They know I've got a secret stash...

[indyana]

I utterly fail at getting my geckos to eat mealworms in a dish!

I don't think mealworms are a great staple, but I'd like to know that I can leave mealworms in a dish and the geckos won't go hungry. This is especially handy when I'm on vacation because the family members I get to watch my pets aren't as brave as I am about the roaches. I've tried many times to get my rescue, Amoré, to eat mealworms in a dish. I've never gotten him to touch one. And eventually, after a couple weeks, I cave and tong feed him. I thought maybe he was a lost cause, since he was pretty much fed only crickets from birth and doesn't really like mealworms anyway.

This time was going to be different. Hawkeye, my new addition, was raised eating mealworms in a dish. Should have been easy to get him to eat from the dish. But, the days passed, and he didn't touch it. I tried tong feeding the mealworms, but no interest. After ten days, I was starting to get worried. He's just a little guy, and babies need to eat. So, I tried tong feeding a dubia nymph. And BAM, gone in a flash.

Am I just weak willed? Or do they just know I have a secret roach stash, and they're holding out for the good stuff? lol

Gecko mom problems...

 

[JennyBeen]

Do they know they are in the dish?

I've heard of individuals fixing this problem instantly by getting a clear soap dish-type thing, so they can see the worms moving in the container. Or they might have ziplock containers that small, but it might tip. In any case, I'd see if that makes a difference!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Honestly I would assume your geckos just aren't hungry enough to move to eat them. Are they chunky adults? I would try not feeding them for a week and then offering 5-10 mealworms in a dish. If they don't eat them in 24 hours take them away and wait another week before offering. Maaaaybe give them a small roach in between but I would think they'd eat when they get hungry enough and the roach might just give them enough to keep them sated. If you're headed away on vacation for under a week they should be fine if they don't eat. Just make sure they have a cool side of their cage and fresh water and they'll be fine. The awesome thing about being cold blooded is if you feel yourself start to be hungry and lose a bit of weight you can just move to cooler temps and more or less stop your metabolism from burning your fat stores. I lower my warm side to about 88 in the winter and feed once every week - some of these fatties may get fed every other week since they don't seem to lose weight no matter what I don't give them

 

[indyana]

Hmm, Amore has one of those Lee's mealworm dishes that he basically walks through constantly, and for Hawkeye, I actually took a clear, round tupperware and cut the sides down to make a transparent mealworm dish. I have also tried tong feeding the mealworms, dropping them on the floor, etc., and there just hasn't been interest. You're probably right, they're just not that hungry and don't feel the need to eat things unless they are exciting, like roaches.

I don't mind playing the waiting game with Amore, as he's a healthy (and maybe a little chunky) adult male. The new one's a juvenile though, without a good store of fat, so I don't feel quite as comfortable with him not eating.

I'll keep at it, so thanks for the tips, guys. I was just wondering if others had the same problems with geckos refusing mealworms.

 

[JennyBeen]

Ha ha, sounds like you might just have some fussy geckos .

I have heard of this, as one of my friend had a few geckos that just would not be mealworm eaters. She tried superworms though in escape-free dishes, and that seemed to work much better since they are so squirmy, but I can't say how they'll stand up to roaches! The supers were still always second best to crickets though. Hope you find something that works soon!

 

[indyana]

Good news! Hawkeye, the baby, picked back up on eating mealworms from the dish last night. I guess he either settled in finally or the tong-fed roaches jump started his appetite.

I'll keep working with Amore. He needs to lose a little weight anyway, so I'll just keep showing him where the mealworms are and hopefully he'll get the idea eventually...

 

[Custodian]

Hey newby here but what i did for my leos this sounds bad but pulled the legs off of one and left it in the meal worm bowl he seen it floping and bam no trouble since. i also use the shallow round bowls and set it beside his hide bound to climb in it at some point

 

[indyana]

Thanks, Garret. That might be a good way to get my older gecko interested in the dish. He isn't big on mealworms.

 

[indyana]

Yeah, that was only a partial success. I added one dubia roach to the dish this morning. Within a minute, he popped out of his hide, ate ONLY the roach from the dish, and then went back into hiding.

Success in that it proves he understands the dish concept. Utter failure in that it proves he's just messing with me and waiting for roaches to appear. No like the mealworms. XD

 

[indyana]

Amoré ate a mealworm from the dish! One. Single. Mealworm.

Admittedly, there was a roach in the dish, and he may have grabbed the mealworm by accident and then decided to eat it anyway. But whatever.

Victory is mine!