Unusual feeding problem

[acpart]

I'm having a problem with one of my hatchlings. She was born 7/20 and is only 7 grams right now. Originally she was housed with her clutchmate who was getting much bigger, but she's by herself now. Whenever I have a hatchling who is not growing well I assist feeding by holding it and gently pushing a mealworm against its mouth. Usually after a few extra feedings like this the baby catches on and eats by herself. I've had a number of "slow starters" figure it out and get big and sassy. This one has decided that the mealworms come only from my hand and that somehow she can pull them out of my finger. If I hold a mealworm for her she'll usually take it. If I put a mealworm on the cage floor and hold it down with my finger so it doesn't get away, she'll strike at my finger and ignore the mealworm. When I hand feed her she acts as if she's ravenous. Since I'm hoping to sell her when she gets to a good size, I'm invested in her becoming a good feeder. I'm trying to train her to be more independent. I've stopped feeding her by hand. Every evening when I feed the others, I put her in a separate plastic container with tons of mealworms on the bottom. I check her weight every evening and monitor her poops. She's holding her own in weight and pooping a little just about every day (but I've been "bad" a couple of times and handed her a mealworm --I really have to stop that). Any similar experiences or other ideas? She does seem active and happy otherwise and she has a shallow dish of mealworms in her cage at all times.

Aliza

 

[GoGo]

She might be one of those leo's that just need hand feeding for a long, long time.

 

[Grinning Geckos]

Keep handfeeding for now. I would start by holding the worm like you're going to handfeed her, then drop the worm so it's just under your hand. Let her get it. Once she starts grabbing the worm on a regular basis, start dropping it in a bowl of mealies. It may take a few times of dropping to get her to look in the bowl. Start out with only a few mealies in the bowl, then move to move when she gets the idea. It should be totally do-able, just take baby steps.

 

[DanTheFireman]

Some of our really promising looking hatchlings get tweezer fed with long surgical tweezers to speed them along but usually eat on their own also. Really small superworms often get them going very well, definitely worth a try.

 

[GroovyGeckos.com]

Ditto on the small supers, you could also try those mini- mealworms, as they move alot more than a regular mealie.

 

[acpart]

I'm starting to have some success. Last night she came over to me to get her worm instead of me having to hold her. Of course she ran over and grabbed my finger again. But then I dropped the mealie on the ground and she ate 2 that way. I think she's getting the idea to look down for the mealies instead of up. I'll try again tonight.

Aliza

 

[acpart]

Update

Success, finally. It took a lot of repetition but she's got it now. She's doubled her weight in the last 3 weeks, from 7 to 15 grams and she's completely independent.

Aliza

 

[Grinning Geckos]

Sweet! Good job. I told you it could be done!