I'm getting a leopard gecko today. Im going ot pets@ home to get an leopard gecko starter kit and then to my local reptile store to get the crickets and then my local garden center to get the little leo what size crickets should i get and anymore info will be appreciated thanks..
Answers:
A good size guide for feeding crickets or any other inescts, is that the insects should be no bigger than the space inbetween the lizards eyes. You can apply this rule for any age/size lizard.
my hint for you would be, there is no need to go to so many shops for different bits, you should be able to find a good reptile shop in your area that will provide everything you need for your new pet in one place. Not knowing where you are based it is hard to suggest a shop, but the one i would reccomend for the west midlands UK would be Jurassic Ark reptiles in Brownhills.
Get week-old crickets, and a Vita-Light or some other sunlight-replicating light source.
theyre great pets. get small (not mini or micro) crickets, altho bear in mind if they get out in your house, which they are very good at, they will live there, so handle with care, or feed with hoppers, which are easy to catch, or waxworms, if thats a problem. Enjoy your geck!
I would get the smallest size crickets they have. Because if the crickets are too big, your gecko wont eat them. You will know when you need to upgrade to a bigger size cricket when he/she starts eating a lot more crickets than usual. But I could also get some Vita-Sand. [The sand that is specially made for reptiles because it has calcium and other essential vitamins right in it. This is necessary because geckos take in a lot of sand in their diet.] Make sure you also have a good hiding spot for him/her because it will help him/her feel secure in his/her new home.
Good luck!
i wanted a geko but they only eat live food and i would never go out and BUY n box of cricketts or instets!
I. have had a pair for 6months, i started them on mealworms and size1 brown crickets,they are terrestrial and nocturnal,so get a heating pad to put under your substrata(i use ordinary sand).They need hiding places,and one must be moist as they need the moisture to shed their skin.Don,t give them any large crickets yet as they can bite the young
Leos take them out of the vivarium if they don,t eat them within a day or so,by the way ,they are not big eaters. I also give mine maggots,woodlice,very small worms and other insects. you will find they soon get tame and easy to handle.
if he is a baby, depending on the size of his stomach and mouth, large crickets will do(thats what i got mine when i first got him).1 more thing, when he/she gets big enough you can feed them those little pink mice. i hope that helpS
If the kit you're going to get contains sand, you should not use it. Especially for baby leos, sand is a HUGE impaction risk. Calcium sands can crystallize in the intestines and cut off blood supply to the intestine. I'd choose a non-particulate substrate like cage carpet, paper towel, non-adhesive shelf liner or tiles. They are also much cheaper and much easier to clean. Sand harbors bacteria and should be changed very frequently.
For feeding, crickets should be no larger than the space between your leos eyes (lengthwise). You can also feed mealworms. These can be the length of the head or a little longer. When he is full-grown, you can switch to superworms.
Pinkies are not a good choice for most lizards. They are very high in fat and very hard to digest. It is also proven that a diet containing animal fats can cause fatty liver disease in reptiles.
Get small crickets,and ask if they can order phoenix worms medium should b a good size. When picking a baby, pick the biggest baby there is, its probably the healthiest.
look to keep this simple you need small crickets very small
Leopard Geckos do NOT fare well in humid environments
use fake plants instead of natural plants, and do not spray the enclosure as you would for some other types of lizard
make sure you do not roughly handle your leopard gecko, because if you do, their tail might fall off. Once their tail has fallen off, it will take some time to grow it back. When it does grow back, it will be bigger and odd looking than the original.
make sure that if your gecko has not eaten his or her food, especially crickets, make sure to take the insects out after a day because they will nibble on your gecko's legs and cause stress.
Gut load should be offered to the insects at least 12 hours before feeding and wet water gel should be offered at all times. It is important to be certian that you are not using dried out water gel to water your prey, or your prey will die of thirst.
Meal worms as the best choice to feed your leopard gecko, as studies have shown that leopard geckos that are fed primarily on mealworms in the first year of their lives out live cricket fed geckos
BE WARY of feeding insects from your yard! These insects may be contaminated by pesticides and or herbicides used in the area. Even if you don't use pesticides, someone in the neighborhood might, and therefore the insects may be affected.
