Leopard Gecko wont eat infront of me

[Onify]

I've been pretty concerned about my gecko lately. When I put crickets in the tank he won't come out to eat them. I'll only put like 4 or 5 in the tank. He just stays in his hide and I have to leave the crickets in the tank over night. My big concern is he is never able to catch all of the crickets I put in the tank In one night and I can never ever catch the crickets once they're in the tank. In order to actually do so I would literally have to take everything out of the tank and even then I have a really hard time catching them with my hands and they all would just jump out. What I've tried to do recently is put a small slice of Apple or celery dead center in the tank and that seems to draw out some of the crickets for him to catch in that one spot. My other concern is that he never comes out of his humid hide. I change the damp paper towl every couple of Times a week but I've never seen him outside of it, only on rare occasions. I know they're nocturnal but I've seen geckos that come rushing out for food in videos. How do I train him to come eat like that ? And he hasn't been eating very many mealies lately.

Any help would be so appreciated.
Thanks !

EDIT - He's about 5 months old. The pet store had them in huge groups and would dump crickets into the tank for a long period of time. I've only had him for 3 months.

 

[discoverlight]

Leaving the crickets in the tank over night is a bad idea, they can bite and bother your gecko. Have you tried mealworms? Mealworms in a shallow bowl can sometime entice feeding.

I suggest taking all the crickets out, taking out all the hides making sure theres none anywhere, and leave your gecko alone for a few days and offer a cricket with tweezers or offer a few mealworms. Usually geckos take a while to get adjusted to their new homes. I'm a bit concerned about the moist hide though, how hot is the hot side? Are you using a heat lamp or a heat pad?

 

[Onify]

I'm not exactly sure how hot the tank is. I have a heat mat in there. Reptile Terrarium Heating: Exo Terra Desert Heat Wave Mat at Drs. Foster and Smith ( 12 watt ). That's in the center of the tank. There is 3 hides. And I only see him use the moist hide. And I keep mealworms in a dish 24/7.

 

[discoverlight]

Hmm. Well just give him some time to settle. I had a gecko not eat for months settling in, although juveniles get hungrier faster so they usually settle a bit faster.
The only way he'll get used to you is if you're there all the time, just make your presence known. Moist hide spray downs, mealworm changes, water changes, poop cleaning,. They'll get used to you and eat in front of you eventually.

A good thing to know whether or not he's eating is if you count how many mealworms you put in, and how many are gone by the next day. They are nocturnal so some just prefer to eat at night

 

[Onify]

I tried feeding him a cricket with tweezers tonight and he didn't take it. I swapped out the old mealworms with a couple new ones hopefully he will eat those. What do I do for crickets ? Do I put any in ?

 

[discoverlight]

I suggest feeding with tweezers, since crickets are sometimes too fast for some geckos to catch and makes them uninterested if they know they can't catch their food. Not putting any in and stressing him out further would be better

 

[Onify]

I said I tried feeding with tweezers and he didn't take it.

 

[discoverlight]

Then that's fine! Don't push him to eat, we all own geckos here, we all know how feeding goes. Sometimes they just go off feed. I'd say just chill out for a while and just keep the bowl of mealworms in there and he'll get used to you being around in a matter of months. If he is losing weight then I'd make a vet visit but geckos are normally noctural shy creatures, it's hard for them to be out in the open to catch prey

Just chill and see if he starts eating from the bowl of mealworms. If he does, start tweezer feeding him with mealworms and then you can start training him to come to you at dinner time.

 

[indyana]

A few things to consider also:
- Heat mats often require a thermostat to control them to the right temperature. Most of us use a thermostat with a probe OR a lamp dimmer to keep them in check. The floor surface temperature should be around 90 F as measured by an infrared temp gun or a digital temperature probe laid flat on the floor.
- As we approach winter, a lot of geckos slow down eating/moving naturally.
- Geckos like being hydrated. A lot of mine camp out in the humid hide unless they need to digest a big meal.

 

[Onify]

Thank you for the info. I will invest in a heat gun soon. And I will do with the mealies.