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Ive got a juvie male who's been brought up on crickets. All my other leos eat mealies from a bowl. Any tips on getting my new male to eat them as well? He isn't eating them yet, and its been about 4 days

i dont think feeding ALL mealworms is a very good idea anyway. whats wrong with feeding crickets??
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UroKnight...coming soon
1.1.0 mali uromastyx
1.1.0 green anole
0.0.1 brown anole
0.0.1 fowlers toad
1.0.0 emperor scorpion
1.0.0 cuban knight anole
1.0.0 ribbon snake(currently escaped)
1.0.0 african clawed frog
1.0.0 green iguana
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.0.3 crayfish
0.0.1 3 lined salamander

All my Leos have been on mealworms for years. They are easier to deal with then crickets, being able to hiberante them makes bulk buying and storage easy. Ive been breeding for 3-4 years now, and this is a new gecko from a breeder who uses crickets. All my babies start on mealworms, and keep on them. My Patternless male is 82 g on a steady mealie only diet.

If you're able to use Tiles etc. for your setup start there. Deprive him of crickets for a day or 2... he's up to 4 tho I guess so start there. Don't use a bowl and drop a few "active" mealies in the tank right in front of him when he is up and active himself.

Eventually he will come around. Longest a food change has taken me(from one item to the next) took 5 or 6 days and then I had no problems.

Cinman

Once he gets hungry enough (assuming he's healthy) he will switch over to mealworms...

Don't give in and feed crickets unless he starts losing a decent amount of weight.
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-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, and Screaming Fat-Tails

I agree... there's nothing wrong with feeding an all mealworm diet provided the mealies are well gutloaded and dusted with supplements. I've done the same thing though once or twice a month I'll buy a couple dozen crickets (mostly for my Savannah Monitor to chase though) drop a few in with my geckos.. but never many. They get waxworms as a treat twice a month. But their usual diet consists of mealies. My hatchlings have been started on mealies.. and they've never refused them. Which bears out the theory that they aren't a good steady diet despite the chitin content. Heck, alot of large scale breeders feed exlcusively mealies... They're convenient.. easily bred, easily gutloaded and have very few special requirements unlike crickets.

np
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azureus06 I keep: Eublepharis macularius, Phelsuma M. Grandis, Phelsuma Laticauda, Stenodactylus Petrii, Rhacodactylus Ciliatus, Anolis sp., Agalychnis Callidryas, Hyla Cinerea, Mantella Aurantiaca, Mantella madagascariensis, Dendrobates Azureus azureus06

My leopard gecko seems to prefer mealworms over crickets to begin with. I scratch the side of the feeding bowl with my fingers each time before I feed him, and he will come running. Then I drop the mealworms one at a time into the bowl so he can see and hear it. I keep them very well gut-loaded, and he is doing fine. I still give him crickets from time to time, but he doesnt seem that interested in them (he will eat them though).