Are possibly poisoned locusts safe to feed my leopard gecko?

Question

I adopted a friend of a friend's gecko a couple of weeks ago. I have no experience with reptiles, just my 17 year old son wanted one since forever ago. It was all quick and I was given her tank and accessories. I wasn't told she was underweight. I was told to feed her a box of locusts a week (12 to 14 per box), size of 3 or similar.

She looked pretty skinny and felt frail to handle. I obviously did research on all aspects of caring for her, to which I saw how she should be. She seems to gain weight and her tales are plumping.

I bought 3 tubs of locusts last Saturday and fed her the box after feeding them lettuce over 2 days. The others were put in small tank. I have tomato plants near that tank on window. I am sure that they can eat the leaves and I dropped a few in. I only saw one being eaten straight away. I quickly checked on forums where it said they are toxic to locusts and I removed it immediately. 2 locusts died within 24 hours, the rest are still alive 7 days later.

Are they safe to feed my beautiful leopard gecko?

I would guess yes but don't want to risk it, unless advised. Any advice is much appreciated.

Answer 1

If you look up the list of plants and veggies that are toxic or unsafe FOR REPTILES to eat, tomatoes AND their leaves are included. Considering anything digested by the locusts are in their bodies when the gecko eats them, my answer would be no. You can never be too sure what toxins are left in or on their bodies and which ones did and didn't chew on the leaves. Even if the ones that are left chewed on the tomatoe leaves, but only a small amount that wasn't harmful to the locusts, that may still pose a risk to your gecko. Considering he wasn't in the best of health, I wouldn't chance it; his immune system and digestive tract may be compromised or weak.

Please see link below with toxic plants and veggies for reptiles

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Habitats-Care/List-of-Plants-That-Can-Be-Toxic-To-Reptiles/

If you've ever heard of "gut loading" in live feeding bugs, this is so the nutrition is transferred to the reptile being fed.

Answer 2

I'm not sure - I would pick up something else for her to eat and quarantine those locusts until you've researched. It's safe for leopard geckos to eat hornworms but I'm not sure if the hornworms are given a special diet to make them safe for reptiles. Also if you are not providing calcium you should pick up a reptile calcium supplement to dust food with. Not sure about the locusts either - they might be ok but usually crickets and /or mealworms are the most common choices. I prefer crickets because mealworms outer casing can be really hard for them digestively, some people use mealworms but they also try only to use them right after they molt so the casing isn't as hard.

I don't have time right know to give a full complete answer right now. Sorry:) I'll edit this response tonight with some good detailed suggestions and do a little research. Sounds like you're on the right track if her tall is getting plumper - that's a sign of good health (or at least weight).