown

2.1 chocolate labs and bassett (Harley, Barker and Capone)
1.0 leopard gecko (Nacho)

as a matter of fact i do care for my leo, just not as much as you would all like i guess. why would i keep asking questions, keep trying extremities to feed him? he has everything he needs, and wouldnt get much more being given to someone else, a friend of mine takes care of his leo alot less than i do, im doing everything i can to get him to eat properly. and i do care for my g/f, i love her to bits and cant see my self with anyone apart from her, but, i just dont get worried. and the reason why im "wasting so much time looking for advice on these forums" is that i took on the responsibility of a pet, it's in my care and no one elses so it'll only be me to blame as to what happens to it. its like buying a dog and keeping it tied out in the yard, and im not like that. he's getting ready to shed again so his eating might pick up again hopefully.

and besides, i came to this forum looking for help, and yes i agree that i have been somewhat difficult, but thought i'd be more than welcome in a forum, despite my experience, and thought that many of you who already own alot of leo's etc would know how difficult some can be, and i just seem to have the bad luck of having a little bit of a difficult leo on my first go. i admit i made a big mistake with the waxworms, and my expendable comment may have been uncalled for, but i still stand by what i say. can all of you say you would rather have animal companionship to that of a human??