My 5 month old emerine seems a bit skinny and I'm guessing the breeder i bought him from fed him crickets because he is somewhat reluctant to eat the meal worms I feed. any tips on how to get him to eat meal worms are appreciated.
Looks like a healthy weight to me if it's a male. Some just grow slower or don't get huge and don't eat as much as others. Males in general tend to look slimmer and eat a whole lot less than girls. As long as he's set up correctly and maintaining and not losing weight I'm not sure I'd worry too much. You may be stressing him out more than you need to by assist feeding when he's naturally not hungry. I feed my males that are over 40g and full grown once a week at this time of year and twice a week during the breeding season. They eat 1 super worm, 1 dubia or 10 mealworms at each feeding. Most refuse to eat more often or more than that even if I give it to them.
That said, a common issue I've seen with leos and AFTs is the presence of pinworms or other parasites. Bringing a fecal to a vet and having him dewormed may be another option. Like I said above tho, it may just be a totally normal feeding response.