Separate feeding area

[Sakmeht]

Hi all,

Right now we have a new juvenile leopard gecko and I'm currently feeding mealworms and crickets using tweezers because I don't want the crickets running around the enclosure. They get up inside one of the hides where the gecko wouldn't be able to reach them (stupid castle my kids wanted - lol). I know a lot of you have a separate tub you put your gecko in to feed them and I want to do that, but I've read I need to leave our gecko alone for the first couple weeks. I'm thinking maybe I could move her when she's in her moist hide and put that into the feeding tub - or would that stress her out too much? I do put meal worms into a bowl in her tank, but she hasn't eaten any of them yet - only from the tweezers (dull tip, btw). Should I just leave well enough alone for now?

 

[Paula Marez]

I'm interested in the answers you get to this question. I know what you mean about the durn crickets hiding too well and have been concerned about the trade off of stressing the juvie by removing hides while feeding vs. not being able to tell if he got all the crickets...

 

[acpart]

I find that many geckos will not eat if you move them to another enclosure, although I have 1 gecko that does best being shut up in a 6qt tub to eat her crickets. Another option is to block off part of the cage with a piece of cardboard or plexiglass so the gecko is still in its enclosure but has a smaller area for hunting (presumably you'd block off an area that doesn't have hides where the crickets can go).

Aliza

 

[Duster]

Leaving him alone for a couple of weeks seems a bit extreme. Usually they become accustom to their new surroundings in a day or two.

In all honesty it might depend on the gecko. When I feed my gecko crickets I move him to a 5 gallon enclosure and he hunts for them just fine. No stress at all. However, he also has a very strong feeding response. The day I got him home in his new tank he ate that night. This also worked for my previous leopard gecko as well.

If I were you I would try it out. If he doesn't seem to respond well being moved to another enclosure to feed, I would stick with feeding him in his original tank.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

How much are you trying to feed her? She may not be eating the mealworms out of the bowl or hunting down the crickets quickly as she's not hungry enough to hunt if you're bringing them to her on tweezers every day

 

[Sakmeht]

Welll, it's been a week and I think she's definitely settled in. She comes up to the glass to meet me and the kids sometimes and doesn't run away to hide if someone walks by. I've taken the cool hide that the crickets like to hide in out while they are in there, but I'll definitely consider removing her to another container to see how she does. I just don't want to be chasing her down every evening to get her out. I'll work on it slowly. Right now, I'm not too concerned - I'll start giving her the occasional goodie on my hand to get her used to it. And I know she knows where her food bowl is because I've seen her striking at mealworms in it. Thanks for the advice everyone!