Picky eater (crested gecko)

[spacercaser]

One of my crested geckos (young adult male) has decided he will only eat Pangea banana and papaya food mix. This wouldn’t be a problem but it doesn’t include insects so I have to supplement with crickets regularly. He’s not great at catching them and won’t tong feed, and I don’t like leaving them in his tank because they smell and might bite him.

For the last 4-5 months I can’t get him to eat more than a couple licks of anything else. I offered only Pangea complete mix (which he ate before no problem) for almost a month, he just lost weight. No change in activity level or other behavior. I switched him back to banana and papaya, and he eats almost all of it every time it’s offered. Gained most of the weight back already.

I’ve tried mixing the two foods with various ratios, but the more complete mix is in it the less he eats. He won’t eat any of it if it’s half and half.

What else can I try?

 

[acpart]

I don't think it's the end of the world if he doesn't eat crickets. Many crested geckos don't. The CGD is supposed to be a complete food, even without crickets. Why not just give him what he likes and occasionally offer something else in case his tastes change?

Aliza

 

[Jetfire]

My Cresteds aren't fans of the mix with insects by itself, so I mix it 50/50 with either banana/papaya or banana/apricot, and they eat just fine. Whenever my 1# bag starts running low, I'll buy a 1/2# bag of each and mix them together. Every time I mix it up, I alternate between the mix w/bugs and the breeder formula just for variety. They always have small dubia janitors running around as free-range protein if they decide to snack on one as well.