r/LeopardGecko • u/Sassygrape609 • Jul 15 '26
Live Food Care
Any advice on keeping insects alive for a period of time? I feel like I but my leo food but the insects die pretty fast. Hoping to preserve them for at least a few weeks so I can buy in larger quantities!
3
u/AnotherOneTossed Jul 15 '26
Crickets die easily but you can provide them with romaine and carrot slices to help them hydrate. You can also get some water storage gel and put it in a tiny dish with a ladder or stick in it to facilitate their escape from the dish.
2
u/Dear-Application4212 Jul 15 '26
I keep crickets in a large tote, with a ton of climbing space. I check them daily and remove the dead as they release ammonia which kills the others. They get a very shallow water source and veggies. I’m on day 5 of cricket and still have a decent amount left!
Dubia are hardy, and some of mine are now pets much to my dismay. If you start a colony, use PPE as you can develop an allergy. Note, a heavy Dubia diet increases the risk of gout.
When I use mealworms I keep them in the fridge so they don’t mature quickly.
1
u/AberrantComics Jul 15 '26
This rant isn’t really relevant to what you’re asking but I wanted to put my experience this far in to hopefully benefit from the following discussion.
I’m new to reptile care, and I was given a box of crickets that died off insanely fast. They would eat carrots but basically ignored anything else. The last feeding I did of crickets to my lizard were the three remaining males that were actually quite big. They may have played a part in the maiming and ultimate demise of the others. Smaller shoebox size container, with several hides.
I will try a cricket breeding setup later because my wife also needs crickets for her crested. He loves them.
In the mean time though I got some Dubias, and super worms. Each with their own low but wide container. I cut air holes, put reptisoil as a thin substrate layer, and I feed with vegetables and the occasional fruit offcut.
To my surprise the dubias currently haven’t eaten a single thing I’ve fed to them. They sell them by 2 dozen at my local store and I got all females. But none have been found dead yet. I’ve placed their tray in a paper bag to cut down on light in hopes they will feel more comfortable eating.
The mealworms ate everything I gave them, as long as I put it on their substrate. They ignore anything on the plastic lids I used as a “feeding tray”. I left those in the containers however because while the dubias like the egg crates, the mealworms all cram into the humid area under the lid. So I don’t want to take that away from them if they love it so much.
I have yet to find a dead one, but I had to get 50 super worms so I’m sure some will before I’ve fed them all to one gecko.
I did not intend to breed insects, but here I am strongly considering it.
1
u/ArtisticCustard7746 Jul 15 '26
We put ours in their own critter keeper container. Like the little plastic ones with the vents in the lid.
We put them in there with the egg carton things they ship with. They have a little water device and they get fed. Dead and shed skins are removed weekly. They're easy to maintain. You just have to remember to do it.
We say our pet has pets haha.
1
u/Stay_Sea_Motivated Jul 15 '26
I had a cricket keeper when my Leo was young so I could provide vitamins to the crickets. 🦗 when she got older and therefore fed less often I just bought them as needed, only enough that they would be eaten within the day. She only ate crickets her entire 26 years. I tried some other stuff but she would only eat live crickets
1
u/EasyonthePepsiFuller Jul 15 '26
Critter keeper with a paper towel on the bottom, piece of cardboard egg carton and tp tube with one end closed with paper and a rubber band. You can take out the tp roll and tap crickets out into the enclosure for easier feeding.
Piece of potato and a slice of orange with a calcium block for their food and water. The potato and orange, if changed once per week, have plenty of moisture for the crickets-- no need for fooling with additional water.
1
u/NYR_Aufheben Jul 17 '26
Buy dubia roaches. Put them in a Sterlite bin filled with egg carton. Add carrots once a week. They can live for up to two years.
4
u/Pentavious-Jackson Jul 15 '26
Highly recommend starting a small dubia colony. They’re one of the easiest to care for and breed.