Reptile & Amphibian Forums

please don't argue over eachother's responses. This is all just a matter of opinion.........

1: What do you feed your leos and how often?

2: Do you leave anything in the cage for a 24 hour period?

3: Does your leo only eat what it's hungry for, or has it ever eaten so much that it vomited it back up?

4: Do you keep your young leos on newspaper?

5: How do YOU clean up poop on a stone surface?

6: What's the ideal substrate for a subadult leo?

Thanks! If I thiink of more, I'll post them!
Kev
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Kev
1.2.0 Tang Leopard Geckos: Marley, Mary, Moki (Tang Albino)
0.1.0 Colombian Rainbow Boa: Rambo

>>1: What do you feed your leos and how often?

Mealworms as a primary diet, sometimes crickets and superworms (for the adults). Adults eat between 2 and 4 times a week (some are always hungry and are fed more often, others only eat twice a week regardless of how often I replace mealworms). Hatchlings and juveniles are fed daily.

>>2: Do you leave anything in the cage for a 24 hour period?

Crickets and superworms are removed, mealworms stay. I put a little wheat germ and calcium powder in the food dish if the leos aren't going to polish the food off right away.

>>3: Does your leo only eat what it's hungry for, or has it ever eaten so much that it vomited it back up?

Many of my hatchlings have eaten so much they regurgitated -- once. They do seem to learn from it and I dont' think I've had that problem with any adults.

>>4: Do you keep your young leos on newspaper?

Paper towels. Costco brand fits perfectly with a single fold and they're cheap .. about $10 for a dozen rolls.

>>5: How do YOU clean up poop on a stone surface?

One of my tanks has a stone as climbing structure. They no longer use it as a toilet but did for a little while. I wash with soap and warm water, then rinse very well. It was probably overkill, but I used antiseptic gel (same one I use on my hands) afterwards on the stone.

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>>6: What's the ideal substrate for a subadult leo?
Honestly I don't think paper towels can be beat for practicality. You can easily monitor their stools for any changes in color or consistancy, they're quick to clean up, and its cheap. To me, a clean cage with paper towels as a substrate is much prettier than a dirty naturalistic vivarium. A clean naturlaistic vivarium would be great, but there is a lot of work getting it set up right and ongoing maintenance as well. Sand, including calci-sand, I refuse to use mainly due to many posts on these boards.
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Andrea A.

1: What do you feed your leos and how often?

Mostly meal worms, now and again they will get crickets, whenever I have to get them in for another animal really, and every few months they are treated to wax worms.

2: Do you leave anything in the cage for a 24 hour period?

Yep, every night I put a pot of 30-40 worms in the viv. Any left the next night get put back in the worm container and fresh ones are added, theres usually only one or two left though.

3: Does your leo only eat what it's hungry for, or has it ever eaten so much that it vomited it back up?

Only when they are hungry, I`ve got 3 in the same viv and they only eat when they are hungry despite a constant source of food being available

4: Do you keep your young leos on newspaper?

No, babies and young adults are on paper towels just to keep an eye them but adults at full health are on felt, it looks nicer, and can be washed each time it`s changed. It also looks "warmer" but I`m sure that there is little difference to the leo.

5: How do YOU clean up poop on a stone surface?

antibacterial soap, non scented, and a nail brush. Use the same method to get into the corners of the viv.

6: What's the ideal substrate for a subadult leo?

As said above felt cut to size works great for me, it was cheaper to buy enough felt for 3 coverings than it was to buy a pack of paper towels, it`s just thrown in the washing machine so there isn`t as much waste and the colour looks more natural. I was a little concerned at first about leos getting claws stuck in the fibers or the fibers fluffing up and coming away over time but I have been using these peices of felt for nearly 2 years now and they havn`t fluffed up and I`ve never seen a leo get a claw stuck. Just my thoughts, but there are going to be thousands opinions on this topic.

1: What do you feed your leos and how often?
crickts, about 4 every nite, though not as much now that she's slowed down(i assume cause of winter)

2: Do you leave anything in the cage for a 24 hour period?
yes, i put the crix in. They ahve a little capful of gutload i there that they eat if they dont get eaten. My reason for this is that if i did what people said & took out what she didnt eat after 10 minutes, she would only eat one cricket a nite. She likes to eat on, then lay on the UTH, maybe eat another, then maybe nap a little bit.. sometimes she eats one around 6 in the morning..