Sand for geckos under age 6 months. It causes impaction.
Daytime temperature should range between 85 to 90. As with any herp, the gecko needs a warm spot and cooler spot from which to choose. Night temperatures can go into the low 70's.
As leopard geckos are nocturnal, UV lightning is not necessary, however the cage should have a 12 hour day and 12 hour night.
you need a moist hide for when it starts shedding
small dish of fresh water each day
i use a repti carpet for my little girl DOTTIE its really good
As a guideline, food for a leopard gecko (or "leo" as you'll often see them called on reptile forums) should be the same length as the distance between the gecko's nostril and it's eye.
I'd also recommend that you try to feed baby locusts if (also known as hoppers) if they're available rather than crickets for two reasons:
1) Crickets have been known to bite-back and sometimes try to eat the leopard gecko's quite delicate skin if they are left in the viv with the gecko.
2)Locusts don't make noise, whereas I think crickets will chirrp (maybe not little ones but bigger ones will).
When feeding them, be sure to dust the food first with a mineral powder, this is important to make sure that the growing gecko doesn't have problems with its skeleton or suffer from deficiencies as it grows.
You can dust the cricket/locust by getting it out of the container and putting it in a small tupperware with a little bit of the powder, closing the lid and shaking vigorously for a few secs, then place the locust in the viv.
Small mealworms are also a preferable snack for a young leopard gecko and will last a lot longer than crickets/locusts but be sure to vary it's diet as they are choosy eaters.
Most people advocate feeding 2 days, then resting 1 day, but our gecko tends to eat 5-6 crickets/mealworms every day, basically, go with your instinct, take out any food he/she doesn't eat after a few hours and don't worry if they don't eat for a couple of days. As the Gecko gets older it's tail will become fatter (they use the tail as a fat store), so long as his/her tail is fat even if they're not eating for a couple of days you don't have to worry, longer than a week and a half or so then you may have to get it looked at.
Also remember to provide water for it in a shallow dish it can climb in and out of (approx 1cm deep max). I would avoid sand as a substrate as the gecko can eat some with it's food and that can cause it's digestive tract to get stuffed up (not fatal if caught but not nice for the gecko or you and will require a knowledgeable person/vet to cure) reptile bedding (looks like shredded wood) would be the best option, be sure not to lay it too deep otherwise it will smother the heat mat and it will be too cold for the little leo.
Another tip, regarding food, get a small dish that meal-worms can't crawl out of (the shop should have something like this) and place 5-6 meal worms in it with a little of the mineral powder (note: don't shake coat the meal worms as they tend to get smothered and die (geckos won't eat dead food), it has to move) that way if he/she is hungry when you're not there it can take a snack, and it's a good way to work out how much it's eating to check it's got a healthy appetite.
We've had our little one for about 6 months now and it's not so little anymore! :) Good luck with your little one! :)
Finally, another piece of advice, handle your leo gradually, let it walk on your hand in the viv, don't grab it or handle roughly, as a defence mechanism they can drop their tails, and although they can regrow, they grow back shorter and more bulbous than before, DON'T whatever you do, grab or pick it up by it's tail, if you need to, scoop it up around it's body gently.
Also if your gecko makes a noise, it's really NOT happy, it's basically telling you it's stressed and if you're doing something to it to stop it... I've only had that happen once when I was checking it's sex (it didn't like being held upside down), but so long as you take that warning into account they are great pets and you can walk them on a desk or table, and they love to climb so a bit of cork bark in the viv is an essential! (but watch out, they can poop, it's a bit like bird-muck :))
Phew, that was a lot but I hope it made sense! :)
you should get the baby crickets, they are called pin heads. I'm sure if you ask a representative of the reptile store, they will provide you with what ever you need.
i would get crickets the size of the space between their eyes that way the not too big and a good vitimin is nice too, too young for pinkies i would say
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