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Growing.....the other way

Angus_8 Nov 22, 2003 09:28 PM

As you may or may not know, I have a 7 month old male and a 3 year old female. The 7 month old angus has been growing a normal rate, eating good too. When they slow down growing lengthwise is that when they start packing on the pounds...i mean grams? He isnt underweight, but I tend to like my geckos a little heavy, my female is 85 grams 9 inches. I worried about parasites keeping him from gaining thickness, but if he had parasites he wouldnt have grown lengthwise so fast right? He appears healthy in a aspects, bright colors, very active, i know hes healthy, but when do they start storing more fat and getting thicker?
Later
Mac

Replies (5)

Andrea_A Nov 22, 2003 10:04 PM

Like you probably guessed, healthy leopard geckos vary a lot. My guess is that next spring he'll be pretty much done growing longer and will fill out. Seven months is often in that 'gangly awkward' stage. Some of mine make me laugh, they look just like teenagers with big feet and long arms. You already know the important stuff, you said he's eating well and seems healthy in all respects. Don't cheat and use waxworms, let him fill out with healthy stuff! Lol, sounds like both of yours are doing great. Glad to hear it!
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Andrea A.

lunar-reptiles Nov 23, 2003 06:46 AM

I have one female that produces babies that are loooong before they are fat. Another female produces pudgy babies that take forever to get long. It's just like people, we grow at different rates. Don't worry he will fill out, he just may wind up always be longer and "thinner" looking than the other. The female that produces the long babies is long and lean but has a huge fat tail, never gets fat pockets, and weighs 70-some grams. The female that produces the pudgy babies, is shorter has fat pockets but weighs 60 some grams.

tokay_dude1 Nov 23, 2003 06:55 AM

Are you gutloading the feeder incects befor you feed them to him? and are you useing a vit. supplement?. Mealwaorms dont have a lot of calcium or fiber in them. I have read that there worth
0% of calcium. So its best if there gutloaded on carrots AND sweet potatoes for Beta Carratiene(sp?). This has worked for me..Also sometimes leos take more time to fatten up there tails during the winter season. And tend to store more fat in the breeding season I dont know this for a fact ( the breeding season thing) but its what i have read on numorouse leo sites

Angus_8 Nov 23, 2003 01:40 PM

Hes on the small inchlong superworms right now, he just switched from crickets about 3 weeks ago. I'm dusting them with calcium every feeding(since hes growing I figure he'd need lots of calcium), vitimins once a week. I gutload the superworms with potatoes and carrots. This sound good?
Thanks for the reasurance, I really like the way hes turing out. When I first got em, he was this tiny little yellow and black gecko, he weighed i think 4 grams. Now hes seriously 10 times the weight, and three times the length. Hes really light colored now too, light yellow with broken up bars filled with a beautiful lavender color. Later
Mac

aliceinwl Nov 23, 2003 03:50 PM

I've noticed that for the most part my males, especially as juvies tend to be a lot leaner than same age females. The males that I have that did bulk up did not start packing on the grams until they were 2 years old. Most of my males have remained "lean". They have excellent body weight, and no one would consider them thin, but the girth of thier tails is nothing in comarison to some of my big girls.

As long as he's eating and pooping normally I wouldn't worry.

-Alice

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