waxworm addiction!? help!

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ggg111

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Somewhere, geckoland
I've fed my two girls solely mealworms for the past 8 months. 3 weeks ago I gave them 3 waxworms each for 2 days in a row to fatten them up, and now they won't eat mealworms. What should I do? I am even leaving bowls of mealies in their tank but they are both not interested? How do I get them to eat mealies again... just wait until they give in? Or do you think it is just a coincidence they are not eating? Thanks
 
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bman123

New Member
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Yeah I'd put a wax worm in with the meal worm. Have you tried feeding super worms to them?
 
Tony C

Tony C

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Columbia, SC
ggg111 said:
no supers. I heard they are harder to find, more expensive and stink and are NOT a good staple because of low fiber...
Click to expand...

The first two depend on your location, but they do not stink any more than mealworms and are almost identical in their nutritional profile. The only major difference is that they have a better meat:shell ratio.
 
Gregg M

Gregg M

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The Rotten Apple NYC
Your geckos are not addicted to wax worms...

All you need to do is just keep offering them meal worms and they will resume feeding as normal... Dont panic...
 
Tony C

Tony C

Wayward Frogger
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Columbia, SC
Gregg M said:
Your geckos are not addicted to wax worms...

All you need to do is just keep offering them meal worms and they will resume feeding as normal... Dont panic...
Click to expand...

But Gregg, they're like gecko twinkies with crack in the middle. It only takes once to get hooked. :p
 
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bman123

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They are like gecko crack, soon as I grabbed my tongs my raptor male came running out of his hide climbing on the tank waiting. I gave him a large cricket and a wax worm for being a good boy lol.
Isn't it MTV that does the intervention show? That would be a boring interview, unless you speak gecko.
 
shadowdragon619

shadowdragon619

Finds me a dragon!
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Indiana, USA
here's what i do....

drop the waxworm in front of them...then as soon as they eat it, i drop a mealie in front of them...lol, they dont know the diff once they've eaten it, then i keep dropping mealies til they stop eating them.

ya just gotta trick em! lol
 
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bman123

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864
That didn't work for my Leo I tried it today. I gave a cricket then a wax worm then a super worm. He won't eat the super worms any more, he hasn't ate them since last week. I wish he would just eat em so I can stop feeding the super worms lol.
He hasn't touched the mealies either, I think he's just a large cricket man.
 
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ggg111

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142
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Somewhere, geckoland
Still have 0 interest in mealies. Haven't tried supers yet. I'm hesitatnt to give them a wax worm and then give mealies, because I'd be feeding the addiction and its already been like 2 weeks I don't want to have to start all over with breaking the addicition - I also don't want have to feed them a waxworm every time I want to feed them mealies, because I feed every day or every other day.
 
Imperial Geckos

Imperial Geckos

LIVE THE LIFE ™
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Miami, Fl
Just leave the bowl of mealies in the cage and dont offer them any other food. The geckos are not stupid and they will not starve themselves. Once they become hungry they will eat. All these "tricks" are not going to work. Just put the bowl with mealies in the cage and leave them alone.
 
Gregg M

Gregg M

Registered Member
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3,055
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The Rotten Apple NYC
ggg111 said:
Still have 0 interest in mealies. Haven't tried supers yet. I'm hesitatnt to give them a wax worm and then give mealies, because I'd be feeding the addiction and its already been like 2 weeks I don't want to have to start all over with breaking the addicition - I also don't want have to feed them a waxworm every time I want to feed them mealies, because I feed every day or every other day.
Click to expand...

There is no addiction... There is no controlled substance in wax worms... All of the geckos I have and ever had (well into the hundreds) get wax worms once a week and eat their other food items... It is just silly to say they are addicted to wax worms...

Just do like Alex and I suggested... Do not try to coax them or trick them... They will eat their regular food items once they are hungry...

Also, can you give us a run down of how you are keeping your leos??? Hot and cool side temps...
 
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bman123

New Member
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864
Yeah my leo wouldn't eat out of his mealie bowl so I kept feeding him large crickets off tongs. That got old quick so I didn't do it for a few days. I caught him eating mealworms out of his dish today. I was pretty happy to see him doing that. Now if I can just get him to chase his crickets I would be a happy camper.
 
Eric1969

Eric1969

New Member
Messages
115
What kind of bowl do you put meal worms and other worms in the tank, so they dont get out?
 
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