Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In the past I have refrained from feeding lizards to my fussy hatchlings until every trick to get them started on pinks was tried repeatedly and the hatchlings appeared to be close to starving. I was under the impression that once you got them started on lizards, it is hard to transition them to rodents.

I'm interested to know what other people's opinions are on this. Is it better to start them on lizards before they become emaciated? Is it hard to switch them over to rodents after they're started on lizards?

Greg Huston

Greg, I find that once they get to that emaciated state it's hard to bring them back. If I have to use lizards, I have found that it's not hard to bring them back to rodents with scenting.

Jason

I agree that they can get to a point where it is almost impossible to bring them back. Over the last 10 years, I've had a few starve to death on me, but I've had a few miracles too. I bought a hatchling greeri last fall that refused to eat for over 6 months(she was brumated for part of that time). She was so close to death, I started shopping for a replacement. Then, for no apparent reason, she took a live pink. Five months later she's taking hoppers. You never know..

I decided this year to start feeding lizards after one month out of the egg without taking a pink. I collected a lot of young fence lizards at the beginning of the summer and tossed 'em in the freezer to use as feeders along with a few adults for scenting. Two non feeders eagerly took lizards as their first meal last night. We'll see how it goes.

Greg