J
c

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeding your gecko

 

Feeding is the most important aspect to monitor. Often, a reptile simply decides to stop eating for no apparent reason. Most of the time there is a problem in the habitat heat, or the gecko is sick. But in the gecko, there is usually no problem because they are big eaters.

What do they eat?

The gecko is insectivorous and carnivorous here is what he can eat.

 

-Crickets

-Mealworm

-Silkworms

-Pinky, small newborn baby of mice and gerbils

They can sometime eat fruit puree but this is not part of their usual meal.

 

How to feed them

they should be fed once a week or less depending on his appetite. The item to eat must be smaller than his head if you do not want him to choke. The item to be eaten must be smaller than his head if you don't want your gecko to chokes. It is very important to feed your crickets before giving them to your geckos. It may sound stupid but the crickets (if you buy them from a pet store) are often in a "survival" mode and may not have eaten for days. Add fruits, vegetables, fish food or powder from cat, dog or rodent food, 24 hours before feeding your gecko. Your crickets will be packed with nutritious element which will then be used by your gecko! You can also give them mealworms, silkworms, wax worms, pinky of mouse or other small rodent. It is best to sprinkle the food with calcium powder. (that you can find at pet stores) Lizards living in captivity are often deficient in calcium.
Uneaten crickets must be removed, otherwise, they can cause stress to the gecko. If he wants to eat more than 10 crickets in a meal, just give him some more until he is no longer hungry.

Also, a very important thing, the meal must move in order for the gecko to see it. A littel like the Tyranosaurus Rex from Jursic Park movie, if it don't move, he won't see it.ay.

Reserves in his tail

The health of the gecko can be monitored by the size of his tail. The bigger the tail, the healthier. But don't abuse either, if your gecko is obese and he wants to eat again, you can skip some feeding time. Also, if you go on vacation, you can leave without food for weeks ... but still be careful so he don't starve!

 

Water

The leopard gecko being a desert lizard, he don't need alot of water. You can place a small shallow bowl in the habitat and fill from time to time. Leave the bowl to dry out completely to reduce the proliferation of algae and bacteria. But if you leave it full all the time, you must clean it every time you fill it.

Also, you can spray water on the walls of the tank with a hand sprayer. He will drink the drops of water that will form.

Some more advices

If just like most people, you don't like the idea of touching bugs with your hands, there is a solution. When you buy your crickets, they will be in a bag or a plastic pot. Take another bag and place some calcium powder in it. Then, drop a few crickets in the bag with the powder. Then, all you have to do is open the bag into the habitat and let them out. There are also hollow rock imitations with a small hole at the bottom in which you can put the crickets and they will come out gradually.

Another trick, when handling crickets, always place a large plastic bin under your hands. This way, if a little fast escapes, you will not need to search for it in the whole house!

 

 

©All rights reserved, copyright JokZoo.com

Webmaster: Joëlle Clermont