Growth rate of Leopard Geckos

[kayla.h]

So my baby V is a month old now, and he's barely put on a gram in weight. Is this normal? His tail is fat and he seems happy and alert. He's bumped up to extra small crickets, and I've been alternating dusting them with calcium and a reptile vitamin. I just thought he'd be bigger by now

 

[acpart]

Different geckos grow at different rates. I've even had clutchmates grow at very different rates. It's possible that your gecko can handle bigger crickets than you're giving it. I usually feed hatchlings mealworms, but I do feed my hatchling leopard geckos 1/4" crickets with no problem. The hatchling African fat tails are also getting crickets this size and doing well.

Aliza

 

[kayla.h]

He started on fruit flies. He still eats them every night regardless of whether he got crickets that day. I'm still going by the rule to size his crickets no bigger than can fit between his eyes. Maybe I'll try mealworms.

 

[Josh2]

Sounds like you've got the general rules down. How's he been eating lately?

 

[kayla.h]

Switched to mealworms and he's nearly tripled in weight. I have to resist the urge to let him eat his fill, as I'm afraid of him growing too fast too quickly, and of impaction from the mealworm shells. I dust 2 mealies every day, one with calcium and the other with a newer reptile vitamin (has beta carotene or whatever instead of Vitamin A to reduce chances of overdose). Seems to work for him but I'm considering bumping him up to larger mealworms. More mass to surface area should give him more nutrients with each bite.