Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a baby leopard gecko and Im a little worried for him/her. Its name is Sora and it loves crickets and we've been trying to feed it mealworms because they live longer. But it refuses them. It wont eat them at all and im a little worried because my parents dont want to buy crickets every day. Is there a possible way to convince Sora that the mealworm is a cricket? HELP!

The easy solution to not have to buy crickets daily is to buy a cricket keeper and then buy them weekly, probably about 50 at a time. There's some pretty good commecially available cricket food that's not too expensive too - I personally use this stuff called cricket yummies that I've been able to find at most pet stores.

It's ok to feed mealworms, but many people are of the opinion that crickets are better nutritionally (though you should definitely dust them with vitamin powder). Also, I tend to think that they're psychologically better for the gecko, because as a predator, the gecko wants to eat something that moves, not something that just sort of lies there.

That's the likely reason that your gecko won't go after the mealworms - they don't move enough. It is possible to use a tongs to pick up the mealworms and offer them to the gecko that way (generally they squirm around more when pinched, thus seeming more like food to the gecko), but ultimately, some geckos just prefer one type of food to another - yours may or may not ever decide to eat mealworms.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

I would keep offering mealworms, sometimes they will start eating them sometimes they won't. I definately agree with getting a container to keep crickets in, but I would highly suggest making your own. It's cheaper and they will live longer. Here is a link showing a very simple and inexpensive way to make a great cricket keeper that will house about 200 small crickets at a time or about 100 large ones:
www.stoplightcityleopardgeckos.com/crickethousing.htm
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www.StoplightCityLeopardGeckos.com

Thank you sooo much guys! I love the imformation and Im going to use it. My dad even said that he'll make something to keep the crickets in. I dont know how to thank you..... THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!