Leo hunting

[bman123]

Ok I got another question and it may sound dumb so bear with me. Do leos hunt strictly off visual or do they use smell aswell?
I'm wondering because my Leo who I got last week is a adult and I been hand feeding him.
Today I got a bowl and I put dusted mealworms and a wax worm in it. He hasn't used a bowl for food here so I'm wondering if he will smell the food and look for it or does he need to see it?

He's a little lanky that's why I got the wax worms to try to put weight on him. I put 12 mealies and 1 wax worm in there. He's been eating about every 3 days and I thought what if I put a bowl in there with food if he will eat out of it when he's hungry? I'm not being lazy I will still feed him super worms and crickets off the tongs I'm just thinking maybe he wants to eat at night while I'm asleep. This way he will always have food available so if he wants a little mid night snack he can go to his bowl and eat it. The bowl is 2inch round about 1 inch deep so he's gonna have to look over the edge of the bowl to see the food, the bowl is dark brown so it's not see thru. Just wondering what you guys think about this. Thanks in advance

 

[Taquiq]

He might find it when he roams around the tank. If he doesn't eat maybe you should try getting a shorter bowl. One of my females is refusing food right now so I put a couple mealies with some calcium in a bowl about 1 1/2 centimeters deep. She eats some but not all. They are nocturnal so if she can find the food she will probably eat it especially if she is hungry. Just keep offering food and eventually she will eat. Also keep offering the bowl of food and make sure she can find it. I had a Leo that my sister kept but unfortunately she bought food and water bowls that were to tall and the Leo died. It was probably crypto. Yeah so anyway just keep offering food.

 

[bman123]

Re: Feeding how much how often??
He just got up and came out of his new hide. I figured what the heck i will offer some food. I showed him the food bowl with the food in it but he turned his head. I grabbed the tongs and he ate that way. He ate 2 large crickets I tried again but he turned away. I grabbed a wax worm and he was on that thing like flies on stink. He's never had them before but he gulped it down.
I tried a super worm and he refused. I tried another large cricket and he ate it. I gave him another wax worm and he took that too.
So he ate 3 large crickets and 2 wax worms today.

He was more in attack mode then I have seen him be. Maybe he just wasn't eating enough and he was really hungry today. This is two days in a row that he has ate. I left the bowl in the tank with 12 dusted mealworms in it. So maybe he will eat those too. It seems like he's getting on the ball now and he's gonna start eating right. No more wax worms til next week for him. I'm gonna try to just give him one or two a week until he gets his weight where it should be. I'm surprised he turned down the super worms. When I grabbed one with the tongs it was all over the place.

 

[bman123]

The only reason I got the wax worms was his weight. He is lanky and not eating much so I figured he could use the extra fat from the wax worms. Now he's climbing the corner of the tank because he wants me to take him out. I don't want to handle him right now tho because he just ate. He is being really active walking around and climbing all over his new hides. Exploring the tank he's infront of that food bowl but he's not eating any. Oh well I'm sure in time I can get him where he should be. I'm just thankful he's eating something.

 

[STUTFL]

Sounds like he's still doing pretty well as far as the eating goes.

They can "smell" to some extent at least, mine went nutty flicking his tongue in and out when I refilled his mealie dish the other day after several days with it empty. Then he *saw* them and went super-nutty. :laugh:

Sight is the primary factor though, I'd say. If it don't move, it ain't food.
Lots of people feed their leos from a dish. If the gecko goes for it, and he gets some food thrown around to hunt for once in a while, there shouldn't be a problem with using a dish. The mealworms will stop wriggling after a while, and he may lose interest, but when they're fresh (maybe drop a wee bit of oats or whatever their bedding is into the bowl to keep them eating and thus moving a little longer), they should catch his eye if they're in a low enough bowl. There's usually one moving enough to catch the eye, and the sight of them alone (WORMS!!!) is sometimes enough to get a leo in hunt-mode to snap a few up.

I use a glass ash tray for mine, he can see them moving before he gets over the edge.

 

[bman123]

This is the bowl that the old owner used to keep his mealworms in 24/7 so I'm hoping he wii recognize it. He hasn't paid it no mind tho. It's been in there full all day and he hasn't touched it. He was kinda ferocious the way he ate today. He was snatching the food off the tongs. Like he was really hungry. He has been eating about 3 items every 3 days.
He ate 2 large crickets yesterday then 3 large crickets and 2 wax worms today.

The items he's eating with me now are alot bigger then the mealworms he was use to eating. I think he ate around 10 mealworms every day or every other at his old home. Now he's eating 3-6 large crickets every 2-3 days. I think he likes the crickets more then anything else as that's what he's ate more of.

I keep multiple things for him to eat so I can get a feel for what he likes and so far he's pounding down the large crickets. I figured he would like the wax worms since so many people said it was like crack for geckos lol.

 

[bman123]

He didn't touch the mealworms at all today. I put fresh ones in when he was roaming the tank he went right to the bowl looked in and turned his head. Maybe he's on to bigger things with the large crickets and super worms. I don't know lol.

I will try the meal worms again tomorrow and see what he does, if he doesn't eat them then so be it, it's only $2.50 down the drain. I will just stick to the large crickets. He hasn't ate a super worm in days so maybe he prefers the crickets over the superworms. That's ok with me they are a nickel a piece cheaper, and I still have to feed with the tongs.

He is alot more active today then he's been so that's a good sign. I think he is finally settling in and he might pick up his eating habits. I will try to feed him today and see if we can get 3 days in a row under his belt. I'm just gonna drop some crickets in tomorrow and see if he will hunt them down.

It just kinda drives me crazy to get on YouTube and see adult leos bigger then him chasing down crickets. Even if he don't chase em down it's all good. It's only been a week since I first got him, maybe he will start to chase his food. I caught him tonight pounding some of his water. I've seen him drink twice now. He drank alot of it tonight tho he must of been thirsty. Thanks for all the help you guys rock

 

[CallDr]

On the smell question.....I am curious too. I see mine get close enough to smell..... are they smelling?

 

[bman123]

I tried to give him mealworms again today and he won't eat them. I left the mealies in there all day too. He woke up a little bit ago and poked his head out of his hot hide. I saw him and grabbed the tongs so I can try to feed him. He saw the tongs and came running out of his hide.
So he does have good eyesight. I thought he had bad eyesight do to him missing his food. Soon as he saw those yellow tongs he came a running out. It made me lol. He is so much more active and alert then he was when I first got him last weds.

I think he is eating right now so he actually has some energy. He was climbing all over his hide looking up waiting on me to open the tank. Soon as I put a cricket in his face wham, he took it. He won't eat the superworms now, I don't know why. At least now I know to buy him crickets and that's it.

I'm gonna keep trying to feed him the mealies and the superworms. I wish he'd eat em so I could have a empty tub and one less thing to feed. He's out and about again so I'm gonna try the mealies and see what happens.

 

[bman123]

I put more mealies in and showed him the tongs. He followed the tongs to the bowl of mealies, he looked but won't touch them. I'm trying to get him to eat the mealies but oh well. There is a huge difference in his energy and alertness now. When I first got him he acted kinda lathargic and didn't do much.

Now he's on the move and I actually saw him run. This is great, now only if I can get him to chase down his crickets lol.