Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I used to use Carrots and keep the mealworms ion some type of oatmeal.

I keep them still in Oatmeal but have found that the mealworms go bonkers of cucumber slices - I have actually seen the mealwroms get bigger after eating - say the next day or two.

I was told to use cucumbers but a mealworm farm and since I have, I can defenitely tell the mealworms consume more of it then the carrots.

Take Care,

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AlbinoLeo@yahoo.com

While cucumbers are high in water content, which can provide moisture for your mealies, they don't have much nutritional value, which is why I use other vegetables for moisture that provide more nutrients- e.g. carrots, yams, potatoes, kale

mealies will plump up when they are hydrated
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

I have found that when putting carrots in very few eat them. The carrots go to waste. When I put cucumbers in there is nothing left by the end of the day. The mealworms will also eat the oatmeal, which was in my original post.
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AlbinoLeo@yahoo.com

I find that they will eat them if you slice them thin. As carrots are fairly hard it can be hard for mealies to get a bite surface unless you give them lots of edges to chew. A few seconds in the micro can also soften for them.

For me, the point of feeding mealies is not what the mealies like best, but what will be the best nutritional gutload for my leos.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

Thats weird becuase all of my geckos are extremely healthy. I have one over 100 grams and none of my Leo's have moderate sized tails, they are all big and thick.

Does this look like a unhealthy Leo?

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AlbinoLeo@yahoo.com

Look at it this way, whatever you put into the feeders, the geckos eventually eat. The better you feed your feeders, the better you are feeding your geckos. Yes they look healthy but looks can be deceiving in reptiles. I have seen healthy looking animals suddenly go downhill for no apparent reason. It can take awhile for nutritional deficiencies to catch up with all animals but after awhile they do catch up. By the time you realize it....it can be hard, if not impossible to correct.

Cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, celery are all mostly water. They have no nutritional value what so ever. Which is why we women eat them when we are on a diet.

Oatmeal is an ok main diet for feeders but you need to vary, the moisture source.

Personally, my insect feeders are fed....Gerber mixed fruit cereal (it's high in calcium and vitamins) mixed with dried fat-free skim milk, then they are fed whatever I happen to be feeding the beardies and torts that day...Kale, romaine, squash, carrots, collard greens, mustard greens....well you get the picture. Ok so the darn crickets and mealies eat better than I do. lol.

My mealies often eat a better diet than I do, though tonight I'm doing pretty good- brown rice and veggies with tofu and kimchee. Been making this a lot lately, it's healthy and I actually really like it.

Whenever I shop I'm always looking for new healthy variety things to put in my gutload. Today I went to an asian market (where I bought the kim chee) and bought pressed barley. It looks kind of like oatmeal but I hope since the grain is crushed the mealies will be able to eat it. I'm going to add some to my mealies today.

I also use in my mix:

oatmeal

Very Green drink powder (from Trader Joes, has spirulina, alfalfa, barleygrass juice powder, pea fiber, apple fiber, wheat grass juice powder...plus all kinds of other good stuff list too long to type)

Soy Protein Powder Dietary Supplement with Vitamins, Minerals, & Enzymes (Also from Trader Joes, I avoid dried milk because geckos are lactose intolerant)

Ground Flax Seed (mainly for the omega-3 fatty acids, but it has other good stuff in it too)

Plus fresh veggies, which I vary- yams, carrots, potatoes, squash, some dark leafy greens, etc...

I *love* the discovies of the green drink mix (got the idea from that Shizen Green infomercial with Pat Nikita/Norita sp?) and the soy protein vitimin supplement because they are powdered and easy to use, and provide a LOT of solid nutritional variety. I'd been wanting to add a second grain (not corn of course) to vary the basic starch in the diet (as I'm sure you know different grains have different amino acids and nutritional make-up). I hope to pick up some wheat bran to add to the mix too, next time I am at a health food store.

The way I see it, the more healthy variety and good nutrition in the gutload, the better nutrition the geckos get.

As for fat- people can get fat eating at McDonalds, yet still have nutrient deficiencies and not be healthy at all. Not to say that Albino Leos geckos are unhealthy, they certainly look disease-free and I do think that dusting prey items with vitamins and minerals can make up for a lot, but still I think it's optimal to provide the best food nutrition possible— which is the same recommendation we humans get. There are all kind of phytochemicals in fruits and veggies that benefit us, and vitamins are not as good as eating healthy foods.

Just my opinion.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

They might look healthy, but when it comes to longevity and disease resistance, I bet the leos that have been fed a better gutload over the course of their lives will be on top of the stack.
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chickabowwow

3.2.3 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)

Your leo's look healthy.

BUT, I had this arguement with a friend recently: looking healthy and being healthy are totally different. This guy's a stick who lives off Wendy's and KFC. I have a 'normal' build and eat healthy. So when he says 'well, you're fatter than me so i'm healthier', I just shudder. His veins are probably half shut from all the grease and nastiness... So what's healthier overall, a skinny guy who lives off KFC and is a slug, or someone 10 pounds heavier who eats healthy and works out regularly.

Moral of the story: gutload what's best for the leos and weight isn't everything (but it is a start).

>>Thats weird becuase all of my geckos are extremely healthy. I have one over 100 grams and none of my Leo's have moderate sized tails, they are all big and thick.
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>>Does this look like a unhealthy Leo?
>>
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>>AlbinoLeo@yahoo.com
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Blaine

0.0.1 High Yellow Juvenile Leo (Echo)

As far as carrots are concerned, I've gotten a much better response when I fed the baby pre-peeled carrots. They were completely devoured. When I use the large carrots with peels, I'm usually left with some left overs. It also helps if the carrots are really hydrated. If mine seem a bit dry, I soak them in water for a few hours before offering them.

I like to rotate my moisture sources, I've used cucumbers successfully, but I don't use them exclusively. Carrots are my main stay, but I also regularly use apples, peaches, figs, mellon slices, various squashes...

-Alice

n/p
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-Aaron-
1.2 rainwater albinos
0.1 hypo tang
2.4 hi yellow
1.3 tremper albinos
0.1 blizzard
0.1 leusistic
1.1 Patternless het albinos
0.1 Reverse Stripe Tangerine Albino
soon to be owner of
2 of mooses kids
1 Beautiful albino stripe adopted from Rob
E-mail me at GreatGobsOfGeckos@yahoo.com

i use the same pre-peeled baby carrots... my mealies cover it and go through them - it's funny because they dig little tunnels through the carrot & hang out inside while they munch away

[aimEe]
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com