can i get some advice

[smallville709]

recently bought a subadult leopard gecko that the breeder told me is solely eating crickets. i put some mealworms and he didnt bother to eat it. can i get an advice how to start him on a pure mealworm diet? he looks like a picky eater. hes kinda skinny.

 

[M&I Gecko]

Mine weren't that interested in mealworms either, but when they saw a superworm they freaked!

 

[ariana]

when they get hungry enough theyll eat em.
i spoil mine though i switched 2 of my leos over to mealies and supers but the other 2 get to stay with their crickets

 

[smallville709]

but my leopard gecko is kinda skinny. tail is kinda thin. if i change hes diet to meal worms do you think hell gain weight or shall i say are there adult geckos that are thin not like what your usual fat tailed leopard gecko because of being picky eaters or all geckos when they reach adulthood becomes fats?

 

[M&I Gecko]

You should just try a couple of different types of feeders to try to get him to start eating again IMO.

 

[skmcwilliams]

I agree with diversity. But yes mealies/supers and the occasional wax worm will fatten them up faster. There has been some talk of leos on a stricktly mealie diet could get fatty liver disease so I am myslef trying to be careful to mix it up a bit. I would put some mealies in a dish and get a couple of super worms to throw on top of them, the supers move faster even at a resting state then mealies and usually get their attention faster, giving them a predatory response to snag them. That's my 2 cents

 

[ariana]

try mealies and supers if hes big enough. waxies to tempt, and of course the crickets to see if he'll accept them

 

[Mel&Keith]

It can take weeks into months for Leos to get on a normal feeding routine after a change in environment regardless of the feeder type. Most cricket eaters will switch over to mealworms when they get hungry enough but he needs to have enough body weight to afford losing a few grams while he's on "hunger strike".

My advice would be to try Superworms. You can order medium Superworms that are the same size as large Mealworms but they're much more active and pretty darn fast making them more of an exciting hunt.

I wouldn't offer wax worms to a gecko while switching them to mealworms. It's like giving a kid that refuses to eat his vegetables candy.

 

[ariana]

lol mel you have a good point ive never thought of it that way
maybe that would be why i couldnt get my other 2 to switch over