Back off, that's my silkworm!"

[DragnDrop]

Yummmmm!! Silkworm sushi time!




Hey!! I licked that one already!! He was mine!




Terri might have zapped that one for herself, but Brenda did end up getting her own worm.

[clint545]

Cute pics! I can drop 3 silkworms in a tank with 2 leos and they still manage to go for the same one Good old tug a war follows

[geckomom]

Is Brenda the one in the last picture who looks like she's giving the old :flick: razz to Terri? ppffffffffttt!

Those are wonderful pictures. You're making me want to get a new camera so I can let my geckos be models, too. I see so many cute behaviors, faces, etc., and I just don't have a camera! My 3 young men (who have cameras) are always out and about, so no help there.

Fantastic pics!

bobbie

[DragnDrop]

Yup, Terri grabbed the silkworm from Brenda. But then Terri would probably grab silk sheets from anyone too. Silk-anything is Terri's, she's a silk addict. It's to the point now where I've realized she has to be limited with silkworms and moths otherwise she gets addicted. At one time I fed silkworm regularly, raised them so it would be cheaper. She ended up refusing all other food. It took me about 4 months of 'tough love' to get her to eat other bugs again. It was harder on my nerves than hers, she barely lost weight the whole time I was chewing my fingernails to the elbow

[geckomom]

Aren't silkworms one of the most nutritional foods for leos? Seems I've read that several times.

I tried silks with my "kids", and butterworms, not wanting to use them as a staple food, but to add to the variety. None of my kids would touch them, they'd actually approach the butterworms, flick their tongues, then shake their heads and turn away quickly.

I'd really like to introduce silks again. Could you recommend a way that might be successful? I know some geckos can be picky eaters, but is there any way to introduce silks that might "tempt" them more? Should I withhold other foods for a couple of days, hoping they'll be hungry enough to try?

I hate to do that (I can almost hear their tummies rumbling), but if it would end up with them having a more varied, healthy diet, it might be worth it.

bobbie

[DragnDrop]

I've never had to 'force' a gecko to eat silkworms, they accepted them right away.
You could try not feeding them for a few days like you said, no need to worry about them suffering any in such a short time. Being cold-blooded, they don't have to eat as regularly as we do (no need to eat calories to produce body heat). They might accept new food easier after 4 or 5 days of nothing, but there will probably be one who won't eat out of spite, just to make you feel bad
Silkworms are nutritious, but no matter how good a food is, I still prefer to feed a variety. I wouldn't worry about Terri if she only ate silkworms but it's my own peace of mind that tells me she 'should' eat other food too. I could try to have silkworms on hand all the time but if the colony crashes and she's fully addicted, she'd have a heck of a wait for her next meal. Nothing like having them accept other food to prevent a catastrophe.

[Dolly]

how do you put up pictures? I cannot do it!