Confusion

[Leo The Lizard]

i bought a leopard gecko from Petsmart just 3 days ago and im worried like crazy he's only eaten one mealworm he wont eat now he NEVER comes out and hes still scared of people can anyone explain this i have a normal morph i believe and it's about 1 month old i think. this is my first leopard gecko

 

[im faster]

They take a while to get settled in..

maybe try crickets..

 

[Leo The Lizard]

maybe try crickets..

i use mealworms AND Wax worms i know that leos hardly can resist wax worms so i use them i feed him with tongs too

 

[im faster]

its a baby.. that if from a pet store has only had crickets to eat...

either wait for it to get hungry enough to eat a meal worm

or

try some crickets..


but its your lizard do as you please..

 

[Leo The Lizard]

ok i'll try crickets

 

[Pinky81]

+1 Dennis I say give it time to settle in, and try crickets or keep up the mealies...starting on wax worms is lookin for trouble...and honestly not all Leo's go gaga over them...My female turns her nose to them a good 80% of the time...but my male will hold out for them over other feeders! Good luck, and try not to handle your leo for a few weeks! Give it time to feel out the noises of the house and the daily goings on.

 

[Russ S]

i feed him with tongs too

Using tongs to feed might also be part of the problem. He probably just had his food dumped in the cage at the store so he might need a while to get used to the tongs.

 

[Leo The Lizard]

the mealies are pathetic i got them from petsmart too. he ate a wax worm last night

 

[PaladinGirl]

I got my leo the beginning of February and was scared because she was doing the same things as yours. Didn't see her eat for maybe the first week! I was keeping mealies in a bowl in her tank, but she hadn't touched them. I put a few crickets in every night and kept telling myself that she must be eating them. After over a week she suddenly decided she was starving and started coming out and eating 5-10 mealies every day for a couple weeks, plus some crickets. She also never came out, ran into her hide if anyone even walked in the room. Once she associated my presence with food, she got really friendly. So she went from being completely skittish to walking onto my hand in just under 2 months. Just give yours time. Put your hand in there, let him smell you. I waited about a week and then started taking her out to hold her for very brief intervals, maybe a minute. He will eventually come to understand that you are not a threat and he will get used to his environment and come out more. Mine perches up on her caves, staring out at me when I'm in the room.

 

[Leo The Lizard]

i took him out and put him inside a small container with paper towel to clean out the tank i had to grab him and put him in the container i hope i didn't scare him too much

 

[sausage]

first times are always scary but in time he will get used to you, your house and your routine! try to keep to the same routine as much as possible. mine now know theirs to a tee and wait at the door for me

 

[Jellybean]

Why even bother feeding him with tongs? Just get a bag of small crickets (coat them in calcium powder) and dump 6 to 12 in his cage and he will be very happy most likely. I have owned two babies from Petsmart and they all thrive on crickets. Hell, one I owned would eat 24 small crickets a day and now at 3 months he eats about 8 large ones a day and no I am not exaggerating even a small bit. That gecko is HUGE