My leopard gecko won’t eat – feeding problems – behavior change

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One of the most commonly asked questions is “what do I do, my leopard gecko won’t eat”.  Your geckos have stopped feeding on a regular schedule, you are now wondering if there’s something wrong.  The very first thing you should check is your husbandry.  If you have not read our leopard gecko care guide, you should take a look.  It contains detailed valuable information on proper husbandry.

Leopard geckos require proper belly heating in order to digest food

If you do not provide proper belly heat, they can’t digest food properly, and could stop eating as a result.  The ideal belly heat is between 88 – 93 degrees Fahrenheit.  Gecko owners often make the mistake of measuring the air temperature because they purchased a leopard gecko “kit” from the pet store, as they usually come with a stick on thermometer.  It’s important you measure the floor temperature where your gecko will be laying on to get the proper temperature reading for belly heat.  You can easily and quickly measure your tank’s floor temperature by using a temperature gun like Etekcity’s Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer.  Just point and click.  Or if you prefer constant reading, a digital thermometer with a probe.

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Leopard Gecko Feeding – Feeder Insects Nutritional Value Facts

leopard gecko feeding feeder insects nutrition dubia roaches

Leopard geckos are insectivores, they must be fed on live insects.  In this guide we will explore leopard gecko feeding options and nutritional value of common feeder insects.

Leopard Gecko Feeding – What feeder insects to use?

Leopard geckos can be fed on a wide variety of insects, popular choices including, but not limited to, crickets, mealworms, superworms, dubia roaches, hornworms, waxworms, phoenix worms, silkworms, butterworms, and more.  Some feeder insects are more readily available so they are more affordable and easier to find.  We will review some popular feeder insects used for leopard gecko feeding.

Crickets

Nutritional Information:  Moisture 69.07%, Fat 6.01%, Protein 21.32%, Fiber 3.2%, Ash 2.17%, Ca ppm 345, P ppm 4238, CA/P ratio 0.081% (source)

Pro:  Easy to find, cheap, low fat, high protein, easy to care for, gut-loads well, erratic movement stimulates feeding

Con:  Noisy, unpleasant smell, short lifespan, jumpy, hide in crevices hard to fish out of the tank, can bite your gecko, can carry parasites

Mealworms

Nutritional Information:  Moisture 62.44%, Fat 12.72%, Protein 20.27%, Fiber 1.73%, Ash 1.57%, Ca ppm 133, P ppm 3345, CA/P ratio 0.040% (source)

Pro:  Easy to find, cheap, high protein, easy to care for, decent lifespan (can be prolonged by refrigeration), no mess or smell, easy to breed your own feeder colony

Con:  Higher fat content, bad calcium to phosphorous ratio, doesn’t gut-load as well (small digestive tract), slow movement may not stimulate your leopard gecko feeding as much

Notes:  Giant mealworms are mealworms treated with juvenile hormone analog, S-Methoprene.  S-Methoprene is an insect growth regulator, it prevents the mealworm from pupating.  We have an article if you wish to learn more about how giant mealworms are created.  Read the article so you can decide for yourself whether you want to use giant mealworms as feeders.

Superworms

Nutritional Information:  Moisture 59.37%, Fat 17.89%, Protein 17.41%, Fiber 6.80%, Ash 1.20%, Ca ppm 124, P ppm 2320, CA/P ratio 0.053% (source)

Pro:  Easy to find, cheap, decent protein, easy to care for, long lifespan (no refrigeration needed), no mess or smell, easy to breed your own feeder colony

Con:  High fat content, lower protein, may not be suitable for younger/smaller geckos, bad calcium to phosphorous ratio, doesn’t gut-load as well, can bite

Dubia Roaches

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Leopard gecko heating temperature requirement. Under tank heating pad. How to install UTH. Digital thermostat.

leopard gecko heating under tank heat pad zoo med

Leopard gecko heating requirement

Leopard gecko heating and temperature requirement is an important topic.  We’re happy to provide you some factual information and clear a few things up for gecko hobbyists.  Leopard geckos require belly heating in order to digest food properly.  This is why under tank heating pads are preferred.  Some people mistaken leopard geckos with diurnal species such as iguanas and bearded dragons.