3: Does your leo only eat what it's hungry for, or has it ever eaten so much that it vomited it back up?
no puking yet
4: Do you keep your young leos on newspaper?
no paper towel.
5: How do YOU clean up poop on a stone surface?
never had to do that yet, i would imagine with soap/water
6: What's the ideal substrate for a subadult leo?
i'm gonna go with paper towel/news paper

Well Kev, I am by no means an expert, but I know what works for me, and I have had the benefit of some great advise from people on this forum

1: What do you feed your leos and how often?
My Leos are fed mealworms,superworms. I used to feed them crickets, but crickets are more prone to carry parasites so I dicountinued them. Also they are a pain to maintain, and mealworms are dead easy (only my opinion of course).As for how often; I always have worms in their enclosures. I use glass bowls that the mealies can't climb out of. I made a whole in the tile I use for substrate and the Leo's have easier access and can't tip the bowl either.

2: Do you leave anything in the cage for a 24 hour period?
As I stated above my Leo's always have a supply of mealworms, which I usually replace every 24 to 48 hours with fresh worms. This allows the worms that have not been eaten to absorb some more nutrients in the mealie container before they go back in the chute(bowl) at a later date.

3: Does your leo only eat what it's hungry for, or has it ever eaten so much that it vomited it back up?
None of my leos have ever regurgitated any food ever. I had a beardie that did though. Leos are like people, I have some that are ravenous and will gorge themselves, while others just merely eat enough to not be hungry

4: Do you keep your young leos on newspaper?
My young leos are of course kept seperate on paper towels, as was stated in other posts this allows me to check stool consistency/frequency, which is a 1st indicator of something being wrong.

5: How do YOU clean up poop on a stone surface?
I like the natural look in my enclosures. I use colored tiles, but in the defectorium I lay a folded paper towel. This keeps me from having to wash the tiles until I do my enclosure cleanings, or some one misses the tile which does not happen that often. Even when it does it is a simple matter of taking the tile out and washing it. I use a 2% bleach solution, before I wash it/them with soap and water.I like the idea someone put in of using the hand sanitizer, I will have to research that. Just make sure to rinse off all soap and bleach residue. It sounds like a lot but it really isn't I know I wouldn't want to live my life in a plastic box.

6: What's the ideal substrate for a subadult leo?
I like the tile, although paper towels and paper work fine. No chance of impaction and easy to clean. No danger of bacteria buildup in the substrate either.

Hope this helps,

Tim
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LEOs: 6.9.0
1.3 High Yellows-Barney,Betty,?,?
2.0 Hypo Tangerines-Bam-bam,Rex
0.3 SHCT's -Journey,Wiggy,Lil'bit
1.0 Rescued Normals -Shleprock
1.3Tremper Albinos Mr.Slate,?,?,?
1.0 Tang Tremp Albino - Rocky

>>1: What do you feed your leos and how often?

I feed my leos a main diet of mealworms which I raise and gutload myself, with crickets and superworms being fed as well. I own two leos, and the funny thing is my male prefers mealies, while my female prefers crickets. They will both eat either one, but I guess it is something in how the move as to why they like them. Every once in a while - maybe every 10 days, I feed them a couple wax worms if I have them.

>>2: Do you leave anything in the cage for a 24 hour period?

No. I found I can keep my leos eating more consistently if I feed at even intervals. If I go out of town for the weekend, however, I will leave some meailes in their dish with a tiny bit of oat/bran

>>3: Does your leo only eat what it's hungry for, or has it ever eaten so much that it vomited it back up?

Both my leos eat only what they are hungry for. It is very obvious wqhen they are finished. The only puke I had was when I traveled across the us with my leos to CA - one day the ride was bympy and my poor little guy lost his cookies. One thing I did learn when doing that is make sure to give them a dish of water in the hotel EVERY night because they drink a lot. Hydration is key when they travel.

>>4: Do you keep your young leos on newspaper?

no - paper towels

>>5: How do YOU clean up poop on a stone surface?

I use a 5% bleach solution to clean all items in my cages. I scrub, rinse EXTREMELY WELL, and then put the items in the sun to dry - or if it is bad weather in the oven at low heat. This has never failed me for any of my reptiles.

>>6: What's the ideal substrate for a subadult leo?

paper towels. cheap, clean, easy to replace

later on...