How To Feed a Picky Eater Leopard Gecko?

Your leopard gecko might become a picky eater due to different reasons. If your leopard gecko is a picky eater, it will only eat certain bugs, and won’t touch the other ones. In this post, we will find out the reasons why a leopard gecko might become a picky eater and how to deal with a picky eater leopard gecko.

Leopard gecko won’t eat an insect that bit it

Believe it or not, some leopard geckos won’t eat an insect that bit it in the past. For example, some leopard geckos refuse eating any crickets or super worms if they have bitten them. Yes, super worms and crickets can bite leopard geckos, and it is painful for your leopard gecko. If your leopard gecko is ignoring specifically one type of feeder insects, then this might be an issue.

You need to remove any uneaten crickets/other bugs after 15 minutes of feeding, or they might hide, become hungry and bite your leopard gecko. When feeding super worms, it’s a good idea to shut its mouth or feed it with tongs so that it can’t bite your leopard gecko.

If a bug has bitten your leopard gecko, don’t be surprised if it never wants to eat it again. And it’s not being a picky eater – your leopard gecko is simply scared. Each leopard gecko is different, and the fear might go away in some leopard geckos.

Leopard gecko only eats wax worms – why and what to do?

Your leopard gecko might become addicted to wax worms if you start feeding them too often or too early. The thing is, wax worms are very fatty and taste good – making your leopard gecko addicted and a picky eater. As a result, your leopard gecko gets used to the taste and doesn’t want to eat anything else.

Wax worms, butterworms and even super worms are are not very nutritional and should be only given as treats. Even mealworms should not be given with every feeding. Don’t introduce wax worms to your leopard gecko before it is eating regularly, and it’s better to wait until it turns 2-4 months old.

If your leopard gecko only eats wax worms, you need to change it as soon as possible. To break this habit, remove wax worms and offer another type of feeder insects instead.

Good choices are Dubia roaches, silkworms, crickets and Phoenix worms. Don’t forget to gut-load and dust them, too. If your leopard gecko refuses to eat, don’t give up and keep offering the insects. This might take a week or so, depending on a leopard gecko. But when it gets hungry, it will eat what you are offering.

Leopard gecko only eats crickets – why and what to do?

Some leopard geckos will only eat crickets, and this is often due to lack of movement in other feeder insects. If you leave other types of feeder insects in the tank and your leopard gecko doesn’t seem to notice them, this might be the reason. Try to offer new types of feeder insects that move more – such as roaches, grasshoppers and others.

You can even place worms in a dish with some of their feed, to make them move around. Some leopard geckos just naturally love crickets only, and don’t like trying other bugs.

But most leopard geckos, however, are willing to eat different bugs. If nothing is helping, try wiggling the bugs with tongs like these, but don’t do this too often or your leopard gecko will get lazy and used to eating this way.

Leopard Gecko Only Eats Crickets - How To Feed a Picky Leopard Gecko

Leopard gecko won’t eat crickets – why and what to do?

Your leopard gecko can stop eating crickets, if for example, it gets bored of them or if they are too small in size. Make sure to increase the size of crickets as your leopard gecko grows older.

This will keep your leopard gecko interested. Some leopard geckos won’t eat crickets for up to a year and will try them after, so if you are offering other staple insects and your leopard gecko is growing fine, then don’t worry.

You can find the feeder insect sizes that you need to offer to your leopard gecko here.

Tip 1

If your leopard gecko only eats crickets, then this might be because other feeder insects don’t interest it. Try to start offering new faster moving insects, such as roaches, hoppers, locusts and wiggle worms in tongs to promote interest.

Tip 2

Your leopard gecko might be dehydrated instead of being picky. Is it getting enough water with food? Have a bowl with fresh water in the tank and make sure that the tank is not too hot. This can cause dehydration.

Tip 3

Lack of movement very often results in uneaten bugs, and this is normal. Try to get more moving bugs and leave them in the tank or a bowl.

Encourage your leopard gecko to learn eating independently. If a cricket is too fast for your leopard gecko, you can cut its back legs so that it can’t run around very fast.

Tip 4

Your leopard gecko is unlikely to eat an insect which bit or hurt it. Give it some time, and try again.

Tip 5

If you have just got your leopard gecko (no matter the age), it can take few weeks for it to start eating regularly again. But in the meanwhile, it might eat few bugs here and there.

Tip 6

Never make fatty worms such as wax worms a staple diet. Longer you proceed with a diet like this, harder it will be to change the habits later. Remove them from the diet until your leopard gecko starts eating a varied diet.

Tip 7

Don’t worry if your leopard gecko refuses to eat at all when you remove fatty worms. Start offering a staple feeder and give few fatty worms once a week or once in two weeks. Your leopard gecko can easily go without food for a week and even more.

When your leopard gecko gets hungry, it will eat whatever you are offering. This can take a week, two or even longer with older leopard geckos, so be patient.

Tip 8

Try to offer a variety of different insects, and try to move them in front of your leopard gecko to promote interest. This even applies to crickets, make sure your leopard gecko can see them and move the bugs towards your gecko.

Tip 9

Don’t leave any insects in the tank hoping that your leopard gecko will eat them later. The feeding duration should be 15, or maximum 20 minutes.

After that, remove all the bugs and try again with the next feeding. Only babies need to eat every day, and adults of 6 months and over will eat only 2-3 times a week, sometimes even once a week.

It’s normal, so wait for the next meal. Your leopard gecko is likely to be hungrier as well.

Tip 10

Sometimes, you leopard gecko might lose an interest in crickets or other bugs that are too small. In this case, choose larger bugs (not larger than the width between the eyes of your gecko) and offer them. This might fix the issue. Even bugs that are too large can make your leopard gecko skip eating them.

Tip 11

Leopard geckos often get bored of the certain feeder bugs if you offer them all the time. Try to mix things up, offer silkworms, roaches, hornworms like this, phoenix worms as an alternative.

When you offer different insects or change them up with every feeding, your leopard gecko is less likely to become bored. Some leopard geckos don’t like Phoenix worms at all.

Tip 12

Your leopard gecko might become lazy if you only hand feed it and offer too much food. As we have mentioned, adults only need to eat 1-3 times a week.

If you keep trying to feed your leopard gecko just to get it to eat, this might have negative effects. Spread out the feedings, and this will result in a better appetite. Let your leopard gecko get hungry and make it hunt for food.

Tip 13

What is the supplementation schedule for your leopard gecko? Too much of vitamins, especially vitamin D3, can lead to loss of appetite and toxicity.

Make sure not to have a high UVB light (only allowed 5% or less ) in a leopard gecko’s tank. Don’t install any UVB lights in the tank is smaller than 30 gallons.

Tip 14

Your leopard gecko can also be infected with parasites and eat less or infrequently and you might confuse this with picky eating. If there are other signs, such as lethargy, infrequent pooping, regurgitation and others, this could be parasites. Take a fresh poop sample (less than 24 hrs) to the vet for a fecal examination.

Tip 15

Ovulating or gravid leopard geckos might become picky eaters. This is normal.

Tip 16

Is your leopard gecko eating less because it misses the bugs and seems to have problems catching them?

Your leopard gecko might be suffering from a neurological disorder, such as Enigma syndrome (read more in a new tab). Severity of neurological disorders can be different, and with some you will need to assist each feeding.