Gecko not wanting mealworms?

[repti-man]

My new baby gecko will eat crickets and her newly shedded skin but I have a bowl with 3 mealworms in there and she hasn't eaten a single one! Is this just a kid thing? Like little kids won't eat their veggies, little geckos won't eat their meallies? :confused:

[PAH]

Offering a varied diet is always a good idea...but it doesnt seem that lizards know that. Many are only offered one food and become dependent on it.

I have a skink that will eat only crix...I adopted him from someone who only fed him crix.

My leo likes crix, then she doesnt, then she wants mealies, then she doesnt want anything, then she wants waxworms, then we start all over again.

My aligator lizard will eat anything..my gold skinks will eat anything but prefer crix, my Fire Skink only eats mealies...

Just offer your Leo different foods and as long as he eats something he is OK.

[ReptileMan27]

I wouldnt worry about it if he eats cricks fine. Its best to feed a vareity but he may not eat them intill he gets older. good luck :)

[theone]

Ya, it really doenst matter just as long as your leo is eating something. And like PAH said, a varied diet is best so that you and your herp can see which food tastes the best.

jp

[chibicricket]

I agree with everyone, but if you want your leo to eat mealies, I just learned a little trick a few months ago. Put a waxworm in with the mealies, so that the waxworm's scent is all over them. No gecko can resist a waxworm! If you do this regularly, your leo will eventually get used to eating mealies. Or, if your leo is stubborn like mine, a sure fire method is to actually mush the waxworm and put the guts on the mealies. It's gross but it works. I can now feed my leo mealies with no problems. She eats them right up.

[ImNotCrazy7391]

If she's at least eating something don't worry about it. If she's not eating anything then worry. If you want her to eat the mealworms then try some of the methods that the others suggested. They're great.

Mel*

[Mlsnooper]

I read that baby leos dont usually eat mealies so it should be fine.

[baggednlow]

lol mashing waxworms on mealies grosss!!! lol
i think i suggested that to you a while back
and it works great

first off not all leos will learn the art of eating mealies out of a dish
they usually dont notice the movement like they would a cricket
i "educated" my leo to dining in a dish lol
started out mealies on the ground until she figured that out then from there to eating from tongs and then moved closer to the bowl and then i started feeding over her bowl and then started in the bowl...now at night when i come home she is standing on the side of the bowl with waiting for the mealworms/waxworms to appear in the bowl lol

waxworms are good if your leo is skinny or growing, but i usually feed one with my mealworms every other feeding, also feed crickets and then dusted crickets so in case she decided to not eat a certain item i have a selection to choose from.....i only feed mine waxworms because she is a "teenaged" giant leo and is growing rapidly

my older female leo has never figured out the mealworm dish so not all leos will learn......
p.s. sorry for the long post

[theone]

Ya, that is a bit gross Chibi, lol.

jp

[chibicricket]

Hey, may be gross, but when my leo decided to go on a hunger strike, it worked wonders! I'm glad that I took that advice, and I'm gonna spread da word!

[theone]

Ya, I was just messin around, when my leo decides not to eat again, I will have to give it a try as well, lol.

jp

[ReptileMan27]

Mine destroy mealworms like they are the last mealworms in the world :D.

[banksey]

Maybe your leo can't see them in the bowl. I know if I put mealworms in a bowl for my leo she won't eat them... put them on the floor and she'll hunt them!

[Jaidensmom]

we don't use a bowl per say , we use lids....like off a coowhip container or butter container they are very low to the ground and just enough to keep some of the worms in. Because they are low if the worms squirm it will get the leo's attention. Another trick we use is we put the dish under the lamp to get them to squirm a bit then set it near our leo's and throw one or two right outside the lid.

[theone]

I used to feed my leo mealies without a dish, but she jsut decided she was to lazy to chase them, so I put them in a bowl for her, lol :) .

jp