Crested gecko won't eat diet. Are mealworms safe or hard to digest?

It is always recommended to gut load all prey to maximize nutritional value. Crickets, mealworms and other prey typically arrive from suppliers with a piece of fruit or gel for moisture and cardboard or simple oats for food. When you get them home, offer a high quality baby cereal mix, tropical fish flakes and fresh greens and veggies. The nutrition they receive will then be passed on to Rio. Crickets are more nutritious than mealworms, especially adequately gut loaded crickets. Less chitin as well unless they are freshly molted mealworms. If you feed a diet such as Repashy, Rio shouldn't need additional calcium unless he has a deficiency. This would need to be diagnosed by your herp veterinarian. Since you feed other foods as well, he may not be getting enough calcium, so dusting any live prey would be recommended.

Thanks for reaching out about Lexi. Mealworms are generally bags of fat, and needed to be gut loaded to provide any nutrition. But other insects must be offered to provide a healthy diet. Don't forget UVB radiation and the proper heat support. Bearded dragons also should eat a wide variety of vegetables. Good luck.

Check the temperature in his enclosure. Low temps can affect appetite in reptiles. Offer prey about 2 hours after the heat lamp turns on in the morning. Make sure he is well hydrated by soaking or misting him regularly. It may be a preference. If he is eating the Repashy CGD regularly, don't worry too much about him eating crickets or not.

Offer appropriately sized prey, no bigger than the space between the eyes. Confirm proper temperature as well. Low temps can affect appetite and digestion in reptiles. Be sure to dust prey at every feeding with a multivitamin and calcium supplements. Gutloading prey for 24 hours will also maximize nutritional value. Do not be concerned if she refuses food for one day.

Crestview can eat crickets, but feeding solely crickets is not a healthy or balanced diet. At most, feed 5-7 appropriately sized crickets twice a week. The majority of the diet should be a crested gecko diet, such as one from Pangea or Repashy. If she doesn't get stressed being moved, you can feed her in a separate container if that is easier for you.

Give him a good soak (20-30 minutes) in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte. This will provide hydration and warm him up which may stimulate his appetite. An exam with your veterinarian or an experienced herp vet is always recommended for "new" pets or pets that may be ill or injured. Offer food about an hour or 2 after the heat lamp comes on in the morning. This will allow him to warm up and he will be more likely to eat what is offered. Use a variety of prey if possible. This can include crickets, dubia roaches, phoenix worms and the occasional superworm. Superworms are good to feed if you have a skinny gecko that needs to put on weight. Review additional care info here: http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html

Adult dubias should not be offered to a juvenile beardie. They are too big and chitinous. You can feed dubia nymphs though. Use the "no bigger than the space between the eyes" rule. The same goes for mealworms, use only freshly molted worms. You can tell these because they are a whitish color not brown or tan.