Still won't eat Pangea

[TyRe04]

My CG is around 8 mo old and still does not see Pangea (or any cgd, any flavour, honey or fruit) as food.
"If you can't attack it - it's not food!"

He has no curiousity for anything but insects.
From the day I got him 5 months ago he has had no interest in crested gecko diet!

His curiousity for anything but insects is non existing!

I can put in mashed bananas, pear, apricot, Pangea with insects or other flavours,
- but he actually backs away from it, litterly runns off and hide as soon as he realizes that what I put in was not dubia or BSFL (black soldier fly larvae).
If I somehow do manage to put some on his nose he quickly licks it off and turn around and jump off.
If I dust the insects with Pangea powder or D3 he is now also refusing to have even that!!!!

For many months I filmed him (IR) during the night to see what he was up to, to hopefully see him take a sneak lick on Pangea, but and he did not even get close to the then 4-5 bowls of CG placed on different places and hights!
He avoids them, walk quickly pass them, as they are unatable trash.

He lives in a 45x45x60 cm terrarium full of plants and the right moist and temperature and light. He's not afraid of my hands so I can mess around fixing in the tank without him being bothered or stressed.

Someone suggested that he should be moved to a smaller terrarium as that would make him more secure, and so I did. But that didn't do it either as after 8-9 days he still hadn't even looked at Pangea and was looking miserable and unhappy with clear sight of the ribs. I tried to offer him Pangea on a wooden shopstick or finger each day while in this smaller kritter, he just backed off very clearly. Did not want it. During this time I did not feed him any insects.

He. Does. Not. See. CGD. AS FOOD! Help, what more can I do???

All I do day in and day out is cleaning the terrarium, mist it and throw away untouched Pangea and fruit.
This is important for me to fix as if I would have to go to hospital I can get help feeding him with Pangea and mist, but not to give him insects!
Also he will eventually get sick with being a insects only diet!

In the wild the geckos surely must intuitively must feel the need for more nutrison, right? So why isn't this one?

[Eli.]

Hey! A few things to try:

1. Make sure the temps are ideal
2. If the terrarium is in a spot where your gecko is subject to loud noise, direct sunlight, cats, or other things that might make him/her stressed, try relocating the terrarium temporarily
3. Mix Pangea at different consistencies, try different flavors after about a weeks worth of feedings

I put together an article for Zoo Reptilia on this topic and it is based on my personal experiences and helping customers while working at Pangea here: https://www.zooreptilia.com/crested-gecko-not-eating/

[TyRe04]

Hey! A few things to try:

1. Make sure the temps are ideal
2. If the terrarium is in a spot where your gecko is subject to loud noise, direct sunlight, cats, or other things that might make him/her stressed, try relocating the terrarium temporarily
3. Mix Pangea at different consistencies, try different flavors after about a weeks worth of feedings

I put together an article for Zoo Reptilia on this topic and it is based on my personal experiences and helping customers while working at Pangea here: https://www.zooreptilia.com/crested-gecko-not-eating/

Thank you! The temps are ideal as well as the misting. No direct sunlight or cats or loud noices and I've tried all consistencies there is and flavours and brands. He shows no interest in Pangea/any cgd or fruit as food, not since birth 8 months ago!

[Vidja]

As I understand it, you have tried not giving him insects for a while. How long have you waited before you started giving insects again? A lot of people who say they tried this have gone less than a week without feeding insects in fear of starving their gecko, which usually isn't long enough, from what I've learnt from reading tons.

[TyRe04]

You are right, I did not try for 2-3 weeks to not give him any insects. I offered him a smörgåsbord of various fruit, Pangea and even honey and Pangea with crushed dried black soldier larvae for about a week. He did not given the bowls as much as a look during those days. No curiousity for the bowls. Not then, not now, not never. I was also adviced to not do this "starvation test" (no insects) for much longer to a juvenil with such a low body weight (4 gram).
Even if I in the present terrarium do not feed him insects for a week he has NO natural interest in seeking any other food than insects. Even if I dip the dubia in Pangea mix and feed it does not trigger a taste for more Pangea, he doesn't give a sh** about cgd.
I feed him insects with a tweezer and he attacks them in a second. Pangea you cannot attack, it needs licking to eat and sit by a bowl, and it seems as he doesn't even know naturally what to do.

[TAD]

He has you trained. What kinds of insects are you offering? Can you put them in a bowl (with high sides so they can't escape - something like a ramekin bowl, however that won't work for crickets). Anyway, try to get him off the hand-feeding. Offer a couple of insects in a bowl, once a week, and keep the Pangea available at all times. He has you trained that he will only take hand-feeding, and that can be a problem if anything ever happens to you, or you can't be home at some point to feed him. Keep a journal on his weight, if you can weigh him safely.

[TyRe04]

Spot on. I am well trained, I can see that now....! And that's a huge concern, as you said, if I can't be at home for some days or/and have to leave him to my family to care for in emergency events (hospital visit).
I feed him dead insects from Day 1 but he loves them regardless. I buy very well gut loaded dubia and freeze them instantly when coming home and before giving it to the little manipulator I soak them in luke warm water + dust them with vitaminer powder and D3 + Pangea powder. He is also given dried black soldier fly larvae (very well soaked to soften the shells) and 1-2 times/month live meal worms. I have actually tried for several times to put dubia and BSFL in a bowl (also as dead as given with a tweezer) but he did not notice them, obviously then as they are not handgiven.... They have to be served. With a tweezer. The insects in itself is not an issue, its great he loves them, but it's the habit of not eating any Pangea that's a huge concern.
Maybe we're on to something here? - should I remove most of the cork and decoration in the terrarium and leave a bigger space on the ground and place bowls with insects there, next to Pangea? But how would that increase his apetite for cgd?

[TAD]

No, don't remove anything. Most geckos prefer live insects, but I think in time your gecko will eat the Pangea if he's not given as many insects. He may lose a bit of weight at first, but they generally don't starve themselves. Gradually switch over. Offer the insects in a bowl if you can, without tweezers, once a week, and have the Pangea available - one ledge high, one low, until you find him eating, and which location he prefers. If you remove items, he will feel more exposed and insecure. Generally, the more foliage and hides, the better they like it.

[TyRe04]

So the test is on - again. I put lots of dubia in small cups on three different places and hights yesterday night, right next to where he use to sit, and observed him carefully throught the night (with a IR camera recording). If they had been served with a tweezer they would have been gone in 2 sec. but as usual he did not care. The Pangea mixes was also uneaten of course.

I think it's very clear by now - he simply just doesn't know how to eat from bowls, spoons or even right from the ground. Even if I hold the cup with dubia infront of him he doesn't eat them, just stair and walks off. Tonight we just sat on a cork for 5 hours and then went back to his sleeping place. Zero gecko activity. No searching for food.

This mix-and-throw-away is such a waste and quickly draining my Pangea supply and once its out I can't easily get hold of it again unless I import it expensivly from another EU country. Where I live we only have one (!) small scaled Authorized Pangea Dealer in the whole country and it's not a guarantee they have Pangea in stock always (or smaller package sizes)!!!!! Then he will for sure starve if he won't accept Repashy when that time comes (which I can by now for sure tell he won't).

Sorry if I sound so negative but this is causing me stress, to be honest, and I just want it fixed.