Reptile & Amphibian Forums

MY HL just came out of hibernation, and he ate a ton of ants and crickets.... but now, he wont eat ants at all. He hasnt eaten a single ant in two weeks!!!! he just looks at them, and walks away looking for food. I had one cricket left in the cage (it had been in there for a while actually) and Toad ran all the way across the cage to eat it!!! ( i have never seen him go after food)
Why wont he eat the ants????

Hi,
Well I have experienced this with my HL, only over a day or so, but I figure its from either getting tired of one food and moving to the next, or constepation. Has he been pooping ok since he stopped eating ants? The crickets contain less chiton and are easier to digest. Just a thought

My HL has been pooping fine, well, since he has eaten crickets, i am refusing to give him crickets now, and he is looking small and shrively......it has been two weeks, and he wont eat the ants!!!!!!

Don't let him get small and shrively just because he prefers crickets. If your kid won't eat his broccoli, that doesn't mean you refuse to feed him anything else in order to starve him into compliance. What kind of ants are you feeding him? Did the species of ant you were feeding him change? Some ant species are more palatable than others.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
3 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
4 D. leukomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus pending

He does have a point, some lizards like to eat crickets more often, and you may want to make sure that you have pogonomyrmex ants. If they are you may want to go with some barbatus, my lizard seems to prefer those over the rugosus that I catch.