1 month old and still not eating...

[JordanAng420]

I have had a pretty darn good season this year as far as babies go. I hatched 2 novas (one that's an unbelivable fluorecent orange and red), a dreamsicle, and a banded raptor.

All the babies are doing well, the oldest hatched on June 17th, the dream hatched on Aug. 17th, and the raptor and the holdback nova hatched on Aug. 27th...

Everyone is pooping, and all but the raptor are eating. He's not emaciated or even too skinny, per se, but he sure isn't developing as well as everyone else.

He seems afraid of everything, especially mealworms and pinhead crickets, they scare the bejesus out of him. He very, very nervous and flighty.

My question is, do I just hold out until he decides to eat? Or is there a point where I should make the decision to cull him?

He does poop, shed, and drink. He's extremely active...which is why i'm hesitant to make the decision to cull.

Honest opinions?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

If there are no other issues besides not eating I would give the slurry a shot for a few days to see if that stimulates him to eat on his own. Several of mine went 1-2 weeks before they finally started. Nerve-racking. One didn't eat for a month and was struggling, so.. it was culled. Maybe yours will respond with a little jump start

 

[robin]

if he is pooping then he is eating

 

[JordanAng420]

Well what the heck is he eating? None of the mealworms have been missing from his dish. He shows no interest in food. However, he sheds regularly, drinks regularly...unless my boyfriend is secretly feeding him behind my back (which I doubt, because he can't even put the toilet seat down) I don't understand what he would be eating? As far as I know, he's only eaten 3 mealworms in an entire month...force fed.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

if he is pooping then he is eating

That's what I was thinking too. If his skin is translucent enough you can see if he has anything in his guts by candeling him like an egg.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

That's what I was thinking too. If his skin is translucent enough you can see if he has anything in his guts by candeling him like an egg.

How do you candle him? Wouldn't that hurt him? (sorry for the off topic post... but i'm curious)

 

[acpart]

I have had hatchlings who were very reluctant to eat and I went the route of holding them and pushing mealworms into their mouths regularly to get some weight on them. Here is the range of how that turned out (based on my memories of the last 3 years or so):

--one never really took the worms I tried to feed him, didn't thrive and died after about 10 days
--a few gained weight very slowly and always needed some amount of intervention to feed (meaning that I would have to hold the feeder down with 1 finger; I have adults who require this so it isn't a big deal for me)
--a few got used to being handed their worms and would even attack my finger, thinking it was feeding time. Most of these never did too well with a dish of worms but were fine with supers or crickets since they move around more
--some just got over it and figured out how to eat once they got a little bigger.

Personally (and this is just what I do, not a strong recommendation) I wouldn't go to slurry with any gecko that can possibly eat solid food and am even less likely to start a hatchling on it. I also wouldn't cull a gecko simply because it isn't eating well on its own, unless I discover that there are other factors that are keeping it from eating. I'd probably decide that there are other factors if I wasn't able to successfully hand feed it.

Aliza

 

[fl_orchidslave]

How is this baby doing?

 

[Jordan]

I have had hatchlings who were very reluctant to eat and I went the route of holding them and pushing mealworms into their mouths regularly to get some weight on them. Here is the range of how that turned out (based on my memories of the last 3 years or so):

--one never really took the worms I tried to feed him, didn't thrive and died after about 10 days
--a few gained weight very slowly and always needed some amount of intervention to feed (meaning that I would have to hold the feeder down with 1 finger; I have adults who require this so it isn't a big deal for me)
--a few got used to being handed their worms and would even attack my finger, thinking it was feeding time. Most of these never did too well with a dish of worms but were fine with supers or crickets since they move around more
--some just got over it and figured out how to eat once they got a little bigger.

Personally (and this is just what I do, not a strong recommendation) I wouldn't go to slurry with any gecko that can possibly eat solid food and am even less likely to start a hatchling on it. I also wouldn't cull a gecko simply because it isn't eating well on its own, unless I discover that there are other factors that are keeping it from eating. I'd probably decide that there are other factors if I wasn't able to successfully hand feed it.

Aliza

Yeh i agree with this.

When i have a hatchling thats not eating for so long i normally assist feed him a mealworm or two, then they realise its food and begin eating.

theres no reason to cull here at all, he just needs to become aware that its food and wont hurt him.
try hand feeding him, if he still wont take it, try assist feeding him.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

If hes shedding hes eating his skin isnt he?

 

[JordanAng420]

Well, he's still kickin' around...doesn't seem to be slowing down a bit. I have found a way to get him to eat...i'm not to happy about it, but it is what it is. I have to hold him in my hand, so he's vertical, with his head pointing towards the ceiling. I then push the mealworm against his mouth, at which point he tries to bite me, and I pop the worm right in. Gravity forces him to swallow it, and he seems to take them well, once he gets them in his mouth. I fed him 3 last night.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

That's great! Thanks for the update

 

[mainelygeckos]

Maia I also have one that wouldn't eat for a month..My lil tang..I got very nervous that she wasn't rating anything and had only shed once..about a week ago I decided to try force feeding it...it ate one..since it hadn't eaten in so long and I am sure I stressed it out i decided that was enough for that night..the next night 2 worms were taken and kept down..the third night he/she decided it liked the worms and now sits on my hand every night eating til it's full..I still place worms in it's dish after its done eating but every night those same worms are still in the dish tho its very happy to eat from my tweezers lol..Unfortunately its right front leg appears to be a slight limp to it..I am thinking its the beginning of MBD and I am making sure it get plenty of calcium on its worms every night. I think it will be just fine now tho a lil spoiled and having to be hand fed for quite some time as I am not willing at this time to stop hand feeding until it has put on enough weight for me to feel comfortable with it going without long enough to realize what the food dish is ..I hope your lil guy eats well for you Good luck!

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

I recently had a new hatchling that didn't eat for 18 days. I finally got it to eat by putting a single mealworm on a white plastic teaspoon and just kept following the gecko around with the spoon in her face. It took many nights of trying this but then there was that "Ah ha!" moment when she actually saw it. She's been eating great for over a week now, every night.

 

[JordanAng420]

He's EATING!!! All by himself!!! Oh happy day... now maybe he'll start to grow... he still looks exactly the same as the day he hatched.

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

Awesome! :main_thumbsup: