New to the site, quick question about live feeders

**iduzell** · 03-18-2012, 04:58 PM

hay i just got my first crested gecko yesterday, so far named it burny,its adjusted well to its 10 galleon and lives in a glass room, i have black construction paper on the back of the cage to not let it see its neighbor the JCP.so far has eaten 2 crickets. i was wondering how many i should allow it to eat. i did serious research on size of feeders and tanks conditions and such. but i fond nothing on the amount of feeder insects to feed the gecko.

quick rundown of my reptiles
i have 2 bearded dragons - rex /cera
1 jungle carpet python(JCP) named DRACO
just lost a 17yr old cornsnake -hiss
1 royal python- Monty
1 hognose - Cyrano
1 red ear slider-Aristotle
My glass room is used to house my family's exotic pets, reptiles and birds mainly, humidity is correct lvl in tank and heat is no issue as the room stays at 70-80 for the birds anyway. the dragons have a ceramic heat emitter and a full spectrum heat bulb. the snakes are good with the temps as is, so no extra heat for them(they are located next to heater on a 3 tier rack system in 55 galleon tanks this tier system reaches almost to the top of the room, the top most for my arboreal JCP. so next to him is burny the crested gecko.

i feed my dragons crickets and mealworms as feeders, (not much mealworms as they are a treat) , so not new to insects feedings and gutloading
my dragons eat about as much as they want in a single feeding (usually 5 -7 crickets large)

i understand about the crested gecko diet from raphsy, so i have made burny up a small bowel of this, and i have a dark feeding cage to feed burny insects in so as no light impedes burnys hunt besides some slits for air. i was actually impressed at burny's speed , usually slow moving , so he did a quick zigzag and nailed each cricket.

So my question is how much insects should burny be allowed to eat, i feel id just let burny have a insect feeding every other day. and allow as many as burny wants. but some expert advice or tips would be nice

**Dracorex5** · 03-18-2012, 05:45 PM

Quite the collection there! Hehe Monty Python.... Anyway, crested geckos are not horribly difficult animals, and by the sound of it you know a bit of whats going on. Just be sure he's in a tall, not wide, tank. Don't feed him crickets too often, he needs to focus on his delicious fruity soup. And have you ever pondered starting a roach colony? With all your animals, crickets start to stack up (moneywise I mean). Some people breed roaches (SUPER easy, less smelly, lower matinence, and better nutrition) to save on cash and to have more resource for feeding. Just and idea

particularily with the dragons. I had one one, he ate like a monster!

**iduzell** · 03-18-2012, 05:57 PM

id love to do the roaches as i understand they are easily bred and cheap. i breed mice for the snakes and thats about what my family allows me room to do. my mother hates roaches and would kill me if i suggest it again so its out sadly.
anyway how many crickets should burny minimally eat ?
should i mix a fresh batch of the fruit soup every day(the diet powder smells good actually lol)?

**Dracorex5** · 03-18-2012, 06:01 PM

I feed my geckos two roaches/crickets each on saturday,and refill the fruity muhy good stuff every other day after cleaning it real good. I suggest using a bottle cat as a food bowl for a while just to keep track of eating habits

**iduzell** · 03-18-2012, 06:05 PM

ok thanks I'll do that ^_^

**Rhac** · 03-18-2012, 06:06 PM

I've actually tasted cgd lol ain't bad. Anyways crickets should not be a staple like most people use for lizards and etc. The rhac species in the wild eat or rotten fruit and the occasional bug. So a good assumption would be maybe once every two weeks have a day you feed crickets. I give my rhacs a roach or two every two weeks as a little treat and excersise but otherwise I would not stray away from the repashy diet its made for the with everything they need that way you know they will be healthy.

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**Spyral** · 03-18-2012, 08:05 PM

You can give the gecko as many as he can eat at one time, as long as they are appropriately sized and dusted with a good calcium powder. I recommend Repashy Calcium Plus.

Some geckos just want one or none, but the majority that take bugs can eat 3-6 at a time. This is fine if you feed weekly, if you feed twice a week I would only feed a few at a time. Growing juvies seem to take the most bugs in one sitting.