Help me get my Leo to hunt

[bman123]

Finally some good news, he ate his mealies out of the bowl. Yippee. I haven't tried crickets yet but he attacked the crap out of the mealworms. He knocked the bowl over at the end. He's been staring at me for days now and I haven't gave in. Then out of no where he walked up to the bowl and started tearing them up. I'm gonna try to put
superworms in there next. Hopefully he eats thos too..

 

[pugmommie]

Yea....I knew he'd do it!!

 

[bman123]

I saw him do it once, he ate maybe 5or 6 of them. I put about 30 mealies in his bowl, they are still in there so we"ll see if he eats them or not. I knew he would eventually but indidnt think it would be this soon. I had to change back to his old bowl tho the mealies were getting out of the bowl pretty quick.

 

[bman123]

Hopefully I can get him to eat the crickets, the calcium powder doesn't stick to the mealies to good. I put alotmof powder in a small plastic deli cup and dumped the mealies in and shook it up but there want much powder holding to the mealies.

I did see him today eat some of his calcium powder tho so that's good and he drank alot of water today also.

 

[bman123]

I found a 30gallon breeder tank on craigslist today for super cheap $15
I'm waiting to see if the guy shows up or not. I'm gonna have to get a bigger uth for that tank tho as my current one only covers 2 of the tiles in his tank.
I'm gonna add a female at some point so it will be nice to have that bigger waiting for that day to come..

 

[bman123]

Lmao craigslist is a funny place, the guy shows up with the 30gal breeder and I'm all happy. He pops the trunk and it's a 20gal long and has the biggest crack in it. I laughed out loud. I ended up buying a 10gallon leader with metal screen lid from him that was mint for $10 and he gave me a huge exo Terra reptile cave hide. It's gotta be a extra large hide and at least $20 new. So I took the hide tank and lid for $10

so someday when I get my new big ole tank I will have a big ole hide ready to go. This hide is 4 inches tall, and about 11 long and 10 deep it's huge and well worth $10. I'll keep this tank for qt as I sold my 20tall today. So I got a qt tank and a monster hide for $10 lol..

 

[bman123]

Nother good thing about this hide is that it doesn't really take up floor space. It's slanted at a nice angle and the geckos will easily be able to climb walk and lay down on it. I can easily fit 3 full size leos on top or inside of it at the same time this hide is diesel. This hide would be nice in a 30gal or 40gal breeder tank. The biggest I can go on my current stand is a 40gal breeder. I think next time I buy a tank it's gonna be a new one so I don't end up buying smaller tanks or wasting time with people from craigslist lol.

 

[bman123]

He hasn't ate again since he ate those mealworms out of the bowl. I don't know what to do with this guy lol. I gotta get more mealworms and crickets tomorrow. I have about 6 superworms left so I will get 6 more of them just because they live so long and are easy to keep alive.

I'm gonna get a new bowl to and see if that helps any. I just don't know what's going on with this guy and his eating habits. I'm not giving in tho, I haven't hand fed him in about 5 days and I'm not gonna start doing it again. I gotta get a bowl that the superworms can't get out of. The problem with that is then the bowl is normally pretty tall and he can't see in there unless he looks right over the edge.

I'm just gonna use the tongs to put the food in the bowl, when he sees the tongs he knows food is coming but he doesn't eat it out the bowl. I know 6mealworms isn't enough to fill him up so I bet he's getting hungry again.

He keeps staring at me like he's waiting for the tongs to handfed but that's a no go. When he stares at me I grab the worms with the tongs and show him so he sees it then I put it in the bowl. You guys have any hard headed leos like mine??

 

[bman123]

I am at my wits end here. I said I will try to feed him now. I grab the tongs and he shows interest immediately. I place the lid off a deli cup right infront of him. I grab 4 superworms with the tongs and show him then I drop them on the lid right in his face.

He looks at them then he looks up at me like where'd ya go. He didn't eat any of them, this lil guy is gonna drive me crazy. I'm getting some more mealworms and a couple more superworms tomorrow and a decent sized bowl to try to hold the superworms in.

It's been three days since he ate so let's see how long he can go without eating. How long do you think is a safe time for a Leo to go without eating? I'm done messing around with him trying to get him to eat. I'm just gonna leave his mealies in his bowl 24/7 and if he don't eat them I will swap them out for fresh gut loaded mealies.

I just need a time frame for how long he can go without any kind of health issues happening. Like 2-3 weeks before he starts losing weight and I need to step in and get him to eat or hopefully by 2-3 weeks he gets the point and eats on his own.

I make sure his food is fresh and lively, if it isn't moving around I swap it out for other stuff. I just put em back in the container and get other ones. I never in my life thought I would get a leopard gecko that would be so hard headed and not eat decently after seeing all the videos on YouTube of them chasing crickets and worms around just gobbling them up. I'm going to bed lol I will deal with him tomorrow..

 

[RoninSTi]

Just keep fresh mealies in a bowl. Make sure the bowl is clear or that your little guy has line of sight into the bowl.

NATURE WILL WIN, HUNGER WILL WIN, HE WILL EAT ON HIS OWN!

