Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My gecko dont seem to like crickets anymore, he just look at them running around and dont run after them anymore...I think that he is VERY lazy. He prefer the mealies that i throw at him...mealies dont run very fast...lol...Is it a problem having a gecko on a mealies diet ? Crickets are a pain to get(i must drive to the other end of town to get some) and are very messy. I breed mealies without much problem. I can easily dust them with calcium or vitamins.

About the mealies...how much can a 6 inch gecko can eat ? (if i give him all he want, can he be sick ?) Any of you have gecko on a mealies only diet ?
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Mizar 21
1.0 Collared lizard (Ganymede)
1.0 Leopard Gecko (Gethsemani)
1.0 Nerodia Fasciata (Serpentard)
1.2 Cats

I know what you mean about those crix...I am switching my colonies over to mealies. I just ordered 1500, that should last about 1 1/2 weeks. I have grown weary of chasing loose crickets around. I won't be able to get completely away from crickets because of my frogs, but I will certainly reduce the amount & size I have to buy.
I have no idea how many mealies a 6 -7 " gecko would eat, my adults seem to be bottomless pits. They will put away as many waxworms as I put in their dish (once a week treat). I also tried the superworms...those are fast & get out of the dish & wonder around the cages. I am hoping the mealworms cut down on the amount of work I spend cleaning, feeding & dealing with the stupid feeders!

Mealies are the way to go if your geckos will eat them (most leopards will). Just keep a steady supply of them in their dish until they're adults and then put a handful in every 2-3 days so they maintain a good healthy weight. I used to keep a steady supply in my adults cages, but some seriously started to get too fat, which I didn't think was possible previously.
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Rob Jenkins
Have you seen the GeckoCam?
Herptopia Reptiles
Email Me

I also have the same problem and have been pondering a course of action. I tried giant mealworms with my leos and they eagerly eat them. Which is the best to serve? Giant meal worms or regular meal worms? Thanks.

My Leo won't eat crix anymore either. I usually rotate between mealworms and crix every couple days, or i'll mix and match his meals some days. He just stopped eating crix yesterday, one walked right up to his face and he did'nt go for it. I thoguht he might have been sick, but i threw in some mealworms and he ate about 7 of them.

Where have you found to get mealies at a good price?
I'm looking for a place to get 1K-2K at a time, but some places are too expensive.
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Greg Holland
G&M HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

I ordered in bulk from armstrongcrickets.com I used to live near their facility & they gave me crickets for my classroom animals for free, so I don't mind paying for these now even if they maybe a dollar or 2 higher than some other places. Although I haven't really seen any that were cheaper with the shipping figured into the price!

I use www.grubco.com/ - you can get 1000 mealies for $9.75 (that's after shipping) and 2000 for $14.75 (after shipping). It's the best price I've seen, and I've never had any arrived with more than a couple dead. And I live in Texas! (HEAT DELUXE)

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I just got 2 geckos from a friend. 1 male 1 female. They are used to eating only crickets. I have tried switching to mealworms. Male will not let female eat. He actually attacks her before he even goes to food dish. He had a good hold of her head last night, and left booboos. Is this normal, and will it get better? Should I go back to crickets only?

n/p

They've been together fine for 2 years, but were just given to me a few weeks ago. This was the only time I've seen aggression, and assumed it was because the food wasn't running freely like crickets, and in a dish. Should I just try sticking to crickets?? I can't get another tank to separate them, or my husband will leave me!! I have 5 fish tanks, and just adopted these geckos. I have them in a 55 gallon tank, with UTH on one side. If I get a UTH for the other side, can I divide them with plexiglass?

You could divide the tank with plexi or even just a piece of cardboard. If you want to keep feeding the crickets & also the mealies that would work. But keeping them together & him being aggressive (especially at feeding time) will stress her out and she may stop eating. 55 gallons should be plenty large, so your marriage is safe... lol!

I have a 40 gallon that I have separated into a couple of sections. I used the cardboard from the boxed packs of sodas Not exactly natural, but it works at the moment.

Just keep in mind - if you use cardboard as a separator, AND you're feeding your leos crickets, Make sure you have a lid for the whole tank!

Unless you want crickets climbing up the cardboard and making new homes in your hourse, that is...

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

If you don't separate them by dividing the tank...another option may be to just supply multiple mealworm dishes and not just one...if you still see aggression then definitely separate them. A 55 gallon tank separated in half will give each of them more than enough room...an adult leo can do just fine in a 10 gallon.
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Christina

Leopard Gecko Morph Descriptions

2.3 leos
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-1.0 tremper albino (Spitfire)
-1.0 tangerine rainwater albino (Bronx)

-ignorance is not to be punished when one is trying to gain knowledge...what scares me is the vast number of people who, when given the information to gain knowledge, choose to ignore it.