Leo is getting skinny... (and questions)

[NennaMeerkat]

So tonight I did a little test while feeding my two leopard girls a few crickets. On most of them I removed the back legs so they couldn't jump away. I noticed something very interesting watching Bell attack (which she does with great Bravado) the crickets with no back legs...every single time she overshot the crickets just enough that she wouldn't get anything in her mouth. I think Bell might not have full normal sight! Or at least have problems judging distance. So she could be getting skinny cause she isn't catching enough crickets...while her tank mate is getting most of them.

So I got a few of questions regarding this:

1. Is it possible that she doesn't see well or can't judge distance?

2. Does anyone know if leopards will eat food that is already dead? I know some pet stores sell those pre-dead dried crickets...and are they any good? I can always just feed dead crickets from my own stock I buy live.

3. Will Leopards eat outside of their tank in a controlled small feeding box like you do snakes?

[stephanbakir]

Why not grab the tail end of the cricket with tongs? Wouldn't take long since she likes eating.

[whoaxmary]

1. Is it possible that she doesn't see well or can't judge distance?
I wondered this about my gecko, because he often 'misses'. If I dangle meal worms for him though, he normally gets them just fine.

2. Does anyone know if leopards will eat food that is already dead? I know some pet stores sell those pre-dead dried crickets...and are they any good? I can always just feed dead crickets from my own stock I buy live.
I've seen the pre-dead crickets and meal worms... If they make them, I'm sure a decent amount of people buy and feed them successfully. I only know of one reptile, a beardie, that has eaten these and only if put in with his 'salad', so I wouldn't know about leos... Not sure if they'd have the same nutritional value though?

3. Will Leopards eat outside of their tank in a controlled small feeding box like you do snakes? My leo eats in his tank, on the table, on the counter, on my lap, in my hand.. A controlled environment could be worth a shot?

These are all just my opinions thinking about my own leo, but I'm not expert. Everyone else will be along soon. :)

[TeaNinja]

i know that my leopard totally used to hunt on movement. she'd stay TOTALLY still watching the crickets stand there, and once they'd move she'd POUNCE on them lol.
i assume if it never moved, she would never eat it. although i did grab crickets by the legs and wave them in front of her till she munched it, many times.

[reptile65]

I've had a similar problem with my leos before. I would recommend separating Bell into a different feeding container so she has a better chance of catching the crickets before her tank mate.

[NennaMeerkat]

Why not grab the tail end of the cricket with tongs? Wouldn't take long since she likes eating.

She is REALLY skittish and will flat out run from anything unfamiliar. I have actually tried using tongs but she turned tail (quite literally) and scooted under a hide. Did not like the idea of a floating cricket LOL


As for everyone else thanks for the advice. I think when I feed crickets I will seperate them for the night and put Bell in a critter carrier I have with the crickets that have no back legs. It is big enough to have room for a hide and it has a scrap of reptile carpet on the bottom. Since our home is kept plenty warm there won't be any problem or need for heating elements while she is in there.

Gonna try it tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully her skittish nature won't keep her from eating when put into the feeding carrier.

[TeaNinja]

i used to just put like 10 crickets in my leos tank and she would go into "hunting mode" and chase them all down lol. it was really fun to watch her hunt.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko029.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko028.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko032.jpg

lol

[stephanbakir]

DUDE, you need to caption that last pic.

[TeaNinja]

"you tryna getta way from ME???" lol

[NennaMeerkat]

Oh mine will hunt them down it is the final "pounce" that she misses and seems confused by it all when she comes up with nothing 9 times out of 10. Most of the time she won't even make a second attempt for a few moments.

[NennaMeerkat]

New Updates

So I put Bell in a large critter carrier by herself with a single hide and a scarp of reptile carpet yesterday evening. Along with her I put about half a dozen small to medium crickets. That first night I heard her attempting to eat some of them but did not actually see if she caught any. During the day I noticed most of the crickets hiding under the scrap of carpet so I removed it. Tonight while I was doing laundry I heard her again attempting to catch crickets...but this time I saw her crunch down. It is now almost midnight and my final tally of crickets left from yesterday is 3. So it seems today and yesterday she managed to get half of the crickets.

Hopefully if I continue to do this with her when I feed crickets to them she will gain some weight. My poor girl and her bad eyesight just like me.

[stephanbakir]

good luck!!

[NennaMeerkat]

good luck!!


Thanks very much. I just hope she will be okay until Friday when I get back from vacation. I am putting a good many meal worms in their tank but won't be able to get more crickets until after I get back on Friday. My husband will be here but with his work schedual it would be impossible for him to remember to put crickets in the tank OR buy them from the store.

Hopefully the meal worms I am putting in tomorrow morning will be enough for them for that long. Not ideal but it is the best I can do for now.

[acs102]

1. Is it possible that she doesn't see well or can't judge distance?
Mine is the same way; she's a horrible hunter. She usually misses, or doesn't get a hold of them good and just gets a leg. She's more successful when she hides and waits for them to come to her.


2. Does anyone know if leopards will eat food that is already dead? I know some pet stores sell those pre-dead dried crickets...and are they any good? I can always just feed dead crickets from my own stock I buy live.
I've tried it simply because I wanted to see what Can 'O Crickets crickets looked like. They were pretty gross and Lola didn't care for them, I really had to coax her into eating one(making it move in a plastic spoon)- she prefers her meal squirming.

[Jay]

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/dogsandgecko032.jpg

amazing...Can I use this as my desktop please.

[stephanbakir]

Caption it for us!

[TeaNinja]

haha, i don't mind jay :)
i'm not at home right now but maybe i'll give it a caption later.