Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Feed SOME waxies in a breeding pairs diet or will they become addicted to them? I am also thinking of feeding a couple to a new smaller leo i have right now. I am feeding all mealies and i woas just wondering. Thanks for any help,

Grant
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numbers scare me....theres too many of them!
www.freewebs.com/leogecko/-UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Well I can tell you what I do.... I give all my leos waxworms once a week..... Usually 6 or so each.... I do not think they become addicted to them if you give it to them in moderation.... I have never had a problem with my leos not taking other insects.... They always have a dish of mealworms in their cage and they get crickets 2 times a week..... They seem to grow pretty fast the way I feed them..... Wax worms are especially good for females after they lay eggs..... Puts the weight back on them pretty fast.....

Fattening your leos up on fatty foods is bad for them, and can lead to various problems. The best way to get a leo thick is by feeding healthy foods, and lots of them. When my leo was laying, I fed her as many supers as she wanted afterwards. Now, supers are more in a sense like steak to a leo while waxworms are like mcdonalds. Waxies really have no use in a leos diet, really no nutrition, which is exactly what a laying leo needs. If you dont want to deal with supers (pretty nasty) than a pinky mouse after laying is fine. Any insect high in calcium is also good, like silkworms, though my leos wont eat those.

Waxworms are very high in calcium and in fiber..... They are lacking the protine that other insects have..... That is why feeding them to your leos once a week is just fine.....

Hey Greg, did you check out the website I posted? There is a lot of good info there. Hopefully other people read the post & check it out too!

Hey Hill,
I saw that link a while back.... That has some great info in it.....

I know it has been posted at least 10 times (I think I have posted it at least 3 or 4). It isn't like that site is a big secret, a google or yahoo search would probably hit on it. I am glad someone else is helping put out the word...it isn't animal abuse to feed a couple of waxies to your geckos every now and then.

Giving waxworms to your leo as an occasional treat is not the same thing as deliberately using waxworms to fatten up a breeding or skinny leo. Feeding nutritious food is much more crucial to breeding and skinny leos, so unless they're having a problem with pickiness, you should stick with other choices (crickets, mealworms, supers, roaches--lots of different kinds--and silkworms).

And that grubco site is nothing new. Lots of people order from there, myself included. There are also other sites with different analysis results for the same insects. Check beautifuldragons.com and superwormfarm.com.)

The difference is that you can boost the nutrition content of the other feeders, but you can't gutload waxworms on anything but honey or beeswax.
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chickabowwow

I think everyone aggrees that waxworms should not be used as a staple diet..... There is no argument there..... There is nothing wrong with using waxworms to help fatten up your leo during breeding as long as you are offering them their normal staple diet..... I dont see where anyone said they should replace their regular diet..... Wax worms have nutritional value (calcium, fiber, low phos) but they do not have the protein that the other feeders have..... Like I said before.... Once a week is fine.... I have been doing it for years with NO problem..... My leos are not over weight nor are they lacking any nutrition..... They live long healthy lives.... I have a few normals that are over 10 years old..... I feel waxworms should be used for more than a "treat" but not overly used.....
People should look more into their actual value and not listen to people that just listen to others opinions.....

But the situation here is for a breeding leo. Breeding leos, skinny leos, and even young leos require extra nutrients. So are you going to fill that need with fat or with nutrients? You can pack a good variety of stuff into other feeders via gutloading but you can't do that with waxworms.
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chickabowwow

I have a little problem with this site's information. It seems to be pretty good but the information is not from direct insect analysis, it is from USDA sources (I think that is what the site said). I also copied this bit of woisdom from the site :
"Mealworm 1:25 20.3% 12.7% 1.7% 62% Low calcium, high phosphorus & fat, hard chitin shell, wax worms are probably a better choice"

Does anyone see anything interesting in that quote?

n/p

See I was right.... People like to listen to what other people say instead of doing some real research.... Leos need fat intake.... Why dont you see this.... What is stored in a leos tail and under its arm pits???? FAT.... Now if you look into what fat bodies are and what function they serve in reptiles you will see what I am getting at.... It is fine to use waxworms to fatten up your leo while keeping it on its regular diet, wether it is breeding or otherwise..... In the wild I am sure leos eat their fair share of grubs and other larva.... Its easy to catch and helps them to maintain their fat storage.... Instead of listening to the supposed experts on the internet, do some real research.... Well Hill, I guess nobody really care about real info anymore.... They take the easy way out by posting a question on a forum and take in the half truth info like it is Holly Grail of leopard gecko care....

as long as YOU do what is best for your geckos...no issues for you! Most people will be smart and look for good info. BTW the info on the beatifuldragon website has the same data as the grubco site. The superworm farm site doesn't even mention any other insects besides crickets & mealies, nothing on waxies. Most people mean well, so don't take it personally!

There are links to other nutrient analyses but I didn't bother to save all of them. beautifuldragons and superwormfarm were only examples. I'm sure you're resourceful enough to look up some others yourself.
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chickabowwow

I have research of my own and others with years of experience. I will be sure to post my research on leo weight & diet when I finish it.

When I give advice to people, I don't just quote from something I read on the forum or what have you. I speak from my own experience, and yes I do have some. I've done my share of rehabbing underweight geckos, and I have NEVER chosen to feed them waxworms. Given the state that they're in, they're not able to consume much food, so I want to make sure what little they do get in their bodies is packed with the stuff they need. Every waxworm I offer as a supplement means less room for them to eat more nutritional feeders. Mealworms are already too fattening, so why offer geckos something even more fattening?
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chickabowwow

Is it just me or are you just totaly missing the point???? Are you also saying that waxworms are bad for leos???? I just do not know where you are going with your thoughts.....

I'm saying that in the case of a breeding leo (which is the point of the original post in this thread), waxworms shouldn't be used to fatten her up. Nor should they be used for growing leos (also mentioned in the original post). In both situations, the leos require extra nutrition, not fatty treats.
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chickabowwow