Adult male leopard geckos not eating

[crazylizardlady]

I bought two adult male leopard geckos from a breeder, they arrived via overnight shipping August 19th. Both were chubby and in good health when they arrived. One of them seemed curious as he proceeded to climb all over his cage scent marking every inch he could reach while the other did seem a bit stressed and immediately went into his hide where he stayed for several days. The problem is neither of them have eaten anything since I got them. The breeder I got them from was feeding dubia roaches and mealworms. I started out putting a couple mealworms in an escape proof bowl after a good week and a half of them not being touched I tried dubias also in an escape proof bowl placed close to their hides. Both geckos seemed interested as I was putting the food in but the bugs were still there and theres no poops so they arent eating them. I havent handled them at all other than the day they got here to put them into their tanks. I have all my reptile tanks and feeder insects in one room so I am in and out of that room at least once a day but I dont open the males tanks except to change out their water and insects every couple days. The bigger male seems to have lost a bit of weight but not much hes still pretty chubby, he shed a couple days ago with no issues and he spends most of his time hanging out in his humid hide. The other one doesnt look like hes lost any weight and comes out of his hide more often but usually goes back in when Im in the room. My other leopard gecko I bought as a juvenile and he adjusted within a day or two so Im kind of at a loss with these guys. I have emailed the breeder but I figured I would ask here in the meantime to see if anyone had any suggestions. Do they just need more time or is there something else I should do?

About your leo:
- Sex Both males
- Age & Weight each was hatched in July 2013 current weight unknown both were around 80grams when the breeder last weighed them
- How long have you owned your leo both arrived August 19th
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) breeder

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo have not handled either of them since they arrived
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. Theyve acted pretty much the same since they arrived other than they arent hiding as much they do come out and move around now.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. unsure
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) both looked normal the last time they went
- When was the last time he/she went one went on august 26th the other on sept 4th nothing since then
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on have not eaten since I got them August 19th

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size one-36x18x24 the other 24x18x18
- Type (ex. glass tank) exoterra low glass
- Type of substrate ecoearth (will be switching to tile as soon as possible just dont want to stress them out more moving them around and changing things up again)
- Hides, how many, what kind each has 3 hides one warm one cool and a humid hide between the cool and warm side tupperware container with damp paper towels changed out every couple days
B) Heating
- Heat source UTH with a thermostat
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) 88-90 hot side 70-75 cool side
- Method of regulating heat source thermostat
- What are you using to measure your temps digital prob thermometer and thermostat with a prob.
- Do you have any lights (describe) no lights
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) no cage mates each is kept individually
- Describe health, or previous problems none that Im aware of

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) gutloaded dubia roaches and mealworms dusted with calcium because they have not eaten I dont have a frequency I do change out the bugs every 2-3 days sooner if they die off
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) left in escape proof dish
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) repti calcium, flukers calcium with D3 every other feeding and herptivite multivitamin every 4th feeding because these guys have not eaten they do have a calcium dish with repti calcium with no d3 in their enclosures
- What are you gut loading food with oranges, carrots, bug gel, other fruit and veggies depending on what I have

 

[indyana]

Sounds okay. If these came from a breeder, they were likely kept in tubs previously, and your environment is a LOT different than they are used to. Because they are adults and have a lot of fat reserves, they may take a long time to adjust and start eating. You don't need to worry unless they start losing a lot of weight. Just keep disturbing as little as possible.

To tempt feeding, it may help to put a lot of worms (10-20) rather than only a few and add a piece of carrot. You'll waste some, but a larger group of moving worms is more likely to attract attention for feeding. Also, make sure the dish is low enough that they can see in, perhaps by partially burying in substrate or putting next to furniture they walk over.

 

[Neon Aurora]

I've had geckos not eat for a month and a half after receiving them. Shipping is quite stressful, along with the change in environment. Don't stress too much.

 

[crazylizardlady]

Thanks guys. Im still relatively new to leopard geckos so I just wanted to be sure that there wasnt something I was missing. The breeder emailed me this morning and said pretty much the same thing. Im just a worrier haha.

 

[indyana]

Even I worry when my guys stop eating for a bit, even though I know that reptiles just do that occasionally.

 

[crazylizardlady]

Update on these guys. The fat one has started eating but the big yellow one is not. Im getting pretty concerned because hes lost a good bit of weight at this point. I have meal worms in an escape proof dish in his enclosure, I even ordered the same cups the breeder uses off amazon hoping that might trigger something for him. He looks at the worms intently when I put them in but in the morning theyre all still there. Ive tried waxworms and dubia roaches as well. Is there anything I can do to get him started eating? I have some repta boost but I dont want to stress him out more trying to give him that until its absolutely necessary.

 

[indyana]

Not really. If he doesn't feel like eating, you either have to wait it out or start assist feeding, which will stress him out.

How much weight has he lost? If he still has fat reserves on his tail, I'd say keep waiting for him to get hungry and disturb as little as possible.

 

[crazylizardlady]

How much weight has he lost? If he still has fat reserves on his tail, I'd say keep waiting for him to get hungry and disturb as little as possible.

Im not totally sure, I havent handled him to weigh him, but if I had to guess Id say no more than 10grams his tail definitely still has some fat reserves. Ive read that often times the weight once it starts to come off can drop pretty rapidly, so I guess I was just worried that maybe there was something else I should be doing. Ill just keep an eye on him and cross my fingers he'll decide to eat soon.

 

[crazylizardlady]

This is the guy thats not eating its not the best picture but it was the best I could get at the time. I havent handled him to avoid stressing him out but his tank was overdue for cleaning and I had him on eco earth and wanted to make the switch to tile as well. He was 86g when he arrived, I weighed him while I had him out hes down to 77g. As you can see hes not super thin and definitely still has some fat in his tail but hes lost a bit of weight. Do you guys think he still looks ok?

 

[indyana]

Hmm, he doesn't look thin, but I would certainly keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't continue losing weight and reduce the fat stores on his tail.

I don't have any advice that's better than checking the temperature to make sure he's getting enough heat and continuing to offer food. If he continues to drop weight and starts looking sick, the next step would be a vet and determining whether he might have parasites.

 

[crazylizardlady]

Thanks Indyana. I was so worried about taking him out to clean the tank was going to stress him out more but it had to be done. Since then hes eaten 2 roaches which is more than hes eaten since he got here. I was so happy when I saw the roach gone I just about jumped up and down haha. He seems to be enjoying his new tile, hes been out exploring every day so Im hoping hes on the right track now.

 

[indyana]

That's good to hear.