These guys can go weeks without food. I wouldn't worry until significant weight loss sets in. Stop fussing, make sure the mealies are wiggly, and your leo will eat. I had a similar problem with my Leo. I stopped fussing. I did what I could to make sure he had plenty of fresh food, and after about a week viola, i now have the leo you see on youtube. Running around gobbling anything that moves.

As long as you know their temperatures are correct and their environment is correct, hunger will win. Everytime.

 

[bman123]

His temps are good, he has a hot hide, cool hide and humid hide. He always has fresh water, I change it everyday, he has a lid full of calcium powder. The pet store doesn't sell clear food bowls so I just use the small container that the mealworms come in. I cut it down some so it's shorter and easier for the gecko to stick his head in and eat. Plus it's clear and you can see the food in it.

I'm don't fretting about it, either he will eat or he will wait another day. I haven't seen any weight loss at all so that's good. It just erks me how I see other adults chasing crickets and he won't even eat mealies out of a dish. I put crickets in and he will watch them run around and he seems interested but he won't eat them.

I gave up on crickets and I'm just trying to get him to eat the mealworms out of his dish. If I can get him to eat the mealworms regularly out of the bowl I will try the crickets later. What can I use for bedding for the mealworms that I can get from my local grocery store that is cheap??

 

[rubym]

I buy wheat bran to use as meal worm bedding. I get a 50 lb bag at our local feed store for 8.75. I cut up potatoes, carrots, zuchini and throw in for the worms to eat also.

 

[Jayme]

I know how you feel, my gecko can get a bit weird with eating as well. Just keep track of his weight and as long as he's not losing significant amounts, he's fine.

Just out of curiosity--will he take the prey item from your tweezers if you hold the food on the ground?

 

[bman123]

I live in the city so we don't have a local feed store. Can I get wheat bran or wheat germ from a local grocery store? I don't want to walk in and ask them and look like a idiot trying to explain it to someone.
I don't have a scale so I can't keep track of his weight, I just go off how he looks.
He won't eat anything of the tongs either now. He would only eat off the tongs so I tried to get him to eat on his own out of a bowl.

I put the tongs in his face and he comes right to them, he won't eat crickets mealies or superworms off the tongs now. I don't know what's goin on with him. I'm going to the pet store and grocery store now. I'm gonna try to find wheat bran and or wheat germ first then get some mealies supers and large crickets.

 

[bman123]

I got oats today crickets mealies and super worms. I put some mealies and a superworm in his bowl. I put the bowl right in his face, he ate 4 mealworms and a superworm from the bowl so that's good its a start at least he ate from it, no hopefully he will know to go to his bowl when he's hungry.
He seems to eat around every 4 days, he doesn't eat alot but he isn't losing weight either.. So from now on I hope he eats from the bowl..

 

[bman123]

Well I just got back home and he hasn't touched his food, so maybe he will eat tomorrow but I'm not counting on it. Hopefully i can get this lil guy to eventually hunt down his crickets. That's my next goal after I get him to eat out of this bowl regularly.

I want him to eat mealies super worms and crickets but I'm thinking he's only gonna do the mealies and supers. Oh well I gotta start somewhere ya know. I'm just glad he ate out of his bowl today. At the rate he's going a dozen supers and 100 mealworms will last a long time.

 

[TFerguson]

This is funny and sad at the same time. I took out all his hides and decorations and I dumped a dozen large crickets in his tank. I showed him the tongs and he was ready so I dropped the crickets in right in front of him off the tongs.
They are all over the place, he's walking around crickets are just walking slowly in fronn of him and nothing yet. He seems interested but he won't eat any of them.

I'm gonna leave em in there for 15 minutes and if he doesn't eat any I'm gonna take em all out. I will try again on Monday. He ate 2 large early yesterday so maybe he's not hungry enough yet. He standing all arched and tall on his legs but he's not getting any of them. Oh well it gave me time to change the crickets bedding and food lol. He still has mealies in his bowl 24/7 and he hasn't touched them either.

Dumping a dozen crickets in his tank with him, probably isn't the best approach. I bet if I put a dozen chickens in your bedroom, you wouldn't have much interest in eating... too distracting and uncomfortable. Next time try 2 or 3 crickets with their hind legs removed. Also, leave his cage arranged as usual.

Good Luck

T Ferguson

 

[bman123]

I've tried it with his cage left alone, the crickets just hide and not come out. I've also tried with just 3-4 crickets in there, they go hide and he doesn't eat them.

I got him more crickets yesterday so I'm gonna try to feed him those today. I will only stick 3-4 in there today and I will see if he eats them. I'll leave his cage alone, and take one of the rear legs off each cricket.

He never was fed crickets so I just think he doesn't know to hunt them. I'm gonna try to get him to hunt them so good luck to me lol..

Oh tferg he ate at superworm and a couple mealworms out of his bowl yesterday so that's a start. I haven't fed him with the tongs in about a week now and I'm not gonna use tongs again, that just made a big ole headache for me.

 

[bman123]

I put 4 large crickets in his tank with a leg pulled off of each one. he is showing interest and walking around like he is stalking them but nothing yet. I'll give him 10minutes and if nothing I will try it with superworms.

 

[bman123]

It took him awhile but he hunted and got 2 large crickets. I think he may have bad eyesight or something, it's like he's having trouble finding them. I put 2 more in there so there's 4 running around now.