Refusing to bowl feed Dubias

[Keith]

Our new gecko is bowl trained now, but we can’t get him to eat Dubias from it! If we hand feed him, he’ll eat anything. However, he’ll only eat mealworms from the bowl. If I leave mealworms and Dubias in the bowl, he just picks out the mealworms. If I only have Dubias in the bowl, he’ll go days without eating instead of touching them. However, during his hunger strike, he will readily take Dubia by hand.

I was under the impression he should be eating Dubias primarily. Is it okay that he’s only eating mealworms from the bowl?

 

[Tedward]

Perhaps let your gecko hunt the dubias instead. Unless, your goal is to get it to eat from the bowl then keep trying I guess..

 

[Herpin Man]

My finding, with picky geckos as well as most other herp species, is that they aren't quite as hard to please when they are hungry. Try feeding dubias only, and when they get hungry enough, they will usually eat them. They are much more nutritious than mealworms. Please note, I am not suggesting that you starve your gecko to death- but it is unlikely to get to that point.
One of the challenges to using dubias as a feeder is their habit of burrowing into or under the substrate, and the geckos not finding them. For that reason, I use the bowl method myself.

 

[Keith]

Perhaps let your gecko hunt the dubias instead. Unless, your goal is to get it to eat from the bowl then keep trying I guess..

I’m trying to avoid that because they leave frass in the vivarium and hide under/behind the background in the wire chanel.

 

[Keith]

My finding, with picky geckos as well as most other herp species, is that they aren't quite as hard to please when they are hungry. Try feeding dubias only, and when they get hungry enough, they will usually eat them. They are much more nutritious than mealworms. Please note, I am not suggesting that you starve your gecko to death- but it is unlikely to get to that point.
One of the challenges to using dubias as a feeder is their habit of burrowing into or under the substrate, and the geckos not finding them. For that reason, I use the bowl method myself.

The thought had occurred to me. However, I was concerned that it may hurt his developement since he’s still juvenile. Is this a valid concern or being overly cautious?

Last night he had 10 worms and 5 Dubias in his bowl. He only ate one worm overnight, but when hand fed this morning, he ate all 5 Dubias and 6 worms! He had already pooped before I filled his bowl, so I know he was empty last night.

 

[Herpin Man]

It will only hurt the geckos development if it refuses to eat long term. The gecko has already demonstrated that it knows the dubia are food; it is very unlikely that it will starve itself, as long as other care parameters are being met.