I'm a little concerned...

[TheHabit]

I got my leo on friday night, and since then I've only seen him eat a couple mealworms. The girl at the pet store told me he has always eaten crickets (he was a breeder there for 5 years) but I haven't seen him eat a single one . Temps are stable, 88-89 on the warm side, 78-79 on the cool side. Since I've had him hes only eaten 2 mealworms, and only when I set them in front of his hide. I guess maybe he is still settling in? Any help is much appreciated.

[Clementine_3]

Your guess is right, he's still settling in
Are you leaving crickets in there all the time? They may be stressing him, try taking them out and putting them back in tomorrow night, taking them back out etc. Sometimes it just works best if they aren't jumping around all the time. But he really does just need time to relax and get used to his new digs. Don't panic just yet

[TheHabit]

thanks much for your reply

[Ringo]

I wouldnt be too worried about it because mine really doesnt eat that much either. I usually put about 5 or 6 large mealworms in a dish for her and that has lasted up to a week before. Sometimes it lasts one night. Just take a deep breathe and relax everything will be ok lol. I know how you feel though cause everytime I add a new species to my collection I freak out over every little thing too. That is why I love this site because it has so many well informed people to help each other along the way. A person can never be given too much advice or listen to too many opinions. It is what allows us to make the best decisions.

[TheHabit]

Yeah Im giving a lot of thought to raising my own mealworms. Anyone have a detailed info sheet on starting up a mealworm colony?
The people at the pet store told me 50 crickets should last him about a week, so I've been keeping them in a critter keeper with apple and potato slices :/

[Ringo]

You need at least 500 mealworms. I use chicken starter for substrate. You can buy it at a local feed store in 50 lbs bags. I think I paid $12 for it and will last a really long time. Fill a plastic sterilite tub 3 to 4 inches with the substrate and add the mealworms. That is basically it just let them do their thing. You can add potato and apple slices for moisture just make sure that you change them out every couple of days. You can also get a small rack system if you want to seperate the different stages. I am currently using a rack system but I am switching to a tub because I am going to use a UTH. I checked the temperature in the rack and it is only 70 degrees and I want to bump the temp up to about 80-85 to speed up the process.