my problem feeder ate a baby Mediterranean Gecko

I know some will disagree and say it's a BAD idea to feed lizards from outside your home. When I was a lot younger I used to feed my snakes lizards from the yard, never with any problems. I have two Miami phase babies now. One eats great. The other had only eaten one pinky since 12-26 (the pinky was eaten around 1-2.) I've been trying to feed for the last week almost with no success. I found a Mediterranean Gecko hanging out around the porch light, a baby, and my difficult feeder ate it in about 15 minutes, after leaving pinkies for two whole nights. These lizards look almost like a pinky with a longer tail, which should help the transition to pinkies, hopefully in the near future. I live on the edge of a forest, so it's unlikely I'm putting much of a dent in the lizard population. Half the problem now is the snake is so small it can barely eat a 'normal size' pinky, and the local shops tend not to carry the smallest pinkies (called 'reds' I was told.) I'm not planning to feed lizards forever - just to hopefully get the snake in the habit of eating and also large enough to handle a big pinky with no problem. The Mediterranean Geckos are pink with 'suction cup' feet. The breeder mentioned it as an alternative, and he's also in Florida where those lizards are common. They are more nocturnal than most lizards (can be found hunting for bugs near a porch light.)

Instead of feeding your snake the Mediterranean Gecko you could try scenting a pinky by rubbing it against one or wetting the pink a little and placing a piece of gecko shed on the pink. This way you'll have a better chance of getting it back on mice.

That's what I was going to suggest.

Agreed...

Unless you plan to feed it lizards for the rest of its life (and once it's full grown, you will be spending a LOT of time catching geckos to keep it full)...I would begin the transition to pinkies immediately...

It can be surprising the size of prey that a hatchling is able to swallow and keep down...if the pinks available to you are truly TOO large...you can always use just the head (I usually cut them behind the front shoulders while still frozen and then thaw them...very easy and much less mess)

I agree with Dan and Meg...you will probably get better success scenting a pink. Although 2 weeks isn't necessarily a long time to go without eating.
Also...idon't keep giving them the same prey item repeatedly (every night) if they keep refusing it...if your snake doesn't eat...wait a couple of days and try again..or you may create a conditioned response where they will absolutely refuse that prey item, irregardless of how hungry they may be.

Thanks for the replies. I actually bought a Green Anole last night for $5.99, before I found the Gecko. After thinking about it all night, I broke off the tail and turned the Anole loose this morning (he's big enough that he should be able to compete with the Brown Anoles with no problem, and my yard is full of trees/plants and bugs.) Green Anoles are native to this area, so it doesn't seem too terrible to me (not like releasing an iguana or monitor.) I froze the tail and plan to use it for scenting in the future, assuming I can't find a Gecko to use for scenting (if it's too cold outside). Is only a big Anole tail enough to scent with??

larryg said:

Is only a big Anole tail enough to scent with??

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Yes. I've used just little pieces of shed from an anole for scenting before.

For scenting, do you need to thaw the tail before using it?

You shouldn't have to. Just rubbing it on the pinky should do.

Thanks, I'll try it in a few days.