Eating issue :(

[dolfun55]

Morning gang...I need some advice

Lucy isnt eating well at all. She only seems to be interested in mealie worms once every few days and thats if I drop them in front of her to eat. Even at that she may only eat 1 or 2.
She doesnt seem interested in crickets at all. Her activity level seems normal. I have recently rearranged her tank (about 3 days ago) which as I understand can stress them out sometimes. Winter is upon us and the temps in the house are cooler now. I have her UTH and a red basking light up top to keep her warm. I have also out a towel over most of her tank to hold the heat in.

I know she isnt impacted. I use reptile carpet and I have looked at her belly to make sure a mealie hasnt got her impacted or anything.

Do Leo's eat less during this time of the year?
I have had her since July--maybe she just isnt interested in eating every day now that she is getting bigger?
I dont really want to get her in the habit of me "feeding" her...dropping worms in front of her but I also dont want her to not eat either.

Thoughts?

 

[Phantom240]

Sounds a lot like my girl was doing, though she WAS interested in crickets, but gave up quickly. She just recently got her appetite back. Do you know how old she is? Also, are you sure your temps are correct? I find that when I cool my room down too much, she doesn't want to eat, even with her UTH and red light. Does she have a humid hide?

 

[dolfun55]

She was just a baby when I got her in July of this year. The ambient temp is currently 75. The bottom of the tank where the UTH is at is temping 88.
She has a humid hide and spent most of the day in there yesterday. Today she is sleeping in her ledge rock that sits on top of her UTH.
I am leaning toward she isnt warm enough..thoughts?

Maybe I need to get a ceramic heater as a heat source from above for her during the cooler months of the year?
Those just concern me a little. I know you can put them right on top of the screen but I have heard they get REALLY hot.
I am afraid of a fire or over heating my girl. I am certainly open to suggestions.
I was able to get get to eat two worms this afternoon but again I had to toss them in front of her.
She is not at all interested in even looking in the dish with all the wiggling yummy worms in there.

 

[Phantom240]

88 seems okay to me, though a lot of people recommend around 92 on the warm side. Mine had been on a hunger strike for about two weeks after I got her in September. She'd eat, but wasn't too interested. If I had to guess, I'd say rearranging her cage might have upset yours a bit.

 

[dolfun55]

Gotcha...thanks Phantom

Do think I should get her a ceramic heater just to add some additional warmth in there for her?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

If you know the temperature where you live will be dropping lower, then it's likely a good idea to get a CHE to warm up the ambient temperature a bit. Leopard geckos are cold blooded, so when they get cold, they tend to slow down. Sometimes they even go into brumation given prolonged cold weather conditions. So a CHE won't hurt. You can find them at different wattages, so you don't have to get those 100 watt+ ones that heat up a lot. You can get a 60-watt for an example.

It'll warm up the air temperature a bit inside the terrarium so your gecko won't have to lay flat on the floor just to stay warm. UTH is great for belly heating, something leopard geckos need for digestion. But the air temperature above the surface can be quite cold even on the warm side during this time of the year. Good thing about a CHE is that they emit heat without light, so you can use them both day & night as needed.

 

[dolfun55]

Thanks Online Geckos!

The CHE wont get too hot to melt the screen or anything like that right? The screen is metal and has been fine with the red 50watt bulb I have in the basking lamp sitting on top of it.
They just scare me a little But I trust ya and I want to do whats best for my Lucy girl.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Correct, you won't have to worry about a 60-watt CHE overheating.

 

[dolfun55]

Good deal...thanks again...I'll pick one up for her in the next few days!