Need help with a "rescue"

[BastianUSA]

Hi.

I got this Leopard gecko today from somebody on the internet,they posted it in the local classifieds cause they couldn't take proper care of it.
I never had a leopard gecko but wanted one anyways(normally i wanted a crestie but what the heck).
So i hope you see in the pics that he is really thin for about 1 year of age and i am really worried about him.
So how often should i feed him an what?
I feed him dusted crickets today and don't know if i should just stick to crickets or switch to mealworms.
So how often do you feed and consider the present state the animal is in.
I really need your help to take perfect care for him cause everything else is not enough for me,i want my animals to be healthy and happy.

THX for the help.
This is a pic of the owner but he is much thinner now,i post my pics later once he settled in a little.

[ADEE]

wow, its hard to believe that animal is a year old!! it still has its baby colors. Good thing you brought him/her home. Hopefully you can get some weight on it. If it hasnt been fed on a regular basis i would be careful not to feed it too much, you might shock his system. I would offer a couple crickets per day, or every other day until you can get some meat on his body.. i certainly wouldnt offer mealworms yet. Be sure and offer a small dish of calcium powder, perhaps it will eat some for you, and dont forget a little water bowl too. I would also remove any substrate and keep him/her on paper towels or tile, something he/she cant ingest. Again im very surprised that animal is a year old, holy moly! If nothing else at least the owner had some sense to get rid of it before it dies! good luck with it.. seems to have some really nice coloration

[BastianUSA]

They even used a heating blanket you can get in medical supllies as an UTH without any thermostat or something.

[ADEE]

oh my goodness its sad...

[Clementine_3]

He's a cutie! I don't think he's anywhere near a year old, not in that picture anyway.
If he's hungry you can offer as much as he will eat, he may regurge if he eats too much but they usually will only do that once and then learn. They are really good at knowing when they have had enough.
How do you have him set up now?
Here is the care sheet from this site, it will get you going rather nicely!

[BastianUSA]

Yeah i know that sheet but it doesn't give enough info on feeding for me.
Can i start him on mealworms?cause right now he only eats crickets.

[Clementine_3]

As long as the temperatures are good on the warm side and he doesn't seem to have any health issues then mealies are fine to offer. You can leave a small bowl (glass ashtrays work well) of them in the tank, just change them out for fresh gutloaded ones daily. If he is big enough, and you can find small-ish super worms they would be good too. Pheonix worms, butter worms and small silkworms can also be offered, all are great feeders if he will eat them.

[BastianUSA]

What exactly does "gut loaded" mean?
That i have to feed the worms first?

[ADEE]

gutload is when you feed the insect/meal first... our super worms are typically housed on oatmeal, cricket gut load, exc. This ensures the most healthy meals are fed to our leos. Hope that helps

[Clementine_3]

Yup, that is exactly what it means
There are commercial products available that are fantastic, I have only ever used, and love, www.cricketfood.com worm bedding and cricket food. I put baby carrots in for moisture and that's it! The worms (mealies and supers, not together though) live in it and the crickets just need a little dish of it. You can make your own using whole oats, wheat bran, dry milk, rice cereal, bee pollen etc., I just find it easier to buy it pre-made.