Switching Hatchling To Mealworm Diet

[30secondstobob]

All my hatchlings readily took to tiny mealworms as their first meal........until now. My newest little guy was a bit slower to begin eating than most, but not as bad as the last. He shows no interest in mealworms but readily chases and gobbles down pinhead crickets that I've pulled the back legs off of. This is a tremendous pain in the butt however, as feeding this one baby is a half hour process.(removing tiny cricket legs from half a dozen crickets without tearing them apart)
Should I just withold the crickets and hope he goes after the mealworms? How long can I withold them if he doesn't take to the mealworms? He is two weeks old, today. P.S. When my hatchlings get older I do offer other food items such as an occasional cricket or waxworm. It's just so much easier to have mealworms as the mainstay. Bob

 

[acpart]

I have never had luck switching to mealworms, only from mealworms. I think you'll do better by feeding him 1/4" crickets without taking off the legs. I think pinheads are too small and that's why he's probably having trouble catching them. If you're really worried about 1/4" (my young Coleonyx eat them easily and they're smaller than a leo hatchling) then go for 1/8". Some are just cricket eaters.

Aliza

 

[30secondstobob]

Thanks (as usual) Aliza. Excuse my ignorance, but the crickets I'm feeding to this hatchling are probably 1/8 to 1/4 inch. The pet shop I obtain my crickets from sell small and large. The small ones I've always referred to as pinheads. It's just sooooooo much easier to offer a dish full of gut loaded mealworms every day! Bob

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

The only luck I have ever had with switching to mealies was to just cut them off cold turkey. However, with a hatchling I would not trust doing that nor recommend it. Do what you need to in order for it to grow and mature nicely and then worry about switching then.

 

[30secondstobob]

Thank you - that's what I'll do. I'll continue to offer the mealies in case he gets the urge to try one, but wait until he gets older to try a switch. Bob