| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 16:48:01
i am (my little brother) is getting a leopard gecko from donny this weekend and am just wondering about a few things, when you gut load crickets what do you gut load with as some people say with the special gut-load diet for crickets and others say that peices of grape and apple and banana is great. which is better?
also i now that leopard geckos need calcium, i have some nutrabol that my crested gecko had but i hardly ever use that so is that ok for dusting and what calcium powder do i use to put in the cage.
is this list ok for a setup for a baby leopard gecko:
2ft fish tank with homemade lid
11x11 heat mat
habistat mat stat
repticarpet (yellow/brown)
2 small exo terra hides
1 hide for moss hide
1 exo terra water bowl
1 flat exo terra food dish
1 small exo terra dish for calcium
a piece of cork bark
some decor eg. plants, wood, cactus plant
i have not bought any of the stuff to go in the cage (i have the tank, the heat mat and the thermostat) and will be going shopping on sat to get everything, is there anything i am missing or do not need. thanks for your help
danny |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 20:05:55
Any calcium dust is ok, I forget what we use. I dust the food with calcium, you know for sure they are getting it then, I don't use nutrabal, it does dust well. |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 16:42:38
ok then, i will get a rub form the shop and put it in that.
what clacium do you put in the cage. i have nutrabol for dusting but do not have any calcium for in the cage and don't want to buy the worng stuff as it is expoensive.
so every one prefers to use fruit and veg to gut load there feeders instead of special gut loader diet stuff. |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 14:37:37
try locusts instead of crickets, you can take their jumper legs off and then they can only walk! crickets can do damage to the gecko also, which is why we dont use them. |
| Figs |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 14:27:50
oh my gosh Mike those pictures are so sad!!
Surely anyone who cared would have tried hand feeding (or atleast tried something) when the poor little thing started dropping just a bit of weight!
Poor gecko 
Anways, my hatchling is in a little faurnarium for now - he eats like a right piggy and is growing fast, but he isnt too good at finnding his dinner, especially since they have a habit of hiding under his kitchen roll, so you think 'hmm, ok, he's eaten them all'
sneaky bugs...
everything else on your list sounds great though  |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 11:47:28
We dust out locusts with calcium before feeding them, and generally feed the locusts anything we have left in the fridge, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, chicken, whichever, they eat anything! We dont use the nutrabal with them, not had any ill effects in 2 years! Meal worms are a favourite too, as are wax worms, but best keep them as a treat every once in a while as they are really fatty.
If you are going to put a baby leo in a 2ft viv, pack it out, big time, or even better, dont put him in there, keep him in a smaller tub until he is a good size.
I will show you why.
He died about 10 minutes after me taking those pictures. He had been put into a 4 ft viv as a baby, i know thats a lot bigger than what you propose, but, bear this in mind, 2ft is still a little big and overwhelming, this guy had nothing wrong with him, other than he was left too long before help was asked.
I took him on from friend who was asked to help, apart from nearly battering the cr*p out of the owner, he couldnt do anything so i took him.
He hadnt been feeding, because he was overwhelmed, the owner just thought, ' oh, maybe tomorrow'.
If i was you, i would stick with small to start with, be safe, make sure the gecko is nice and secure, that way you have a happy gecko and no problems.
we have about 10 - 15 geckos, the big males are in 2ft by 1ft vivs, the 4 girls are in a 4ft, 2 other girls are in a 55ltr tub, another boy is in a 35ltr (hes young) and the Rainwater albino is in a 25. This might sound small, but they are all fedding, shedding, exploring as normal and none of them are grumpy or skitty, and they are all perfectly healthy!
Just take it slow size wise, its better safe than sorry. |
| n/a |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 10:38:06
hi
i gutload my crickets with pieces of fresh carrot and slices of orange, they love it, and kale is also good for boosting the goodness of the crickets for your leo.
my girl didn't hardly eat for a few weeks til she settled in, she loves her crickets
here she is 
 s
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| Figs |
Posted - 17/06/2010 : 00:23:56
quote:
Originally posted by reptiledanny
ye thats what i planned to do, feed them something, whatever is better, special gut loader or fruit and veg, then dust the criks that i need to feed. also what calcium powder do you use in the cage, as everyone says that is is best to leave some calcium in the cage.
i've got nutrobal that i dust the crickets with a couple times a week, then a pure calcium that is in the tanks at all times - calypso i think its called |
| hillzi |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 21:46:36
Yeah it is as they can eat it when they want. |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 21:15:20
ye thats what i planned to do, feed them something, whatever is better, special gut loader or fruit and veg, then dust the criks that i need to feed. also what calcium powder do you use in the cage, as everyone says that is is best to leave some calcium in the cage. |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 21:11:11
My crix get fed to all of my lizards, so the gut loading could be tomato, cucumber, radish, mango.
Basically any soft (ish) fruit or veg that the crix will eat.
I tend to do dustings of the crix afterwards, I pick X amount of crix out and dust them in a smaller tub before letting them defrost and going to their honourable deaths. |
| n/a |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 21:07:22
I am no leo expert danny, so this is only my recommendations ok haha
the set up sounds ok to me. personally i would go with a special gut-loader just to be on the safe side, then atleast you know your leo is getting as much nutrients from the crickets as possible.
i think it would be ok to use nutrabol as your dusting powder, has calcicum and other great nutrients so i would just go with that on the crickets, fruit and veg
but hang tight until a leo owner comes and has a look at your post on here for the rep. |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 20:59:13
help anybody? |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 17:15:12
i tried on the reptilian but noone replied and i now that there are quite a few people on here that own leos |
| Mouse |
Posted - 16/06/2010 : 17:12:01
No idea mate...why dont you try posting on the other forum? (The ones for gecko's etc...there is one isn't there?!!!) |
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