Picky eater

[marisa]

I got a new leopard last week from the show....my current leopard gecko eats a diet of silkworms, butterworms and mealworms. Rarely I'll buy her a dozen crickets to chase around. But 90% of her diet is various worms.

So I figured that's what the newer one would eat. LOL No! She doesn't even look at worms of any type. But crickets she eats like mad.

Will she eventually switch to worms if I keep offering? My older female would look at me in disgust if her diet was only crickets! lol

Marisa

[peterm15]

i have 2 leos ( max and tim) there actually girls but hey... lol....

the smaller one tim, loves mealworms... and the larger one max, refuses to eat them... they both eat crix.. the surpriseing ting is that the smaller one eats alot more than the larger one and she doesnt seem top be catching up on size...

you might wanna split them up ( if not done already) and try worms.. that might coaks her to eat worms... once she tasts them shell prob refuse crix for an every day diet... its just a matter of time...
i offer both when im feeding..

[marisa]

They are definitly not housed together and never have been! :D They will not be housed together until a proper qauranteen is over and the new one is of adult size.

But I am going to keep trying to get her to try one.

Marisa

[peterm15]

i dont know how you could do this but for me it was pure luck... a cricket walked over the bowl of mealies and when my leo went to eat it he cought a few mealies instead... he ate it... looked at the bowl for a few min... licked it.. ( i put the meal worms in with calcium powder cause my leos wont touch it otherwise) and started chompin down on them...

[silent_truth]

All of my experience so far tells me that if leos get hungry enough, they will go after anything that moves. You may just want to get her going on crickets for a little while to ensure she has good weight on her and then try a brief fasting period followed by the introduction of the worms. Now fat tails are a whole other story with eating worms....

goodluck!


-Adam

[damzookeeper]

Marisa, is she not eating mealies for you eithor? That was her staple here with crickets. Maybe if you don't offer her anything for a few days and then try the worms she will accept. She had mealies in a dish in her cage 24/7 here and crickets about once a week. I also always left calcium in the dish with the mealies and dusted the crix. If I remember right she had a regrown tail but it was still pretty fat so I don't see a problem in letter her go a few days without food and then offer her some worms. I'm sure once she actually gives in and tries them she will like them. :) Hope the little girl doesn't give you too much trouble. lol. She sertainly was a little character! ;)

[marisa]

Hi!

Yeah she is a little brat eh? Doesn't seem to like the mealies but I suspect she is now holding out for CRICKETS! lol Maybe she just likes 'em!

And yes her body weight is not an issue, she is pretty fat which is another reason I bought her compared to some others available at the show. :D She ate a lot of crickets tonight too so that's good.

I don't mind trouble, as my other leopard is tons of it. :D Gonna keep trying!

Marisa

[marisa]

Also, since she is eating crickets so well and adjusting great you guys just KNOW some good pics are too come soon! :D:D

Marisa

[peterm15]

lol... hope to see them real soon.... lol


NOW... NOW

[marisa]

LOL Actually I will probably end up taking some pics tonight.

She is quite friendly which is also nice. If she is out and about when I go in the cage, she climbs up on my arm if I touch her. I am SO happy about that because my other one is the shyest leopard gecko ever!

Marisa

[damzookeeper]

well, it might be my doing that she is a bratt now. lol. She was my first regrown tail in 5 years of breeding leos and I felt so guilty that I put her in a cage alone while her tail healed, I fed her more crickets than mealies the last 3 weeks before the show because she preferred them, and I spent more time on her, checking her, handling her and such. That's probably why she is more attention grabbing as well. :o :w
I had two little regrown tails this year, I felt really bad about it. Another reason why I decided to cut my collection back a bit. I had well over 200 babies this year and I like to spend more time on them than I could this year. Next year I will only have 4 lines going instead of 7 and less breeders so I should have more time for the babies as well as adults.

Anyway, I'm really happy you are pleased with her. I think she will be a great little gecko with lots of personality. Here is a picture of her when she first started getting her tail back. :) Hope you don't mind me posting a pic before you. lol. But it's an older one, I'm sure yours will show how much she has changed in a little over a month. :)

http://www.reptilerascals.com/leo2004-10-13%20037.jpg

[marisa]

Thanks for posting that! I like having baby pics!

I like her little stubby tail. And she is definitly interested in what I am doing. Probably thinking "Look at my stubby tail...doesn't it make you want to feed me and hold me?" :D lol

Marisa

[Slannesh]

I've got leos in both camps myself. Some of them won't tough mealies some of them won't touch crickets.

Everyone loves the silkworms though ;)

For the most part I think it's related to movement. I can get all my leos to eat mealies if I hand feed them or otherwise get the mealies to twitch while the leo is watching. If they're just laying there in the feeding dish not moving most of my leos will just ignore them.

[peterm15]

thats why they have the vibrating dishes now... lol.. just anouther way to waist money