what to do!?!

[Sequin]

alright, i got two new leoaprd geckos about 3 weeks ago. One male one female. They are about 4 years old, they were raised in a 60 gallon tank and only fed on mice. These things are MASSIVE. Like no joke. They are in a 28 gallon tank right now. The male is 10 inches, the female is 9, they have massive tails, they are jsut huge. Ill post pictures next to rulers once i get my cam working. My other female leo looks like a little baby compaired to them! K, my problem is i dont know how to wean them off mice. I really dont have enough money to feed them mice everyday ( 1.40 each) and i dont have enough room to breed them(mice). Ive tried crickets and mealworms they wont show any interest whatsoever. Ive wiggled, powdered, rubbed in their faces you name it. I let 10 crickets go in their cages and they wouldnt even look at them. I found all the dead crickets a week later.Then i figured if i didnt feed them for a couple days they'd be hungry enough to eat. Its been 5 days they wont touch any substitute for mice. You guys have any idea's?

Also... I was curious how to go about breeding them, what i understand im supposed to lower the tank temp and start feeding them less, then after a few months of "hibernation" let em go at it? hahaha. Is this correct, i read it in a reptile mag... thanx for any replys

~Meagan~

 

[OldHag]

Its not a good idea to feed them just mice..TOO much fat. Bad for them. Id say let them be hungry for a month or so and keep offering insects. Sounds like they could use a little weightloss

I Breed leos too. I have never cooled them. The male is ready and willing at all times of the year. The females I will breed in Dec-Feb then let them rest for the rest of the year.

Michelle

WhyTeDraGon has also bred leos, shes pretty wise in the ways of them. Maybe she will see this post!

 

[Beardo]

Its not a good idea to feed them just mice..TOO much fat. Bad for them. Id say let them be hungry for a month or so and keep offering insects. Sounds like they could use a little weightloss

I Breed leos too. I have never cooled them. The male is ready and willing at all times of the year. The females I will breed in Dec-Feb then let them rest for the rest of the year.

Michelle

WhyTeDraGon has also bred leos, shes pretty wise in the ways of them. Maybe she will see this post!

Ditto what Michelle said.

Give them some time to "diet" and they'll soon be hungry enough to take insects. Breeding them is pretty straight-forward...take the male, put him in with the female(s) and voilah! Good luck!

 

[Randolph XX()]

try mealworms, silkworms, king worms, I think worms work better with geckos
how about king worm beetles? big enough?
there's a guy from Toronto selling some discoids now, but all nymphs, Pm me if u r interested

 

[Beardo]

try mealworms, silkworms, king worms, I think worms work better with geckos
how about king worm beetles? big enough?
there's a guy from Toronto selling some discoids now, but all nymphs, Pm me if u r interested

King Worm beetles have far too much chitin...I'm sure one ro 2 wouldn't hurt, but if fed too many, this may cause impaction in the geckos' GI tract. I try to stay away from hard-shelled prey items.

 

[Sequin]

Thank you for the replys
I shall try not feeding them for a while. I really love their massive tails though. haha.

On the breeding comments. Well the last owners said the female has never produced eggs? They have lived together forever... So im a little confused by this. I read if eggs are kept at too high of a temp it will produce grumpy females who will not reproduce. She is very aggresive, haha could she be an over heated egg? haha. K well i have another female, shes mature, but not near the males massiveness shes almost 7 inches, but waaaaay skinnier. Not skinny, just normal. Im afraid if i attempted to breed them she would be squashed, haha. Im debating what to do here....

~Meagan~

 

[Justin]

Pinkie mice? I did not know they could eat any thing bigger than pinkies.

 

[reptillian]

i didnt think u could feed them pinkies

 

[xelda]

Another alternative is to feed them roaches. I own about 30 leopards, and out of all of those, only one refuses to eat roaches. (She spits them out.) If you plan on breeding your two leopards, roaches will help the female maintain her weight in between clutches.

As for the breeding itself, it's not necessary to cool them but it helps get them into the mood. You're also bound to have more success by introducing the male to the female when she's ovulating. It increases the chances of fertilization and the likelihood she'll be receptive to his advances.

 

[Sequin]

Well, i live in Canada, and it costs me like 12 dollars a roach, hissing roaches are like 25!!! they sell them as pets here. Not really a feeder option...

~Meagan~

 

[Randolph XX()]

hey Meagan
http://www.reptimart.com/cgi-bin/cl...results_format=long&db_id=305&query=retrieval
this guy has some discoid for sell
he's from toronto, but only nymphs like a dollar each
mail him