Hatchling won't eat...

[LoveForLeos]

Is there any way to get my hatchling to eat? This is the first hatchling I have ever had not eat...I usually have no problems. All the other hatchlings are doing great and growing fast. This little guy has no intrest in food...help!

 

[Keith N]

How old and what have you tried?

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

Before I/we can really suggest anything we need to know how old it is to see if its a problem or a slow starter.

 

[LoveForLeos]

2 weeks old. I have tried mealworms and crickets...any suggestions would help.

 

[acpart]

I have found that some hatchlings take much longer to figure out how to eat and (maybe this is my fault) some are just never any good at bowl feeding. Here's what I do:

--I expect it to take at least a week before some of the hatchlings figure out what eating is and do it regularly
--if a hatchling doesn't seem to be catching on, I hold it and gently press a mealworm against the side of its mouth. I find that the hatchlings are more likely to open up and bit the mealworm than the older geckos
--some hatchlings are failure to thrive and won't eat no matter what. They may have something wrong with them that we can't see. I've had a few fade away and die for no visible reason

The downside of hand feeding like I describe above is that some hatchlings get very dependent on this. I've had a few hatchlings who decided that my fingers were the mealworm dispenser, so if I held a mealworm near them they would bite my finger. Most of these hatchlings didn't end up doing well when they got older with a bowl of mealworms. Some of them were inclined to chase crickets and I still have 2 juvies to sell that really only eat well when superworms are dropped in front of them.

Aliza

 

[LoveForLeos]

Thanks for the advice. Do you ever have any that do eventually eat without hand feeding even if they need to be hand-fed to get started?