Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
i've recently purchased a pair over the weekend, and they're still not too comfortable with me. my question is, so far when i've been feeding them, they get startled easily, and still dont eat too much as they'd rather go and hide. So, what's the best way of feeding them w/o startling them. right now i'm just placing the bowl of mealies in front of them, and i've having a hard time keeping the mealies in i tell you! on a related note, if some of the mealies escape into the substrate and i lose them, could that be dangerous for the geckos?

on an unrelated note, i've just lost my first and only corn snake to a unexplained death. am a new herper so my confidence is at an all time low now, i just hope nothing else happens to my other herps, my leopards included.

drey

Drey, You might just try a deeper mealie dish with slick sides. My dish is glazed ceramic and about 1/2-3/4 inch high. I do not have any mealies get out. If your babies are too small to make it over, put a small disinfected rock as a step up on both the outside and the inside. Just leave the one on the inside far enough away from the egde that the babies can reach across but it does not touch the edge. Otherwise the mealies might use the step too. Good luck with your new leos
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Cheryl

Also Drey, Once you are sure your mealies can't escape, put in a set number and check next day to see if any are gone. My male would not eat in front of me for weeks but he would visit the mealie bowl every night. I just use a papertowel substrate so it was easy to double check they really were eaten and were not just loose.
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Cheryl

i'll try another dish, i've tried 2 different ones already but still the lil buggers keep crawling over! then it becomes a matter of search and seizure, turning over the bedding to find the escapees. you can see how that disturbs my geckos. i still think there are a few loose in the tank. Would they pose any danger to the geckos ( they're juveniles btw)?? Just in case i'm planning to change the whole bedding during the weekend, and maybe use paper towels for a start.
The male is eating fine, however the female is eating, say, just 1 or 2 mealies a day. her tail is starting to grow thin, am getting worried. since i just got her, i'll try to leave her alone as much as possible for a whie.

thanks for the replies

If they're not eating mealies, maybe you should try small crickets, their movements are more seductive for the geckos, especially the younger ones. I keep my crickets and mealies in a feeding dish and leave them in the tank overnight for my geckos. Some babies/juvenilles are really shy, they'll only eat when no one's around and all lights are off. Good luck.

Hi Drey,

I'm new to raising geckos too (though I've had a lot of experience with herps). I've actually only had my baby leo for about a week now. He's definitely shy and my presence makes him nervous. But, he's slowly starting to come around.

Anyway, in terms of food, I find that crickets are the easiest and babies love to chase and catch their food. He lets me watch him too as I feed him and he's slowly getting used to me because of this. From everything I've read, crickets are the healthiest (just be sure to gutload them and dust them with calcium first). Mealworms aren't that nutricious and shouldn't be fed to geckos as often.

Good luck and I'm sorry to hear about your snake.

Beth

All previously mentioned methods are great, When my leo was a baby i tried something a little different

I had a white spoon which i feed my leos from and basically at a set time everyday, cuz habits i believe help, i would lure him out of his cage with food on the spoon until he was out of his hide and eating out of the dish i provided. After a while he'd wait for me there, still be skiddish but he'd know it'd be food time.

And really leos after they hit the 5-7 month age become big enough to no longer dash away at the sight of you.
anyhue good luck and sorry about your loss

I tried feeding mine with a pair of hemostats about a week or so after I got it, and it ate mealworms and crickets and waxworms from it. It ate out of the dish too but its worth a shot and it is cool to feed them by hand I think.

>>All previously mentioned methods are great, When my leo was a baby i tried something a little different
>>
>>I had a white spoon which i feed my leos from and basically at a set time everyday, cuz habits i believe help, i would lure him out of his cage with food on the spoon until he was out of his hide and eating out of the dish i provided. After a while he'd wait for me there, still be skiddish but he'd know it'd be food time.
>>
>>And really leos after they hit the 5-7 month age become big enough to no longer dash away at the sight of you.
>>anyhue good luck and sorry about your loss
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Tim W. My Pictures
0.1.0 Dumeril Boas
0.1.0 Kittens
0.0.1 Leopard Geckos

It rubs the lotion on it's skin.
Bleach, good to clean tanks. Ammonia, good to clean tanks. Bleach mixed with Ammonia, good to make ammonium chloride gas to kill you while your cleaning tanks.

Drey, Paper towel is really the best for juvies anyway. What do you have them on now? Just remember bugs can hide under the towels too. If you feed crix make sure you get them out as they will escape the bowl/dish. Mine get crix every other day, gut loaded and dusted. I count how many I put in, then watch while they eat and count the hits. I will put in less if one of them just shed as they wont be as hungry after eating thier skin.
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Cheryl

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