New Leo, won't eat, please help

[mrdonovan37]

I recently got a very young leo from a pet store and have set him up in your typical double hide w/ heat-pad and temperature variance setup. He is really nervous, which is totally expected (I haven't handled him since the day I got him to put him into the setup and check him real quick for injuries, as the guy getting him out of the old tank didnt seem to be very gentle with him and I know he needs time to adjust.) I put a small cricket in there everyday for a little while and close the sheet I use to cover the tank to give him darkness and make him feel a bit safer for right now, but he never takes it. I gave him a small lid with a bit of calcium powder (Rep-cal, phosphorous-free, with D3.) The other day I noticed it seemed like he had dug through the calcium powder. I wonder if maybe being from a pet store he is used to dead crickets or something. Should I try dead crickets in the same container, or legless ones even? Between roaches and crickets which seem to entice them more (being small I don't wanna use waxworms and get him hooked, and I have a feeder supply of both crickets and roaches.) Thanks for the help, just wanna get him feeding for obvious reasons.

 

[acpart]

It may take him a few days to eat even though he's tiny. You could try some mealworms in a dish too. At the big chain petstores I think they get both. You could also try putting in more crickets so he has a choice of what to catch. It's most likely adjustment, though sometimes the geckos at the big petstores are so young and the shipping so strenuous that they ultimately don't survive. I"m not saying that this will happen to yours necessarily; he may be just settling in.

Good luck and congratulations on your new leo.

Aliza

 

[ajveachster]

I agree with Aliza. I say put in about 10 crickets, and let him be for about 30 minutes. Then take out anything he hasn't eaten so they don't bother him too much. If you don't see that he has eaten anything then leave a bowl of 10 mealies for him to go to 24/7. See if any of them are gone in the morning. You might find he likes one feeder over another. I know how frustrating it can be with ones who don't eat. Good Luck!