i need advice

hi all. i am new to this so i hope some of you can help. i have two female leopard geckos. one normal and one supa hypo carrot tail. they are both sisters and two years old around october. the normal gecko is fine. nice big girl and weighs 42g. the supa hypo girl is very small. only 27g!!!!! i have just got a male to have a go at breeding but now think she is way too small. my male weighs 57g so nice healthy lad. the females wernt been looked after properly when i got them and have been led to believe that her sister bullied her for food. (i have Never seen this. both eat really well.) i am currently feeding them on crickets and mealworms. any advice on how to fatten her up in a healthy way or if she is just a small girl.
hope someone can help

Hiya and welcome to the forum.
Yes the female is way too small and it would not be advisable to the male in with her and some will say your 42g female is also slightly under weight for breeding as most breeders use leo's 45g+ .
Most of us feeding wise only feed mealworms or super worms and use waxworms as treat as they have a high fat content but can be addictive for the leo's. the best thing to do might be to seperate the smaller female to make sure she is getting all the food she needs. There is also the possiblity that she is a slow grower and you wont be able to speed things up.
Does she look healthy for her 27g?

Yeah she looks healthy and eats really well. She's pooing and shedding fine. She's very active

bless her she may just be stunted in growth from the poor care of her previous owner.
you could try giving her some wax worms as treat every week to see if they get her to put on some weight but only give her a couple a week or she might stop eating everything else you offer her

Yes that definetly seems quite small, especially for breeding. Hopefully you can get her eating well and putting on some weight. I had a rescue male that weighed only 23g when I got him. He needed some antibiotics to clear up an infection before he started to gain weight. Hope she starts gaining soon for you.

yeah the leos both need to be over 50g before being bred.

You ought to be careful not to jump into breeding too early for yourself too. When your leo's are ready, make sure your ready too

Thanks guys. I've already separated the male. She's a lovely little girl. Hopefully shell be ok.

She should be fine with a healthy appetite and supplimentation. Would you mind copy/pasting our care questionaire into this thread (found in the health section as a sticky). This way we can also make sure all the other husbandry needs are spot on for her to thrive. Usually even if growth is stuntd thru ill care after proper husbandry iis employed they should reach their genetically programmed potential, it'll just take a lil longer.

Welcome to the forum, we'd love to see pix of your collection when you have a chance

as long as she is eating and everything else seems fine, the best thing you can do for your leopards, is be patient!! she will grow to a nice healthy female as long as her husbandry and feeding reigims are proper. make sure they are all getting a vitamin powder once a week(dust the feeders) and calcium about every other feeding(also dusted). most keepers also keep a cap of raw calcuim in their enclosures as well, i do. there is quite a debate about calcium with vitamin D3 and without...some people seem to think they can overdose their leopard with D3, but i personally think that it would take WAY more D3 than you can give a leopard via normal feeding and a calcium bowl. there are alot of knowledgable people on this forum so ask any questions you feel you need. we are all here to help, and welcome to the forum!

could post pictures also

It's usually easy to tell from sight if they are under-nourished.. yes?

(smack my hand with a ruler if I am wrong)
I am not up to giving veteran advice but usually I can tell by their tail and if their spine shows.. definitely get worried then.

you are absolutely correct Leesah!

I will post some pics tomorrow for you. Her tail looks fine for her size and I can't see her spine. I'll let you have a look when I put photos up. Ull probably know what to look for. Any advice is welcome. Even if it's criticism. I want the best for my babies. I dust their food and also have a calcium dish in there. Also what is your opinion on uv lights. I feel they need them as in their natural habitat they get it but my local reptile shop says it's no neccercety?

It is not necessary for them to be in a natural habitat. As a breeder some of mine are kept in sweater boxes with a plastic hide and kept on paper towel. As for the light, it is not a good idea. It will stress out your leo and since they are crepsecular(most active in the evening and early early morning) they have no need for extra light.

I agree with Jolene. No light just a couple hides, heat mat, calcium food and water dishes and a good substrate in a nicely sized box. (Of course that's only the basics...)