I got a leopard gecko!

8leggedfriends

Arachnoknight
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Aug 22, 2004
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He very obviously doesn't like being bothered right now, how can I get him to adjust to his new home? I bought a can o' crickets, what else should I feed him? Where can I get nutritional supplements that you guys recommend?
 

fangsalot

Arachnobaron
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Aug 9, 2005
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you really think hes gonna eat non moving(living) prey?get some gutloaded crickets,,a small dish of waxworms(dusted) in him,,,hell love you for it.
 

Schlyne

Arachnoangel
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You should be able to pick up calcium with D3 and vitamin supplements at a pet store.

Don't give it a lot of waxworms, they're really fatty, and should be used like "treats". You can also feed it mealworms.
 

fangsalot

Arachnobaron
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Schlyne said:
You should be able to pick up calcium with D3 and vitamin supplements at a pet store.

Don't give it a lot of waxworms, they're really fatty, and should be used like "treats". You can also feed it mealworms.
isnt it ok to give leopards a little extra waxworms since they store alot of that fat in thier tails?
 

fangsalot

Arachnobaron
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8leggedfriends said:
I was gonna feed him with tweezers. Would that work? Where could I get dust?
if he takes them from tweezers..i dont see why not.
 

Mushroom Spore

Arachnoemperor
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fangsalot said:
isnt it ok to give leopards a little extra waxworms since they store alot of that fat in thier tails?
It's still too fatty to give them more than the occasional treat.

And I seriously doubt that canned crickets were properly gut-loaded or anything, and they're probably full of preservatives and junk, and dried out to boot. The cans/bottles/etc of crickets I've seen in pet stores just looked gross. Throw that stuff out, OP, and give your pet some exercise with a real meal. {D
 

8leggedfriends

Arachnoknight
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Mushroom Spore said:
It's still too fatty to give them more than the occasional treat.

And I seriously doubt that canned crickets were properly gut-loaded or anything, and they're probably full of preservatives and junk, and dried out to boot. The cans/bottles/etc of crickets I've seen in pet stores just looked gross. Throw that stuff out, OP, and give your pet some exercise with a real meal. {D
I'm gonna go to an online site and buy some mealworms and calcium/d3 dust, and maybe a Bugbox. I'll junk the canned food, cause it isn't working for him. It's pretty gross too. They are gutloaded, and juicy, but he won't take em, and they smell terrible.
 

wickedsweetheart

Arachnosquire
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ours just eats mealworms, w/the vit dust and has a cap full of calcium to snack on when she wants...works for her :)
 

JungleGuts

Arachnoprince
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Mushroom Spore said:
It's still too fatty to give them more than the occasional treat.

And I seriously doubt that canned crickets were properly gut-loaded or anything, and they're probably full of preservatives and junk, and dried out to boot. The cans/bottles/etc of crickets I've seen in pet stores just looked gross. Throw that stuff out, OP, and give your pet some exercise with a real meal. {D
nope, can-o-crickets are a good product. They are made to be a primary food source...and many reptiles will infact eat them happily. They are "cooked in the can" to preserve natural nutrition and they are not dried out or nasty. Just some things i know from experence. Let me know how he does with the tweezers and stuff my friend.
 

Tcrazy

Arachnobaron
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8leggedfriends said:
He very obviously doesn't like being bothered right now, how can I get him to adjust to his new home? I bought a can o' crickets, what else should I feed him? Where can I get nutritional supplements that you guys recommend?
How long have you had him.
if you just got him he propley will not eat for a few days.It might take a few days for him to get adjusted to his new home... If he has never taken no moving prey it will take a while for him to like it,, Leopard geckos go by sight and sent. they use there touge to smell just like snakes..
 

8leggedfriends

Arachnoknight
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Tcrazy said:
How long have you had him.
2 days. I'm going to get some mealworms so he'll eat someday, since I can refrigerate those, and I'll try to get him used to the canned food. He was very friendly in the petstore, but when I tried to pick him up into his new house, he yelped and hissed, and he does the same thing with the crickets. Also, he is a tiny one, only 2-4 inches long.
 

Tcrazy

Arachnobaron
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8leggedfriends said:
2 days. I'm going to get some mealworms so he'll eat someday, since I can refrigerate those, and I'll try to get him used to the canned food. He was very friendly in the petstore, but when I tried to pick him up into his new house, he yelped and hissed, and he does the same thing with the crickets. Also, he is a tiny one, only 2-4 inches long.
how big is your leopard...
young ones less than 5 inches mealworms are not very good for them they cant digest them, i had a young leopard and gave him mealworms and he died i took it to the vet and they did an obtopsy on him and vet told me it was the mealworms....
Waxworms are very healty and will plum your leopard very good...
 

Mushroom Spore

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Tcrazy said:
Waxworms are very healty
Waxworms are healthy like a Big Mac with extra cheese. They're tasty and will definitely put some meat on the gecko, but they are NOT to be used as a main source of food, ever. :D Treats only.
 

wickedsweetheart

Arachnosquire
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ours is only a little over a month old and the breeder said they'd been feeding mealworms exculsivly, she does fine with them, and as for the hissing and jumping i found out thats the norm, they think your trying to eat em', there little and scared, just put your hand in the tank for a little while everyday, let her approach if she wants and check you out, she'll get used to you and realize your not going to hurt her.its what i'm doing with mine and she's adjusting nicely.
 

Mushroom Spore

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wickedsweethear said:
and as for the hissing and jumping i found out thats the norm, they think your trying to eat em', there little and scared, just put your hand in the tank for a little while everyday, let her approach if she wants and check you out, she'll get used to you and realize your not going to hurt her.its what i'm doing with mine and she's adjusting nicely.
Agreeing with this. Also, in another thread someone noted that they tend to be little freaks as babies, but calm down after a few months or so.
 

wickedsweetheart

Arachnosquire
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ours ate the first day we had her, but seems to slack off just before a shed, ed,so maybe yours is getting ready to shed, do you have a moist hide for her? there really easy to make...
 

8leggedfriends

Arachnoknight
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Aug 22, 2004
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Not yet, there are no places to get potting soil without perlite, so is there an alternative?
 

widow_cr

Arachnopeon
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May 10, 2006
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can o' crickets sucks man. Ive cut myself on the lid like 10 times and mt reptiles wont even touch em.
 
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