Lazy Leo!

[Kaianuanu]

I recently adopted an adult female leo off of Craigslist, she seems to be in good health and is active, however, she won't chase crickets worth a darn. She'll readily take them from tongs, but even when I maim them to make them as slow as possible, she just won't go after them for herself. The male I bought her with hunts fine on the other hand. If I just leave her with the crickets, do you think hunger will break the habit? Or do you think this will be a life long problem? Any advice?

 

[lisa127]

Just about every leopard gecko I've had has been too lazy to chase crickets once they reach adulthood. I don't even use crickets anymore. I hate having them in the house and then I just get frustrated when leo's make a half hearted attempt to catch one and then lay back down when it gets away...lol.

 

[Kaianuanu]

well thats lame

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I only feed my adults twice a week and they're usually hungry enough to hunt! If you're feeding her every day or two and she's chunky to begin with she may just be too lazy. Give her a few days or even a week if she's chunky to work up an appetite and I bet she'll be hungry enough to hunt them down by then.

As for leaving the crickets in the cage, I would not. They can chew on your gecko and stress them out by not giving them time to sleep in peace. I would remove them offer them to her again in 2-4 days just to make sure she has an appetite (this is of course assuming she is not thin to begin with). Also make sure you have a 90 degree warm spot for her to lay on to digest her food and the tank isn't kept too hot, dry, or bright.