During eating, biting at air and twitching slightly?

[transcend11]

My 1.5 year old female leopard gecko has developed an odd behavior that has happened more and more regularly during feeding.

After she eats 5 or so mealworms, she will kind of hold her head like she's choking. (the worms aren't too big, she shouldn't be choking at all) She'll hold her throat a little odd and then make a quick biting motion at the air. She'll do this every 15 seconds or so for about a minute or two... and then it will go away, and she'll be ready to be fed more.

She's also added a 'twitch' during these periods as well recently. A small, full-body twitch, maybe a few times during the 1-2 minute period.

It seems like it's some sort of neurological issue... is this kind of thing common at all? She is completely normal and healthy in every other aspect. She eats, drinks, and poops normally. She's active every night. And she only has this odd behavior while eating.

Thanks for any feedback

 

[Bellalee]

Alot of my geckos do that.. the bite at the air turn their head. I would liken it to a snake moving there body around to push down the pray. If you notice they don't fully chew there food, so that's what I'm assuming... of course I probably am completely wrong.

As for the whole body twitch.. I don't think I have ever seen that.

 

[critternerd]

maybe the whole body twitch is to help compact food down better? just a thought.

 

[MichaelJ]

Some of our geckos will display the same behavior when consuming prey -- but it's usually with larger prey. They do this to crush and maneuver the food until it's fully consumed. What size meal worm are you using? Maybe try medium-size if you're using large. As long as your gecko is eating successfully, pooping regularly, and it looks normal - I wouldn't worry. It's good that you're keeping a close eye on her!

 

[GeckoNub]

Mine do the neck twist a lot when they eat bigger things like roaches. It just seems to be their way of swallowing their food and shouldnt be anything to worry about

When Bubba was really small he would eat about 4-5 mealworms then walk off into his hide. He would sit in there twisting then come back out again for more food

 

[snakegirl]

well if this odd eating patten just now started, with no changes in her diet try switching to a smaller size worm. even if right now seems to be ok. this way you can factor out the "big meal bites" and zero in on the subject of what is happening.