Thread: Hate to be another one of these... But please help

I got my African Fatty about a month ago.

I can post pictures of the enclosure later, but for now I'll just describe it.

Papertowel substrate, heating mat in the back corner (under thank), dry hide in the same corner (large enough that it's partly over the heating pad. Small dish of calcium, larger dish for water, and a ziploc box with sphagnum moss that I keep moist at all times. Additionally I spray the enclosure every morning, and some evenings.

I love this little guy and he's so chill. But he still refuses to eat the medium-small crickets. His tail is slowly shrinking, and I can see his hip-bones.

BTW, he is pooping. I'm not sure what to do.

Vet visit, could have parasites.

>.< That's what I was afraid of. By the way, congrats, I don't frequently see people with as wide of an assortment of pets as I have.

How big is the enclosure? Fat tails are a very secretive species. I've suggested to multiple others about either placing them in a smaller enclosure or adding a ton of additional hides. Fat tails to seem to be as bold when hunting prey unless they feel secure with coming out of their hides. When these people changed their setup their geckos started eating frequently and have gained a healthy amount of weight. A vet check could be a good idea but you may want to consider changing your enclosure a bit to see if that helps.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Where did you get the AFT? Is it captive breed or wild caught?

Check with where you got him to see what they were feeding him, could be that hes never eaten crickets before and was raised on mealworms. Also, they can take a while to settle into their new homes and can go MONTHS (as one of mine did) before they eat. Also, as others have recommended, vet check, and add some hides. Maybe get a few mealworms and see if that perks his interest. I hope he starts eating soon!!