Care for an enigma.

[AsianGecko]

I recently received an Enigma from a friend that was worried that it was sick. It was displaying clear signs of Enigma Syndrome though not very severe. Small periods of stargazing and spinning every now and then. Has not been eating but is still defecating . Any way I can make sure he eats? Currently feeding mealworms dusted with Reptivite and plain Calcium.

 

[acpart]

If necessary you can hold it and push the feeder towards its mouth. Also, if it will tolerate, you can feed it in a smaller enclosure, or block off part of the current enclosure (that's more relevant when feeding something like crickets). Some geckos eat mealworms given with tongs or tweezers.

Aliza

 

[AsianGecko]

I've read somewhere that if you try to force it into their mouths there may be a chance of it choking. I try not to handle him too much as it seems to worsen the symptoms of E.S. I read somewhere that it is possible to mash mealworms,bananas and raw eggs together and put some on his head for him to lick off.Would this method be more ideal? Also, would the housing be any different from a normal gecko's? I've tried putting him in a larger enclosure for a few days but he seems most secure in a smaller enclosure.

 

[suburbangeckos]

Housing should be the same as any other leopard. In our experience, some enigmas just aren't big eaters and are very slow growers as a result. Monitor the food intake by counting out a specific number of worms and see if it's eaten anything by your next scheduled feeding. If the animal becomes to thin, you may have to force feed by way of tweezers, tongs, etc (time consuming but sounds worse than it really is). Enigmas can be the coolest geckos when they're ES-free, but a maintenance nightmare when they're in less than perfect shape.