Picky eater

LeoMomma

New Member
Messages
4
I purchased my little Leo on 7/23/21, I read articles about how much she would eat but at first she only ate 1 cricket. This morning she ate 2 and me being a worrier tried to feed her again after work. She was not interested at all, walked right by them. She will not eat them if they are dusted but I do gut load them. She has calcium in her tank (never seen her eat it), heat light (was sold as heat uva/uvb Light, but after researching it it’s not enough uv) for day because my house is cold, and heat mat on bottom is always on. There paper towels for substrate (had reptile carpet but crickets hid under it), a hide on the warm side that is 90 in the day 74 at night humidity is 40, cold side has a hydration hide and is 76 during the day 70 at night. I tried to measure her ( it was not easy) she is about 4.5 inches, and as of last night she weighed 6.39 g. The pet store has no idea when her hatch date is. I have a Uvb/a light, timers, better thermostats, soldier fly larvae small, and wax worms coming in 2 days. I’m hoping I can switch it up, soldier fly larvae 1 once a week but she won’t eat the calcium, and maybe 2 wax worms a week. I don’t know what else to do, or if what i’m doing is right. Any advice would be appreciated.
Attached pictures oh her from 7/25/21 and her terrarium.
 

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acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,113
Location
Somerville, MA
Was it a big chain pet store or a family owned reptile store kind of place? It's not unusual for a new gecko to not eat, though juveniles ultimately do. Are your temperatures air or floor? If it's 90 in the air, that's way too hot, so go with floor temps and don't worry about the air temps as long as it's comfortable for humans to inhabit. At 6+ grams, this gecko is pretty young. I can also tell because it still has its hatchling markings (yellow and black bands). When I was breeding leopard geckos, I rarely sold any that were below 15 grams. If this little guy will let you pick it up, try holding it gently and poking a cricket at its mouth. It's likely it will bite it and may eat it that way. Feed it in the evening as it is nocturnal. Don't worry about the calcium right now. If necessary, you can dip your finger in water, then dip it in the calcium and rub some on its mouth so it can lick it off. Try to avoid the wax worms because often geckos don't want to eat anything else and they're not so nutritious. Let us know how it's going.

Aliza
 

LeoMomma

New Member
Messages
4
It was not a family owned store. She does let me pick her up without any problem. I only do it for weight or to clean. I had no idea I could feed her like that. it is the floor temp that is 90, the air temp is 79 and that half way up the tank. Before I got the heat lamp the floor was 78 and she wasn’t very active. I did get her to eat 1 more cricket about an hour ago. Thanks for the information I will definitely keep you updated. I’m sure I will need your advice.
 

LeoMomma

New Member
Messages
4
As I was trying to sleep last night just worried about her I remembered the day I went to pick up my Leo they were feeding them and the crickets (assuming that’s what they were) were half to three quarters the size of the smallest ones they sold me. They were super little, and I am always worried she will choke. They only had pre done bags of 100. There are all sizes in there (mostly to big for her to eat) but none as small as what they were being fed. I always pick through to get the smallest ones (not the easiest thing to do). I was wondering if that is why she is not eating as many? I will have to find somewhere that sells small crickets, or if you know of a company that I can order from it would be appreciated.

Thanks
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,113
Location
Somerville, MA
Big pet stores like Petco and Petsmart have large and small crickets. The small crickets are 1/4" to 1/2" and should be the appropriate size.

Aliza
 

Wyspie

New Member
Messages
24
I am still learning to care for my baby leo, Hali. I've only had her for about a month and a half. I have seen a lot of information pages that say you should not feed them wax worms until they're older, and no more than once a week when you do. Hali is a garbage wagon and will eat whatever I put in front of her. lol I am not a huge fan of crickets, though. Every time I buy them, most of them die so quickly. I've started a subscription at DubiaRoaches.com for weekly shipments of dubia roaches and black soldier fly larvae. I also keep a tub of mealworms from PetCo. Once you get used to her habits and personality, I'm sure that you'll be able to come up with a gourmet gecko menu plan for her. lol
 

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