He won't eat big crickets?

[Photog]

Well, Garrett my leo when he was younger and smaller would eat the small crickets, almost 15 of them a day and he would chase them everywhere.

But now, he's bigger and I bought him 50 big crickets, 3/4-1" sized ones. He doesn't seem to care about them at all. If he's starving, he might eat 1 or 2, at least I'm assuming because he's pooping and it's the only food I'm putting in there. But when I wake up in the morning, there's still most of the crickets still alive in the cage drinking his water and eating moss in his humid hide.

I even saw a cricket sleeping on Garrett while Garrett himself was sleeping! :main_huh: And he didn't even seem to care.

If a cricket runs towards him and touches him, he twitches and sometimes bats it with his tail, but doesn't go after it and eat it.

Is it because Garrett doesn't want the big crickets? Or what?

He's 7" long now total from nose to tail, and his body is 4" long. Maybe he just doesn't eat as much now that he's an adult (or bigger?)

Help! I just figured if he would eat 15 of the smaller crickets a month ago he should have no problem with like 6or 7 of the large crickets!

Hmm.

 

[Photog]

Temps are like 90-100 in the hot side with a UTH+White Light during the day and red light+UTH at night... cool side is 85-95

 

[STUTFL]

Well, first off I wouldn't leave the crickets in there if they're crawling on him. It's stressful, and crickets bite.

Juveniles are ravenous, but adult leos rarely eat every day unless you're not giving them enough per feeding to fill them up. Every 2-3 days is typical, with some waiting 4 days between meals.

95 seems a little much for the cool side to me? If you've got a UTH and normal sunlight coming in the room to divide night and day, I don't think you should really need lights all the time.

 

[STUTFL]

You can move him into another tank to feed him crickets, you can feed one at a time and try to catch them if he doesn't, or you can pull a leg or two off the cricket before dropping it in front of him, if you're not squeamish. :laugh:

 

[Photog]

Well I ripped two legs off a cricket and put it right in front of him, and 2 crickets came over and starting eating the cricket with no legs. (what the heck?)

My leo just sat there watching the crickets devour the other legless cricket without even caring. Then he started to creep over to the crickets and investigate, he would go close to the crickets like he wanted to eat one, but wouldn't lunge at them like he used to hunt, he just kind of sniffed one of them. Then by luck only, he managed to eat one of the crickets by just opening his mouth and biting (no lunging) because the cricket was busy eating the other cricket.

It's like he completely forgot how to hunt! He doesn't lunge at the crickets, it's like he expects the crickets to only walk right into his mouth.

Ugh!

 

[STUTFL]

How many crickets are *in* the cage right now?
Have you tried lowering the cool-side temps? Removing the light? Removing the crickets from the cage?

 

[Photog]

How many crickets are *in* the cage right now?
Have you tried lowering the cool-side temps? Removing the light? Removing the crickets from the cage?

Hmm like maybe 2 crickets in the cage now. I'm not sure though, I have a hollow tree in there filled with moss (his cool hide) and the crickets crawl up inside of the tree and hide and eat the moss.


It doesn't seem to matter how many I put in there 2, or 10 when it's feeding time, he doesn't seem to want anything to do with them.

Eventually the crickets I put in there disappear, but it takes days. I don't know if they just escape when I open the cage or if my leo gets desparate and eats them. There's one small crickets in there now that's been in the cage for at least 2 weeks (because I haven't given my leo any small crickets for 2 weeks now, I switched to large crickets). But I don't see any of the large crickets I put in there last night (they could just be hiding?)

not sure.


I don't know how to lower the temp on the cool side, I live in a very tiny apt so the temperature of the room fluctuates day to day, so that controls mostly how warm the geckos cage will be, but the hot side has an UTH underneath, and seems to usually be in the 90-100 range at ground level with the cool side at 5-8 degrees cooler than warm side. I have a light on at all times on the top of the cage in the middle of the metal screen, it's red at night for 12 hours and a blue/white daytime light during the day for 12 hours (on a timer).

 

[STUTFL]

I live in a tiny apartment as well. It's usually below 90 degrees in here in March. Lights generate heat. Have you tried removing the light? 90's are fine for the hot side, but he should be able to cool off. If the light's in the middle, it's not just heating the hot side.