Hey All,

My (other, non-snake owning) son got reptile jealous and wanted a gecko for his birthday. We got a leopard gecko who is a juvenile and the following living set up:

20 gallon tank
60W moon UVB on one side
Hot side: Moist hide (i forget the name but has the sponges at the top) and regular stone hide that gecko can also bask on top of
Cool side: Another hide
I forget the substrate but some type of woodchips, dark brownish, that pet store recommended
Bowl with calcium supplement
Water bowl

We got him last Friday, Feb 24th. So it's been 6 days.

Pet store recommended Phoenix worms for food and also recommended keeping in fridge to prevent them from turning into soldier flies. I looked online after and saw fridge would be too cold for them but I've been using it for a week and after taking them out they reanimate in about an hour.

I have a shallow ceramic bowl for feeding. The first day I was going to leave the worms in the bowl but I saw that a couple were actually able to climb out. So now I'm paranoid that if the worms get loose in the substrate they will turn into soldier flies that may then reproduce and I'd have a fly infestation (is this a thing?). So I've been trying to feed the gecko supervised at dawn and dusk. He's eaten maybe 3 different times, one grub each time. Most times I've tried he circles the bowl, licks around, but then moves on, sometimes climbing into and over the bowl, ignoring the worms.

I read that they may not eat when first coming home to new environment but should that phase be over by now? Should I be leaving the food in there to eat at his leisure? If so, maybe I need a better bowl? Or is the phoenix worms getting loose in the cage a non-issue that I shouldn't be so worried about?

Any recommendations appreciated!