Raptor and bad eyesight?

[bman123]

I have a 4yr old raptor male that I bought 2 weeks ago. I think he may have bad eyesight. He was raised on mealworms and I'm trying to feed him crickets he will stalk them but he misses alot when he tries to bite them. Wondering if anyone else has a raptor and has this kind of problem. He ate 2 large crickets and I've seen him miss about 12 times now in a row.

 

[bman123]

It's almost like he's far sided. He will see them from a distance and start to stalk them but 9 times out of ten when he gets close enough to bite he misses them. I don't know if he just needs some practice since he's never hunted crickets before or if he has something wrong with his eyesight. What do you think??

 

[IanT]

I think it may just be the difference in faster moving prey. give him so more time to catch up lol.

 

[bman123]

He sees it when it's far away that's no problem. It's when he's close to them he misses, even if they are staying still. I know he needs to get use to hunting the crickets but it seemed like he got discouraged from it. I mean he missed like 3 times In a row and he just went into his hide and gave up. I just don't know if raptors may have some trouble with their eyesight . He is sensitive to light, so I float the curtains to where there is a little light but not alot.
I will give him some time to hone in his skills, practice makes perfect right lol.

 

[Terrain_pull up]

I have a normal gecko that has the same problem, just a terrible hunter. Same situation, she was raised on mealworms and I switched her to crickets so she gets in close and then several swings and misses..lol I started pulling the back legs off the crickets to slow them down for her. I can't tell if she's half blind or half retarded...lol

 

[bman123]

I hear ya man. I took one of the rear legs of each of the crickets and they still get around good with only one leg. I didn't want to take off both legs incase he didn't eat all of them I could put them back and they would at least be able to move in their container.

He missed so many times man, he had one right in his face and he totally missed it. He chased one tho and grabbed it while he was moving so maybe he has some hope. Practice makes perfect and for his first outing he has alot of practice to do lol

 

[geckoluv2187]

Same thing with my RAPTOR. Very bad eye sight. Raised on meal worms, but he even cant see those well. Definitely could never catch a cricket.

 

[bman123]

I sold the raptor yesterday, I told the buyer I believe he has bad eyesight and he was ok with it. He would even miss mealworms out of his bowl, needless to say I'm gonna try to stay away from raptors or albinos in general for awhile and see if I get the same problem again or not.
Next time I'm buying a smaller Leo hopefully around 15-20 grams and alot younger lol..

 

[gixxer3420]

4 years old is still young for a leo, and him missing the crickets is normal