Too slow to catch crickets!

[s3cretz]

I think my large male is too slow to catch crickets. I've only had him for about a month and when I got him, the original owners had him in 20 high, since then I've moved him to a 55. He seems very interested when I put the crickets in the tank, and he tries to go after them and strike...but 90% of the time, he misses. After which, he just kind of stands there looking dejected and they crawl right by him and he doesn't go for them again. I can tell he is losing some fatness of his tail, as well. Should I put some mealworms in a dish for the meantime, so he has an "easier" meal, until I figure out this cricket dilemma?

Thanks

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

You can cut the back legs off the crickets if you want. Or give some mealworms. I read people posting all the time that their geckos are too slow to catch certain prey. But I feed my leos lateralis roaches which are much faster than crickets. And, although it might take them some time, sooner or later they'll catch them (or they don't eat). That's how it would be in the wild too. You win some, you lose some. If they're hungry enough, they'll move fast enough. Trust me...leos can move very fast when they're motivated to. IMO they become slow and lazy from being in captivity and getting easy prey.

 

[s3cretz]

Yeah, this guy doesn't seem very motivated, ever. lol Thanks for the quick reply and I'll probably just put a dish of mealworms in tonight to supplement. Don't want him losing too much weight, but you're absolutely right about it being that way, in the wild. I set up my video camera to record him, last week and late at night he did venture to the other side of the 55 and do some hunting, and seemed successful. I think part of it too, is that in a big tank, the crickets have a lot more space to get away from him, whereas with my little guys in the smaller tank...the crickets don't stand a chance.

 

[BigMike315]

You could try roaches aswell, I found that my leopard wasnt that interested in crickets but he loves dubia roaches.

 

[J.P.]

i still experience the same problem every now and then. but i make sure that food is always available whenever the leopards decide it's time to eat.
staple is lateralis, with occasional dubia (i intend to switch to dubia entirely once my colony is stable enough). i maintain 5 dusted roaches in a dish, and let out 1 or 2 in the enclosure just to entice the gecko into hunting mode.
it's a special time for my adult geckos whenever i chance upon a freshly molted adult dubia male. those big chucks of tender prey get devoured by the geckos all the time without hesitation.

 

[s3cretz]

I've since started keeping a dish of super worms and the occasional waxworm in with him, just to try and fatten him up a bit. He seems to be cleaning house on the worms. I guess if all else fails, feed him something that can't get away. lol Thanks!

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Those are both pretty poor food items for any long term feeding. Fine for a quick temporary fix. But, I'd suggest working toward getting him back onto crickets and/or roaches as soon as you can.

 

[s3cretz]

Those are both pretty poor food items for any long term feeding. Fine for a quick temporary fix. But, I'd suggest working toward getting him back onto crickets and/or roaches as soon as you can.

I get that, but what if he simply won't take the crickets? The wife would never let me keep roaches in the house...regardless of what they were kept in. Even when I take the jumping legs off the crickets, he still either doesn't go after them, or takes a bite and lets them go. Should I just starve him until he's forced to take the cricket? Seriously...

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

If you take his food away for a couple of days and then reintroduce crickets, I bet he'll eat them just fine. Do you really think that they eat daily in the wild? He's certainly not going to "starve" by going a few days without food. As for roaches, tell her they're "Happy sunshine beetles". She'll never know the difference. People are just scared of the word "roach". It's silly.The tropical roaches that we use for feeders are nothing like the ones that infest your home.

 

[s3cretz]

If you take his food away for a couple of days and then reintroduce crickets, I bet he'll eat them just fine. Do you really think that they eat daily in the wild? He's certainly not going to "starve" by going a few days without food. As for roaches, tell her they're "Happy sunshine beetles". She'll never know the difference. People are just scared of the word "roach". It's silly.The tropical roaches that we use for feeders are nothing like the ones that infest your home.

I did take the crickets away for a couple days, then reintroduced them but still had the same result. He strikes, misses then doesn't strike again. I'm honestly contemplating moving him back to his 20 gallon tank w/paper towels. Maybe at 3 yrs old, the drastic environment change was too much for him. I'll try to hold back the crickets again for a couple of days, but I'm not comfortable letting him continue on for long, while I watch his tail lose weight. Just doesn't seem right to me.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

If his tail is losing weight from simply a few days without food, there's likely more wrong with him than just lack of appetite.

 

[s3cretz]

If his tail is losing weight from simply a few days without food, there's likely more wrong with him than just lack of appetite.

Well, it may have not been a few days. Probably more a gradual weight loss, since I got him about a month ago. He's definitely not skinny, by any means, it's just his tail was really fat when I got him..possibly a little overweight. I just know he doesn't look the same as when we first brought him home. Are there ever typical signs of something like impaction? Grasping at straws here..

 

[s3cretz]

Thinking about this a little more...

He totally cleaned out a bowl of mealworms last night, so...he IS hungry and he IS eating, just being selective. I will say that when he strikes for the crickets and misses...he does get sand in his mouth, which I don't like. Would feeding him outside of his enclosure be an option? Or, should I just try the route of pulling out the crickets AND worms for a few days and then put a few crickets in with him again? Thanks

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Have you had him checked for parasites? Internal parasites can cause both a lack of appetite and weight loss. Might want to take a fecal sample in to the local vet for a check.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

You can try feeding him in a different enclosure. It can't hurt. And don't get me wrong, you can feed some worms without worry. But you don't want to get him to the point where that's all he'll eat. If he's lost weight quickly enough that it's visible, it's usually an indication that something else is going on. A fecal exam is generally cheap and really something you should do on any new herp.

 

[s3cretz]

I'm going to take a sample in to the vet this weekend. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[J.P.]

Thinking about this a little more...
.... Would feeding him outside of his enclosure be an option? Or, should I just try the route of pulling out the crickets AND worms for a few days and then put a few crickets in with him again? Thanks

I have had some success with a feeding tub/bin. i do this with geckos that have not eaten anything for over a week. any suitable sized tub would work. it's just the gecko, the insects, and paper towel substrate, no "furnitures" which the insects could hide in so that the gecko would notice the insects easily.
the paper towel substrate helps with traction, i've noticed that the bare plastic tub slows down the gecko a little bit because the claws would skid on the smooth surface. this enables the insects to escape by a hair. the geckos hunting success rate is significantly increased when he doesn't slip.

check your sand too. maybe it's too loose and your gecko slips whenever he lunges. and maybe he losses the appetite when he misses because he has some dirt in his mouth. just guessing........

good luck with the vet visit.