weight

[Ixidor]

I have 2 leos, male and a female I got them about 6 months ago. They're each about 6 inches and haven't grown much since I got them, but the female seems to be fatter than the male. He's missing some toes and his tail tip came off when I was just starting to care for reptiles, (I freaked out and rushed him to the animal hospital hehe). The female seems to be growing fine she is in perfect shape no lost toes or tails. I feed them each about a dozen crix gut loaded and dusted every other day. i use this cricket drink stuff it looks like blue sort of sponge things. It says ESU Reptile gutload Cricket drink. should I feed the male more? I will post pics of the male and the female later, They were housed together for about 2 months and then (again my lack of experience with reptiles I realized that they would breeed and the female was to light). After that I got a leo book and read it thoroughly. I dont have a scale but I'd say the females like 35 grams and the male is like 25 grams. They're super hypo tangerines I think hehe. Any help would be welcome.
Thanks,
Ix
:grab:

[Slannesh]

How big are the Crix your feeding?

Both my subadults eat about 8-10 crix a little bigger than the width of their eyeballs a day and are growing well. 50 and 55 g from the 19 and 21 I got them at :)
My adult eats about the same and just hit 90grams recently... I dust every other feeding sometimes every third feeding.

How old are they? 6 inches is about average for an adult Leo I think... My big guy might be a bit longer than that but he's turning into a real pig.. Might have to rename him Jabba. The other two are about 6 inches each.

[Blazin]

Sounds like they have some more growing to do. Six months for a leopard gecko could be full grown or not depending on care and genetics. I would also try using some more gutload for those crickets. Something natural along the lines of fresh greens and then also some protein source such as a good high quality rodent pellet like Mazurri sells. Also make sure they are kept seperate and in not to large of setups. One common mistake in leopard geckos husbandry is putting a small leopard in a large tank. Locating their food then becomes an issue especially when feeding crickets. Hope this helps.

[Ixidor]

OK When I bought the leos november 16 at the Philly rep show the breeder said that they were 9 months old I feed them large crix about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, I dust every feeding but i feed every other day I just measured them and they were 7 inches on the nose. They would be 1 year and a quarter if the guy was right, should I feed every day? maybe some pinkies? I'm going to take them to a vet, Cant get the camera to work. I guess I should feed everyday, I guess I have to start breeding the crix or buying more at a time. again input is welcome

[Slannesh]

7 inches is an ok size for an adult Leo. They were probably closer to full grown than you realized when you got them. Most of what i've read indicated that feeding adults every day is unnecessary. Every other day is recommended. Dust every other feeding.

I keep a calcium dish available for all my leos at all times but they rarely use it. Pictures would be helpful though. Just make sure they have nice fat tails and all should be good :)

[Ixidor]

Thats my problem lol my male has a really skinny tail and my femails isn't that big either I think I can get pics in the next day or so since I have off work

[Blazin]

Eating regularly with no weight gain and a very skinny tail is usually a sign of parasite problems. Start off with a fecal and also keeping the enclosure immaculately clean. I mean no feces at all left in the cage. As soon as they defecate clean it and get that fecal done.

[Slannesh]

Blazin beat me to it.

None of my leos will eat a dozen crix daily or even every other day without putting on weight. Fecal would be a very good idea at this point.

[Ixidor]

ughhhhhh I'll keep you guys posted

[K1LOS]

is this 6" svl or 6" to the tip of the tail we are talking? My Leo's don't particularily seem to put on wait either... hmm... perhaps i should get a fecal aswell. They do seem kind of thinner then the pics i see on here, just not as much bulk. hmm....



check him out. You can use that exo-terra hide as a reference. It is the smallest hide they offer i believe. These leo's were probably born last june or so. Just guessing there though. What do you think?

Thanks

Geoff

[K1LOS]

omigod look at this guy!

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37731


that makes my babies look like twigs!

Geoff

[Dark_Angel_25]

Kilos, you pictures look good... the Leos look fine.

[Ixidor]

His tail is thicker than my males tail. 7 inches from head to tail tip. Anyway I went to the vet and got him checked up, no parasites. *wipes sweat off forehead* He just needs to be fed more. Vet said feed him till he wont eat anymore and remove any leftovers. Today I fed him a pinkie and he ate it right up his first one, hopefully he puts on some weight. Which brings me to my next problem, It's really a hassel going to the pet shop to buy crix every few days, does anyone breed their crickets ? I know people breed mealies but I dont like them. Anyway I was hoping you guys might have some ideas on breeding crix As always input is welcomed Ix :grab:

[Ixidor]

I will keep trying to get the camera to work too.......

[Slannesh]

K1LOS: My two subadults look about the same.. maybe a bit thicker than yours.. but he looks fine to me.


Ixidor: Breeding crickets is noisy, stinky and just generally a pain :) That's why most people don't do it. I do breed mealworms myself cause they're pretty easy to do and i've been thinking about getting into Silkworms to replace some of both the crickets and mealworms that my guys eat.

[Ixidor]

Is there anyway to not have to drive to the petstore all the time to buy crix? my petstore is like 10 mins away and the service is really slow lol

[Slannesh]

Buy more crix at a time? I keep about a weeks worth for 3 geckos at a time...

[sketchy4]

i think youre just a little paranoid about their weight dude. they look very healthy and have very nice color. i say just feed em a little more than usual and theyll start gaining more weight. trust me i went through the same ordeal with my male.

[Ixidor]

lol sketchy i guess I'll have to buy some sorta cage for the crickets

[sketchy4]

i just use one of those little critter keepers from petshops. works just fine for me. also if you gut load your crix it can also help them gain some weight if you dont already ;) .

[Ixidor]

Huh, I'll have to look for those, haven't seen them, Maybe I can get the guy to order one for me..... maybe he has them in the back thanks sketchy