Can they over eat?

[Littleleno]

I've had spike for a little over a month. She eats like she's starving. Generally over a tbs of finely chopped veggies. 1-2 mealworms and maybe 50-80 1/4-3/8 inch crickets in maybe 6 minutes. She would eat more I'm sure if I let her. But I'm waiting on my cricket shipment while my cricket eggs are hatching. She is about 8in long. Does this sound normal? I did have 1/2 in for awhile and she would eat 15-20 in thee same time frame and I'm sure she would have eaten more but again, I had only gotten 30 from the pet store.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. They eat a ton when they are little. Do you feed her 2x to 3x a day? Also mealworms aren't very good they are hard to digest. I'd try Phoenix worms they are expensive, but a really good feeder along with the crickets.

 

[Littleleno]

Hi. They eat a ton when they are little. Do you feed her 2x to 3x a day? Also mealworms aren't very good they are hard to digest. I'd try Phoenix worms they are expensive, but a really good feeder along with the crickets.

I feed veggies in am. Always leave meal worms for her (they are babie meal worms. Very tiny. She has no problems with them). And then at night feed crickets.

Today I fed her around lunch time and she at about 50 crickets (along with her morning veggies and one meal worm). Then this evening she ate atleast 70 crickets. This seems so extreme. Her stomach is bulging right now it's so full. How can she possible eat this much? I'm going to go broken while I am waiting for my colony to grow big enough!!!

 

[Gail]

They do eat a lot and it sounds like your girl has a great appetite. Have you ever considered starting a dubia colony? They breed and grow faster then crickets.
At 8 inches, she can eat a bit bigger crickets then you are feeding, 1/2 inch should be good. You can order crickets online by the 1000, its a whole lot cheaper then buying them online.

 

[Littleleno]

I have been ordering online. I accidentally got the wrong size. :/. Can't do the roaches. My husband has put his foot down(and I find them gross lol)

 

[SDragon]

At this age feed them as much livefood as she will eat 2 or 3 times a day not just once and monitor her length and weight. Obviously you want to avoid obesity, but that's pretty rare this small and you want to ensure she grows properly. I know it can add up in cost, but it won't last forever. She'll slow down as she ages and her rate of growth declines. Are you gut loading the crickets, how frequently is she defecating?

For the crickets make sure they are the length of the width between her eyes. I'd avoid the mealworms, even if small, the chitin isn't that easy to digest and they are not very nutritious so not worth the risk. Calciworms are worth looking at, but not going to save you money

 

[Littleleno]

At this age feed them as much livefood as she will eat 2 or 3 times a day not just once and monitor her length and weight. Obviously you want to avoid obesity, but that's pretty rare this small and you want to ensure she grows properly. I know it can add up in cost, but it won't last forever. She'll slow down as she ages and her rate of growth declines. Are you gut loading the crickets, how frequently is she defecating?

For the crickets make sure they are the length of the width between her eyes. I'd avoid the mealworms, even if small, the chitin isn't that easy to digest and they are not very nutritious so not worth the risk. Calciworms are worth looking at, but not going to save you money

She goes several times a week. I don't know the exact. I feed her twice a day. I tried Phoenix worms tonight and she tried one and the seemed to not enjoy. Would try the other one. But, I think I finally got her full. She only ate 30 1/4 inch crickets tonight. Her stomach is huge and buldgjng, she looks all tummy.

 

[SDragon]

That sounds good, feel free to put up a photo, but I would carry on feeding her as many gutloaded crickets as she will eat.