Difference between diurnal and crepuscular species

Diurnal species require basking light as they absorb UVB and heat through their backs.  They are active during the day when the sun is shining bright, and they sleep throughout the night.  UVB triggers vitamin D3 synthesis, and with vitamin D3, they are able to absorb calcium properly.  Where as leopard geckos are crepuscular, they are the most active during fading light, such as around dusk and dawn.

Leopard geckos wake up early in the morning to hunt for food.  They will sleep through the day, often burrow deep underground or inside rock crevices to hide completely away from sunlight.  Then they wake up later in the afternoon to hunt for food again.  This is their normal daily cycle, the very definition of crepuscular species.  Their exposure to sunlight is very limited in the wild.

Leopard gecko heating requirement is different, they absorb heat through their belly instead.  It’s through belly heating that they are able to digest food properly and have a healthy life.  In the wild heat traps underground and inside rocks long after sunset.  Leopard geckos are able to find belly heat throughout the night.  They are also known to navigate at night using natural moonlight.

Leopard gecko heating with under tank heating pad

Under tank heating pads, or UTH for short, come in all different sizes.  What you want is for your UTH to cover roughly 1/3 of your tank.  Zoo Med ReptiTherm is a popular brand, we’ve been using them for over 7 years with great success.

Here is how you would install this under tank heating pad.  First you stick the pad under your tank, like this:

leopard gecko heating under tank heat pad zoo med

leopard gecko heating under tank heat pad zoo med uth

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How to supplement gecko diet and dust feeder insects – Leopard gecko vitamin supplements

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This is a commonly asked question among leopard gecko hobbyists.  People often ask, “should I get calcium with D3 or without?”  Or, “what leopard gecko vitamin supplements should I buy?”  Also, “how to dust insects with multivitamin powder?”  Before we start, understand that there’s not just one right way to supplement.  However, we will go over the most common methods that should work for all general gecko hobbyists and breeders.

To D3 or not to D3?  The answer is simple.  Yes, for leopard geckos living in captivity, you need to supplement with vitamin D3 unless you utilize UVB.  UVB is a whole other discussion entirely so let’s just assume you don’t use UVB like most leopard gecko hobbyists.  But to quickly go over UVB, in order to use UVB properly, you need to have a large enough terrarium (20-40 gallons minimum).  The tank must have lots of shades and hides to allow your gecko to hide away from light. Continue reading “How to supplement gecko diet and dust feeder insects – Leopard gecko vitamin supplements”

Leopard Gecko Breeding Season 2018

onlinegeckos.com leopard gecko breeding season 2018

The 2018 leopard gecko breeding season is upon us.  Every year adult female leopard geckos will start to ovulate around January through June/July.  If you have an adult leopard gecko, you should start to notice some behavior and feeding changes soon.

Both male and female leopard geckos could refuse food off and on throughout the breeding season, as we outlined in “My Leopard Gecko Won’t Eat” article.  Some leopard geckos will fast through the whole season.  You should not be alarmed.  This is all part of the normal leopard gecko breeding season cycles. Continue reading “Leopard Gecko Breeding Season 2018”

Hatchling Update and Leopard Geckos For Sale

In this hatchling update, we have many new hatchling pictures to share with you.  We are also planning on posting some 2016 releases and 2017 leopard gecko hatchlings toward the end of September and early October.  Please check our Available Leopard Geckos for Sale page for new geckos in the upcoming months.  We’ve already posted a beautiful Bell Blazing Blizzard female for sale.

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Hatchling Update September 18th 2017

Our hatchling racks are at near full capacity.  The way we handle new leopard gecko hatchlings is we leave them be and allow them to eat and grow for at least 2-3 months.  These early months are crucial to their development and health.  Gecko hatchlings that don’t eat well early on could develop metabolic bone disease (MBD), or other physical developmental issues such as being smaller and underdeveloped.  This is why even though we know people are eager to purchase these cute baby geckos, we do our best to not bother them too much during the first few months.

But as promised, we know folks like to see more gecko pictures.  We have plenty of hatchling pictures to share with you during this hatchling update.  First we’d like to show you a couple of before & after pictures.  Here’s a radar female born on 7-3-2017:

onlinegeckos.com leopard gecko radar hatchlings 2017

And here she is 2 months after, with a much more developed tail, and a more intense orange body color: Continue reading “Hatchling Update and Leopard Geckos For Sale”