Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so i visit time and time to read the latest post on KS, but currently ive been on another forum with this person chattering about how shes a veg and how all of her critters are veg as well.

now for my question. As far as i know the leopard gecko is a insectorvore, that will take warmbloods every once in a while. but have they ever been known to eat plants? and i dont mean giving them baby food with a dewormer either.

theres another part of her yapping about as well but that deals with newts and i will put that in the appriate forum. thanks

Ashley
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"I’m scared of those nasty big-eyed grey aliens, too. I think it’s that I don’t understand their motivations. I am confident of my ability to out-think, out-con, or if need be, tire-iron-upside-the-head demonic forces, ghosts and goblins, things that go bump in the night, etc. It’s the notion of something that doesn’t have any desire to talk to me except via anal probe that freaks me out"

I have never known leo's , mine in particular 2 eat veg, its just not natural for them, they would need a hell of alot of other vitamens to compensate for what they are missing out on eating their natural food stuffs, she is very foolish if she is feeding them solely on veg

Well i dont know the scientific reasoning on why they aren't supposed to be eating veggies, it has to do with the way they are built and everything like that and because they aren't like beardies and uromastx that can get the proper nutrition from veggies.

i remeber going to a herp soc meating that hjad aspeaker talking about how iggs and uros are specia in their need to eat plants, they have special teeth and a different stomac then the other heps.

ive explained that to her but she wont accept that it should not be done. now if her gex live past the normal 15-20 years on such a diet then it maybe something to look into but i doubt that they will.

thanx again

Ashley

>>Well i dont know the scientific reasoning on why they aren't supposed to be eating veggies, it has to do with the way they are built and everything like that and because they aren't like beardies and uromastx that can get the proper nutrition from veggies.
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"I’m scared of those nasty big-eyed grey aliens, too. I think it’s that I don’t understand their motivations. I am confident of my ability to out-think, out-con, or if need be, tire-iron-upside-the-head demonic forces, ghosts and goblins, things that go bump in the night, etc. It’s the notion of something that doesn’t have any desire to talk to me except via anal probe that freaks me out"

thats what keep telling her, but she keeps bringing up things that apply to humans and other critters how meat isnt good for them. that meat causes health problems which is true if you eat too much or are a herbivore. but not the case with leos eating bugs. i could see tghen having health issues if feed a sole diet of rodents and tiny chicks.

anyways does anyone on her have the nutirition count on crix and stuff? i'm going to post about bugs vs feeding meats and stuff. hopefully she will get the point and feed the right

thanxs tho

Ashley

>>I have never known leo's , mine in particular 2 eat veg, its just not natural for them, they would need a hell of alot of other vitamens to compensate for what they are missing out on eating their natural food stuffs, she is very foolish if she is feeding them solely on veg
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"I’m scared of those nasty big-eyed grey aliens, too. I think it’s that I don’t understand their motivations. I am confident of my ability to out-think, out-con, or if need be, tire-iron-upside-the-head demonic forces, ghosts and goblins, things that go bump in the night, etc. It’s the notion of something that doesn’t have any desire to talk to me except via anal probe that freaks me out"

LOL ash that girl seems stubern and it will be imposible to change her mined. no matter how much facts u throw at her she is ganna do what she belives is wright (but wrong). she wont exept the fact that its natural and nessicary for the geckos and other lizards and animals to eat bugs / meats / or what ever it is that they eat normaly.
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1.0.1 Green Anole(tedo, bubbles)
0.0.1 Leo Gecko(Brut)
1.0.0 Small Dog( Cho lu la)

0.1.0 Beachy Girl Friend

You guys are right, and Ashley, your friend is wrong. But yeah I doubt you will convince her because she sounds very stubborn.

Humans can make the choice to be vegetarians because we are omnivores, which means we can make a meal out of anything (hence twinkies and Mt. Dew). Leos being carnivores, this is not true of them. Their systems are not set up to get all the nutrition they neec from veggies. A few years back some vegetarians decided their cats should veggie-eaters too, for moral reasons. Trouble is, if cats dont get meat they go blind. Dunno if any of this info will help convince her, but her leos arent gonna be in good health without (bug) meat.

maybe she will take their opinion with a little more weight if she sees it as a professional opinion vs. that of us leo lovers? but, I don't know, for the leo's sake, I hope their certain death is swift and painless (which it unfortunately won't be)
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1.0 Blizzard Bill
1.0 Hypo stripe, Het Rainwater from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino (Cloud)
0.2 Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Pepper, Goldie-now w/SD)
0.1 Normal (Freckles)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.1 Tremper Albino (Leucy)
RIP Peaches, Ghost

I have only given my geckos fruit a couple of times. They did eat it though, I was quite surprised the first time, I don't think it is a staple diet in any sense of the word but,.. I think it is probably good for them to eat fruit sometimes. Does any one feed fruit to their geckos,in addition to the insect diet?

For reptiles that are strictly carnivorous, they're going to refuse food that's not familiar to them. People already have problems with feeding frozen-thawed rodents to snakes that don't eat rodents in the wild. It's not that the animals are stubborn eaters. They just want to eat what's natural for them to eat (which could be bats, birds, other reptiles, fish, etc.).
However, what your friend is trying to do adds an additional obstacle, which is that she's feeding veggies to animals that don't have the physical capability to digest plant matter. It takes an advanced digestive system involving symbiotic microbes in the intestinal lining to break down the cell walls of plants and obtain the nutrients inside. Animals with much simpler digestive systems can only digest meat because it's easier for their body to break down animal tissue that's made up of similar proteins in their body.

You can't reverse millions of years of evolution by trying to convert them to vegetarians. That's some serious animal cruelty right there.
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chickabowwow

Exactly, how in the world is she getting the leos to eat veggies? I would think she would atleast think about what you were saying if her leos were about to die becuase they weren't eating at all.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

Sad, isn't it!? Unfortunately there's many ppl who choose to ignore the basic biological facts. I'm not sure if your friend is just naive or severely ignorant, but sadly it's the little leos that are going to pay the price. I can't figure out why some ppl even choose to keep reptiles if they aren't going to practice proper husbandry.