Baby Geckos not eating / acting weird

[PlaidCrayon]

Hi, I'm new to the site and joined because I need help! Bad.

On September 24 (Last Wednesday), I bought 2 young leopard geckos. I didn't buy them from a pet store, but instead from a "hippie" shop (I know it sounds bad but they actually breed and take care of their reptiles!). Here's how it went.

I went in the buy the geckos, and knew what I was doing. I had researched all about these geckos and how they should look and behave long before buying them. Yes, it is my first time! But I feel that I'm still educated enough to care for them.

So I went in and they only had 3 babies available. The girl working there was obviously new. I asked if she knew how old they were and she said no. I asked if they were related, she didn't know that either. Slightly frustrated, I took the two liveliest geckos. The third had a regenerated tail and I felt bad for it, but I couldn't afford all 3. So we left with the geckos.

I got home and introduced them into their new home! It's a 20 Gal tank, with 3 hides. One moist, one warm, and one cool. I have everything else they need too, including the heater and the calcium. (When you see the pictures, don't yell at me about the substrate! I couldn't afford anything and all my friend had to give me was coconut fiber to use for now!) The thermometer reads 86 on the hot side, and there isn't much I can do to change that.

I let them get situated and learn the new environment for a few hours. I didn't touch them much, as tempting as it was! I just let them settle in.

Now, I will describe the geckos. Since I don't know their genders quite yet, I call them "the big one" and "the little one".

"The big one" looks to be older and healthier than the other. Its tail is fatter and always had been. "The little one" is smaller and has a thin tail. I'm not sure if they have a significant age difference but they do differ greatly in size. Based on internet pictures I can assume that they are 2-3 months old.

Now, here is my problem. I've tried feeding them many times since I got them. I feed them outside their tank so that I can monitor if they are eating or not (Is this a problem?). I've tried both mealworms and small crickets.

"The big one" has eaten 3 mealworms total since Wednesday on 3 separate occasions. I'm not too concerned with this, since it is taking in food. But his catch is that he just isn't active. He stays in the warm hide almost all day, and rarely goes into the moist hide, but never travels anywhere else in the tank. Ever. His tail isn't showing signs of being spoiled, but it isn't thin.

"The little one" hasn't eaten a thing. The crickets seem to scare him, and the mealworms don't seem to interest him at all most of the time. There was one time when he went up to a mealworm, nudged it with his nose a couple times, then ignored it again. There isn't anything wrong with his mouth, I've seen him open it. Though he isn't eating, he does travel back and forth between the hides quite frequently. He likes to stay by the big one, but he does venture out by himself. Ever since I got him, his tail was quite thin, but I honestly think it has gotten smaller since then.

They both share common problems. I haven't seen them go anywhere near the water, food, or calcium dish the entire week. I haven't found any poop in the tank either. I've seen little yellow spots on the paper towel in their moist hide, though.

So, can someone please tell me what to do! The little one isn't eating a bit and he was already thin when I got him! I swear his tail gets smaller each day and I'm so concerned! Also, what can I do to make them more active or drink more or take their vitamins? I'm concerned about the smaller one's health, but also the big one because he is very inactive!

I will attach pictures that were ALL TAKEN THE DAY I GOT THEM! (Except the one I labeled different)


(Can someone tell me if this is normal behavior? Lol!)

(Actually, I took this picture on Friday. Their tails look like they're getting smaller don't they?!)

(The Little One)

(The Big One)

 

[Dinosaur!]

I know you already wrote a ton, but it would really help us if you could fill this out as best you can. It will let us get to the basics, and figure out what needs to change to get them healthy http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/70912.htm


As for the cocofiber.... It is fine for the moist hide, but I would reccomend switching to paper towel, tile, or repti-carpet, even just temporarily. Coco-fiber is a loose substrate that you geckos can ingest, causing an impaction. This is a very costly and risky issue to fix, and isnt worth risking your geckos lives. Also, It will hold moisture, and raise the humidty rather high, which can cause an upper respritory infection.

