Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 2 leos in a 20 gallon tank and I just threw in some crickets. My younger leo ran after them right away and started to eat, but the one that is a little older seemed to shy away from them. I was just woundering why she would do that. I get the large crickets at the pet store. Should I maybe get the smaller ones? Is she afraid of them, or just doesn't like eating them? I then picked up a mealie and fed this to her by hand and she ate it no problem... so I continued to do this. So she eats from my hand the mealies with no problem. I just need some advice as to why she would shy away from the crickets. Her tail is still very plump, so she isn't getting sick or unhealthy, and she showed enthusiasm while eating the mealies, just not the crickets. Please give me some advice, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Well, sometimes leos will get tired of one particular food item and will just stop eating it. It could also be that the smaller one intimidated the bigger one and so the bigger one didnt want to eat. That might sound weird that the smaller one would bully but it happens. If you dont mind feeding her mealies by hand, and she likes it, then it is fine if you continue to do that.
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Josh
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That definitely makes sense. I don't mind feeding her mealies by hand, as long as she eats, just want to keep her healthy and living a long time. I will just continue to do that, and I have some calcium in the bowl with the mealies so when she eats them out of that she might get some, and I have a seperate bowl for just calcium so she can still get her calcium without the coated crickets...and as for the other one, she just loves the crickets. I appreciate hte help, thanks again.