weight loss cardiff answers:

Phoenix worms by themselves will not reverse metabolic bone disease. You should provide UVB lighting as well as calcium rich vegetables and fruits including squashes, green beans, alfalfa, parsnips, mustard greens, dandelions, escarole, and fruits such as figs, papaya, cantaloupe and berries. As far as the insectivore part of the diet, the phoenix worms or any other feeder insects should be coated with calcium powder than includes D3 once or twice a week until you see improvement.

weight loss cardiff answers:

Hikari frozen foods like bloodworms, brine shrimp, krill, etc are supposed to be free of any harmful substances. I use the cubed packs for all my fish and highly recommend them.

Freeze-dried foods are also an option.

weight loss cardiff answers:

They dont die. They turn into beetles, and i find if you keep them at room temp they stay alive for more than a month (dont transform into beetles either at this point) my chinese water dragon also loves the whitish fat ones (mealworms are also very good for powdering with calcium supplement, it sticks to them) . But BEWARE crix are still the best staple diet for leopard gecko’s, i would suggest a variety of different insects including: –

Crickets

There are different sizes and colours of crickets. Some make noises some don’t. As a rule you should feed your gecko food items which are no more than the length, and less than half the width, of the lizards head. Black crickets are slower than brown crickets thus making them easier for your gecko to catch. Crickets are known to nibble on geckos, so it is not advisable to leave crickets in the enclosure overnight without something to eat like a small amount of grated apple or carrot.

Cricket Nutritional Analysis
Cricket type Moisture Fat Ca:P Ratio Protein
Banded Cricket 71.8 6.3 0.64 16.5
Black Field Cricket 66.7 12.0 0.82 15.8
Silent Brown Cricket 68.8 9.3 0.77 16.4
Brown House Cricket 70.7 4.4 0.32 19.8
Source Reptilia Magazine

Mealworms

When feeding mealworms to your animals it can be an advantage to feed them newly moulted worms as this reduces the amount of chitin and increases the nutritional value ratio.

Locusts

We like to vary our geckos diet and locusts of the appropriate size can offer a high protein package. It is usually only the high cost, which prevents locusts from being considered as a staple dietary item.

Waxworms

You should not feed waxworms as a staple diet as they have a high fat content and can prove addictive. Feeding them one or two per week as a treat is sufficient.

Silkworms

Silkworms are sometimes difficult to get hold of but if you can they are a very good source of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Only purchase enough to last you one to two weeks as they have a short shelf life.

How often?

Hatchlings and young geckos can be fed 4-8 food items once per day. Adults can be fed 4-10 food items of the appropriate size every 2-3 days. Geckos being nocturnal prefer to hunt their prey at night, so it is advised to place food items with your Geckos after dusk.

Supplements

As well as our calcium dish we use Nutrobal once every week to powder their food. Nutrobal is a high potency calcium balancer and multivitamin supplement to help bone growth in snakes, lizards and tortoises. Leopard Geckos cannot overdose on calcium but they can on vitamins.

Hope this helps