Pinkies Question

I had been wanting to give my dory a pinkie soon but I am not sure whats the best age to give them one and is it healthy? I seen it on youtube and they said it's alright like every year or so. I don't know much about this so could someone explain?

I've heard of people giving them to them once they reach the adult stage of life, or a year old at the least. It's like butter worms but on steroids if you know what I mean, but I've never heard of "one a year". I hear people say once a month is a minimum rule of thumb. Though, their insectivores so I don't know how much good it does them in the first place.

Do you think that butter worms would be a better choice?

i dont think leopard geckos should be given pinkies.. they are insectivores soo i think that they should only eat bugs because that's what their bodies are designed to digest i say go with butterworms

Okay, I am thinking butter worms is the way to go, me and my brother were thinking it was kind of weird for a leopard gecko to eat a pinkie in the first place but I was thinking of it more of as a treat.

Most people giving pinkies to their leopard geckos are doing so for their own enjoyment, rather than really using it as a treat for their geckos. It's the same type of mentality of people who don't really like to hold snakes & tarantulas but having them just so they could watch them devour big bad preys

I would recommend not feeding pinkies as they are extremely high in fat, there's literally no reason to even feed those to leopard geckos. If you must feed treats, try butterworms or waxworms. Just remember to not feed too many or too often, butterworms are high in calories from fat, and waxworms are high in fat.

As mentioned leos are insectivores but in a lot of biology sheets it also states they are opportunistic eaters and won't turn down a baby mouse or bird should they come across one, however given their habitat I bet it isn't very common. Leos are designed to digest insects, shell and guts, the possibility of fur and bone would be very hard for the leo to digest and could lead to issues. There are plenty of ways to treat your leo within the insect realm, waxies, maggots, butter worms, locusts, mayflies... pretty much any insect is on the menu for leos as long as you follow the feeding rule

As far as I know, the only time they should be given a pinkie If they ate breeding females and need to gain weight. I would not recommend it even as a treat to be honest x

Butter worms are a good treat alternative!

Alright thanks for all who posted, I am going to go with butter worms, but not to many.

Much better choice!

Its a great source of fat for underweight or females have eggs. Once every 3 months is what I feed. Its okay as a treat only but not every week thing (like waxworms) Some leopard geckos don't bother eating them at all where as others love them. Ask the shop to give you a small pinkie (they should know what you mean) i would personally wait till the leo is full size before offering pinkies

But like others have said Waxworms and other treats such as butter worms are a lot better for them. They are within their natural diet where as a pinkie is not. I've never tried butter worms so can't help you there - sorry
Charlie x

Another great treat is phoenix worms!
They are SO healthy for your leo. They are just more expensive than the other worms, which is why most people don't use them for a staple diet. But my leos LOVE them. And they are a funny color :P

Phoenix are also very HIGH in calcium, if you use phoenix worms as a staple they say there's no need for additional calcium supplimentation, but ya better make sure you have adequate D3 or you could have problems.