I will comment on the heating and feeding/supplementing once you fill out that sheet. That way i will know how to answer correctly.

But I will definately reccomend seperating those two. The picture with the "little one" and the "big one" stacked on eachother is a bad sign. While it is very cute, and seems friendly, that is actually a struggle for dominance in the gecko world. The little one (as ridiculous as it seems considering their sizes) will continue bullying the other one, causing stress, and stress kills reptiles in the long run.

Also, in the future you may have to seperate them anyways. They could both turn out to be male, which would cause them to fight, and possibly kill eachother, or wound eachother severely. They could also turn out to be male and female. If that happens, the male will breed with the female no matter what age, weight, or health she is in. This could cause egg binding, severe stress from over-breeding, and possibly death. Not to mention that their genetics are unknown, and should not be bred anyway. If they both turn out to be female in the future, you can safely house them together as long as you moniter their weights, and make sure that no one is being bullied though


I, and the others on this forum, will gladly point you in the right direction to having two great geckos for many years. It does sound as if you did your research, and that you are just making some beginner mistakes that can be fixed pretty easily Please fill out the form, and we will do our best to help

 

[indyana]

I agree that the survey would be helpful in determining if their environment is ideal, but because you have only had them for one week, you really cannot expect normal behavior yet. It can take many weeks for geckos to adjust to a new life. Additionally, they are usually most active at night, in the dark, so even if you don't see them active while you're awake, they could be running around at night when no one's there to stare at them.

 

[pixiepurls]

I am no expert but you said you read a lot and where prepared well I read a lot too and this is my take...

#1 if you have 2 gecko's you need to have 2 of each type of hide. Them both going in the same hide doesn't mean they want to be together it could mean they both like that hide. Your supposed to have 2 wet, 2 dry for 2 gecko's but as others have stated you may be better off separating them. With your having a skinny one i would take that skinny one out. if you can't afford a tank then get a large cheap plastic bin. Watch youtube videos see what the breeders keep them in and copy that. Very very cheap. Don't mess with her, put meal worms in a ceramic cheap dish they can't crawl out of, put some vitamin powder in a water bottle cap, put some water in a cheap container and let her be for a few days. Don't mess with her. The big one will probably eat better once the little one is out. Then go on craigs list and look for a 10gal cheap tank... she will be fine in the plastic bin util you get one.

#2 Always ask what a seller is FEEDING THEM before taking them home. Go stop back by the shop, call them and ask what did they eat and what size. This way you can be assured you are offering the same thing.

#3 its not about money, all you need is newspaper or paper towels for the hides and tank bottom. You don't need anything else. What were they housed in at the store? The coconut fiber could be a big change for them if they are not used to it. So for example at this point leave the coconut fiber, just let them get used to everything. No changes if you can help it unless its for heat/health.

#4 my breeder told me to leave the gecko alone for 3 days after getting her, don't change the tank, don't take her out, let her get used to it and by removing them and changing things you can reset the clock in how long it takes them to get comfortable. I will admit I dropped food in the cage the first few days I couldn't help but offer but only 2 crickets and she was not interested so I removed them after 20 minutes. On the 4th day she finally ate. My breeder was exactly right in how long it would take.

#5 heat - They need those under heating pads. They are $15 on amazon, $19 in the pet store chains. You need 2, one for each gecko. They also sell "mini" ones you could get 2 of those to save a little bit of money, they are like $5 less so it would save you $10 total. If you want to be really cheap go on amazon and look up heat tape, if your crafty you can figure out how to use that its super cheap compared to those heat mats. You don't need a heat lamp, you need belly heat for them to digest food and they won't eat if they know they can't digest it.

#6 I would stop taking them out to feed them, its probably too scary for them. I understand if you have that coconut stuff its hard to feed them in the tank. I have newspaper and she runs incredibly well on the newspaper, the reptile carpet is nice but she actually gets her teeth stuck on it sometimes. I remove her wet hide which is just a plastic container in the middle, and I leave the others and let her hunt crickets in her tank.

Good luck.