# Weekly/monthly cost for Leopard Gecko food?



## LeoGecks (Dec 26, 2010)

Greetings reptile lovers,

I recently joined this community as I will be owning a Leopard Gecko in a few months and wanted to ensure I have a solid plan on how to care for one beforehand.

I would like to know on average how much it will cost me on a per week or monthly basis when it comes to food (including calcium/vitamins etc.)?

I'm going to use my local pet supply store surreypetsupplies.co.uk and other online stores like reptilekeeping.co.uk. 
I know I could simply gather which items of food I would buy and calculate the costs, but I'm more interested in hearing it from Leo owners as well to get a better idea.

I also need to know when you guys buy your food.


Is it whenever you run out?
Every week?

And how long stuff lasts. I've never really had a pet other than Koi pond fish and briefly a cat so I have many questions before I go out and buy a reptile.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.


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## dizzee (Nov 3, 2008)

hiya mate, dt have leos myself but use mealie for other things. i would use mealies for leos, i plan to get one soon..


follow this thread mate 
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/feeder/143883-mealworm-life-cycle.html


buy 3-4 tubs of adult mealies and get a cheep tub/rub and fill it with oats ans other stuff ( cnt remember off the top of my head but its in the thread above..

just supply sliced carrot and patato for there liquid intake and your all sorted for mealies for a long time if you only getting one leo...

job done fella

for supplements, for calcium use limesone flour, grab it off ebay. cheap and gets the job done.

Hope that helps

Callam


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

The feed costs for a Leo are fairly minimal. It will depend on what feeders you use, whether you buy in bulk online and whether you breed any your self. For just one Leo a pot of the Calcium would last for ages - it does not "go off". Vits (Nutrobal) is more expensive but a tub would last for 6 months when it should be replaced. If your Leo is fed on mealworms then 1 tub (depending on how many are in there - it varies hugely between suppliers) could last a month or more. As I have quite a few Leos I breed most of my own food. The lecky for a heatmat is minimal too.
The biggest expense you are likely to encounter would be vets bills. Although you may never need to use a vet it is always a possibility and these can be expensive.


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## LeoGecks (Dec 26, 2010)

*Bump!*


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

no offence, but i'm not sure why you're bumping it; you've already been given your answer.


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## PeteNhollie (Sep 12, 2009)

ok forgetting about vet bills, electricity etc and thinking soley food bills you are looking at for one gecko around £2 per week for a tub of mealworms. pot of nutrobal around £5 will last you several months.


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## LeoGecks (Dec 26, 2010)

Meko said:


> no offence, but i'm not sure why you're bumping it; you've already been given your answer.


There are 59,404 members on this forum, there's no harm in wanting more input from a few more people.


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

There have been (up til now) 84 ppl read this thread. No-one has felt the need to add any more because what you are asking is basically - how long is a piece of string? There is no definitive answer. There are too many variables such as: what type of feeder you decide to use, what the Leos appetite is like (some of my adults are only eating about 3 locust a week ATM), where you buy the food from, whether you want to breed insects yourself.
To try to give you a rough idea I would say that if you allocate £1 per week you should cover it.


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## pinacalada (Jul 21, 2009)

I own 5 leopard geckos and mainly feed them mealworms which are 2 pound a tub which last a week as I put the old ones in my breeding tub. You should have a look at the breeding mealwormd thread as this would save you money and are easy to breed. I sometimes feed them locust as a treat but you don't get many in a tub.


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## Sollytear (Aug 7, 2008)

Ive owned two leopard geckos and i'd say its low compared to Beardies. 

I spent £50 on some cockroaches, £6 on a sainsbury's basics bin, and £10 on a heatmat. From that, ive never had to buy more food. One leo eats one 2 small/ 1 medium per day. Sometimes ignores it but I leave it in there for her to hunt later. 

After a year or so u will have enough to sell a £50 colony on ebay/RFUK and get your money back.

Cockroaches are good if you dont use a loose substrate. The roaches are a little too low profile for my likings. 

Otherwise, buy 1 pack of locusts (~14) @ £2 (avg petshop) and that would be enough for a week per leopard gecko. Might last longer but the locusts will die. 

I wouldn't use crickets, too noisy, low nuts, smelly, annoying etc etc. 

Mealworms are good but again, not to be used on a loose substrate really. Those mealworm dishes dont work impo, too many escape. Mealworms, a box would last a good few weeks per gecko. Id say a £2 box would last in the order of two/three weeks. Mealworms are happy staple, costs low. If you use locusts/roaches first, i find a leo will its nose up at mealworms. Suppose they dont move enough.

If I were you, after ur leo has spent a couple of days settling in, and you go to feed her, buy a box of locusts and a box of mealies. See which she eats. If she eats both, try alternating the boxes you use in the future to keep her happy. 

Waxworms are expensive and dont really work as a staple. 

Silkworms... well, they rock. But u need to be a miliionaire to afford them. Where a leo will cost £2 a week on locusts, it would cost u £8 or so on silkworms. 

Hope that helps, I recommend Ron Trempor's A Herpecultural guide to Leopard Geckos for more info. Excellent book. All recommendations are back up with experimental evidence and gives a fair opinion on contriversal topics such as substrate and mixed lizard vivariums. 

Joe


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## LeoGecks (Dec 26, 2010)

Sollytear said:


> If I were you, after ur leo has spent a couple of days settling in, and you go to feed her, buy a box of locusts and a box of mealies. See which she eats. If she eats both, try alternating the boxes you use in the future to keep her happy.
> 
> Hope that helps, I recommend Ron Trempor's A Herpecultural guide to Leopard Geckos for more info. Excellent book. All recommendations are back up with experimental evidence and gives a fair opinion on contriversal topics such as substrate and mixed lizard vivariums.
> 
> Joe


Thanks Joe. Yeah I'd be a good idea to see what they prefer, I guess it all depends on what they were fed by the breeder.
I just bought that book today off eBay so will give it a good read. Only thing is it's a bit out-dated, hope the info is still relevant.


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