How to teach her to hunt??

[Lacedolphin]

I'm having a heck of a time getting my 11 week old baby not to be scared to death of me. Its been a week and a couple days and instead of her getting more comfortable with me and the house, she seems to be getting more anti-social and hides all the time. A couple members here gave me some advice to get her used to my hands being around, cleaning, moving things, feeding, etc.
A few also said maybe getting a couple small crickets, takeing the back legs off ( boy, was that fun! Who knew they could still run so fast with only 2 left up front?:main_rolleyes Well, the good thing is she popped her head out to see what I was bringing her ( theres slight progress, better than nothing) but when I released the little thing, she didn't know what to do with it. She lunged and missed a couple times till the thing ran off to the other side of the tank. Then she gave up and went back to bed.:main_thumbsdown: I know she was only given mealies at her breeders and will eat out of the bowl
but she doesn't have a clue how to hunt or catch moving critters. She seemed interested but confused,lol. How do I teach her to hunt?? :main_huh:
I think not only would it help her come out of her shell and get used to her tank, but also good excersize. Am I wrong??

Btw, Her name is Amara, shes 11 weeks old and a bell albino. So far she has been way to scared to handle and doesn't even seem comfortable in her tank yet. Little help please?? I have pics of her and her tank in the pics part of this site. Thanks in advance!

 

[breanna-banana13]

from what i've read, albinos are light sensetive. that could be the reasons for both her shyness and her bad aim. do you have a uth or lamps for her? if its lamps- i definately reccommend switching to uth. if you already have the uth, try dimming the lights just a bit during feeding/ handling time. If all else fails pop the legs off the crickets and put them in a bowl. (like shootin' fish in a barrel). lol. maybe this will give her the practice she needs to hunt them on her own in the tank.
-banana

 

[Lacedolphin]

I'm using a UTH already and for lighting I'm using a black light that she can't see ( it's only for my viewing pleasure). I know lighting isn't the problem as she couldn't even catch one when it was in the dark hide with her!! She jumped for it but kept missing. Kinda like a toddler falling down while trying to walk then gives up and crawls,lol. I'm hopeing her instints or curiosity will kick in later on tonight and she'll figure it out. At least she is now noticeing my big old scary hands are bringing new interesting things. That was the main point and it does seem to have helped that, so its not a complete wash out. She wont come out when my hands are in there but at least I'm getting to see her nose pop out to investigate what I'm up to, so at least I'm gaining ground there.

 

[larry26]

Maybe she has something wrong with her eyes.

Do you see anything in her eyes?

 

[Lacedolphin]

nope, her eyes are clean and bright, definatly no eye health issues, and she came from a well recommended breeder.

 

[Pepper]

Have you tried putting her in a smaller enclosure during feeding time?

 

[Spooki]

she may just be a lazy hunter... like my gecko. he won't chase because he's used to it being held under his nose. offering him less by hand/ tongs/ bowl and making him chase them or starve helped a bit. he's getting more into it but still doesn't want to chase it very far, he'll stop and look at me like he wants me to get it for him.

 

[nats]

she may just be a lazy hunter... like my gecko. he won't chase because he's used to it being held under his nose. offering him less by hand/ tongs/ bowl and making him chase them or starve helped a bit. he's getting more into it but still doesn't want to chase it very far, he'll stop and look at me like he wants me to get it for him.

LOL! good answer.
We spoil our pets too much and dont realize sometimes that leos are
just fine on their own. By that I mean, if you are continually hand feeding
(your asking for trouble, dont do it) you are essentially training your pet
to respond to a pattern of behavior that is against it's natural instincts.

 

[Lacedolphin]

well she finally figured it out, now its the opposite problem, all she wants is crickets and wont eat her mealies anymore. Silly girl! I'm trying to remedy this by giving her crickets every other day. She pouts but after awhile she gives in and eats her mealies. It has helped her get used to the tank though and my hands in there dumping them for her so its definatly worked out as a plus for her besides dietary reasons.

 

[nats]

well she finally figured it out, now its the opposite problem, all she wants is crickets and wont eat her mealies anymore. Silly girl! I'm trying to remedy this by giving her crickets every other day. She pouts but after awhile she gives in and eats her mealies. It has helped her get used to the tank though and my hands in there dumping them for her so its definatly worked out as a plus for her besides dietary reasons.

Mine do the same thing. They are just like little kids :main_rolleyes:

They WILL eat what they are given, or else go hungry!!
I refuse to let them dictate their menu
Besides, I just got my mealy colony going really well, and I was so
happy about that, then they decide they dont like them anymore, they
only want crix!! :main_rolleyes: to bad for them!! LOL!