Feeding

Leopard Geckos can be easy animals to take care of, but like with all pets, you have to reserve time for them.

Leopard Geckos are nocturnal creatures by nature and most only eat food that is live and moves.   You need to be able to stomach handling live bugs in order to keep them happy and healthy.

Some do feed crickets, but they can escape in your home and keep you up with their singing at night.   If you prefer giving them a diet of mealworms as most breeders do, then that is fine.

Here at Quality Geckos, they are started out on small mealworms, but as soon as they are big enough, they graduate to Medium Sized Superworms.  Then they are put onto Large Superworms.  Superworms are higher in protein and less fatty than mealworms.

We do order them only from www.rainbowmealworms.net

They have a long track record (over 60 years).  The feeder insects are kept in a sterile room away from other animals, and they do test regularly for parasites.  Most all of your box pet stores do not do this and the animals that are fed will get pinworms.  If you have a local mom and pop pet store, ask them if they are testing for parasites.  If not, then Rainbow Mealworms by mail or Fed Ex, may be the best option for you.

When feeding, we do use a white no Escapee Dish meant for mealworms.  It needs to be white, because they can’t always see a worm moving in a colored dish.   We do carry them and can sell them for 50 cents each.  You can also order them from Rainbow Mealworms.

Our geckos are already conditioned to eat calcium when they need it.  We place a small lid in the enclosure of Vitamin D3 Calcium.  They know they need it just like they need water.  We only place a small amount in the lid.  We give about a teaspoon into the lid.  We make sure it’s clean and refresh as needed.  The brand of calcium powder we use is Osteo-Form SA.  You can find it on line readily available.  If you find the kind for horses, it’s actually the same thing.  It is just repackaged for larger animals.

We also make sure they have a water crock.  We use a 4 oz crock that is heavy duty that is not easily knocked over by a wayward tail.  We also sell these for $3.99 each.

If you purchase a gecko from us that is about 20 grams and less than 6 months, then do feed them about 3 to 4 Medium Superworms every day.

At Six months: 3 or 4 Large Superworms, every other day.  Once they hit a year old, please only feed them the same amount, once a week.  Their metabolism slows as they age and if you try to feed an adult daily, they will get very fat.

Remember that when a gecko is new to your home, he is going to be stressed.  It can actually take several weeks for a few months for him or her to get back to eating.  It’s advised you have minimum contact with the gecko, until he or she feels secure enough to eat.  These are desert creatures and they carry reserves of food in their tails, so they are ok.  Often, they will drink their water and eat the calcium before they start eating the worms in a new home.  They will not starve.  Just give them their space until they settle in, and you notice the food being eaten.

Do not feed them bugs from outside.  You or your neighbor can be spraying.  Many bugs take a while to die from the spray as it causes them to not be able to swallow and they die of dehydration.  The outside bugs, can have contaminants that can kill your gecko.