Fat tail gecko severely under weight, not eating

[RRReptile]

I recently rescued an African Fat Tailed gecko from a "friend" of mine. Poor guy had been severely neglected, he had multiple layers of shed stuck to his feet, the end of his tail and on his head. He could not open his eyes, had the start of mouth rot, and was not eating. He was at about 13.6g when I took him. I have been feeding him the Zoo-med caloric supplement gel mixed with crushed up wax worms and de-shelled meal worms all mixed together in a paste. He was eating it fine out of the syringe without needing to be force fed (just a dab on his nose and he would start licking it off and then would just keep eating it until he had eaten enough to plump his belly, usually around 1 to 1.5 CC's). After a couple weeks I got him up to around 17g and got all of his stuck shed off his head, toes and tail. I also began treating his mouth rot and have seen significant improvement. He finally opened his little eyes 3 days ago, Which I was super stoked about, but now he will not touch the food from the syringe. He shakes off any dabs I put on his nose and runs away from the syringe. I have tried putting the gel in a dish, giving him little (1/4") crickets (legs pulled off so they still twitch around for him but won't run away too quickly), wax worms, phoenix worms, and even tried a meal worm. He won't touch any of them. His heat and humidity are at the correct levels and he is active and drinking normally. I am just wondering if any of you have any suggestions for food I can try, or maybe a caloric supplement paste or gel that he might like. I have had great luck with the caloric supplement from zoo med in the past (I have rescued and rehomed many geckos that were in bad shape) This is the first guy I've had that doesn't like the gel, and only after he opened his eyes. My thought was he was afraid of the syringe and my big hand in his tank. But his aversion to any food has me concerned.
Any advice would be helpful, Just wanna get the little guy plump & comfortable again.
Thanks!

 

[RRReptile]

About your leo:
- Sex: Male
- Age & Weight: roughly 3 years old, 16.8g
- How long have you owned your leo: rescued ~ 2 weeks ago
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): from a "friend"

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: try to feed 2-3 times a day, dont hold him yet to minimize stress
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: was eating from syringe, not anymore
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe: Aside from blatant neglect. He was a healthy gecko before.
B) Fecal
- Describe (look any different than normal): very small, semi watery poops (could be from semi-liquid diet)
- When was the last time he/she went: Yesterday (8/12/15)
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on
SEE ABOVE

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 20 gallon tank
- Type (ex. glass tank): Glass tank screen top
- Type of substrate: paper towels
- Hides, how many, what kind: 1 dry warm, 1 humid, 1 dry cool
B) Heating
- Heat source: Infrared bulb, Ceramic heat emitter @ night
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): ~95 F on hot side, ~85 F on cool side
- Method of regulating heat source: Thermometer and Day/Night timer
- What are you using to measure your temps: Thermometer
- Do you have any lights (describe): See above
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): 0, in quarantine until health improves
- Describe health, or previous problems: See above

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet: see above
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)
B) Supplements (describe how often): see above
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food with

 

[Kmay571]

You need an under tank heater. Fat tails, like Leo's, need the belly heat to digest properly. The cool side is also too warm. It should be below 80F.

Have you tried using your finger instead of the syringe? Or something smaller? When I was rehabbing a fat tail at work, it was absolutely terrified of the syringe coming towards its face, but was fine when it was just my fingers. Since he started reacting after he opened his eyes, I would assume it is fear.

Do you feed during the day or at night? He might be more comfortable eating at night, when he is active. Since he is drinking normally, you might want to try leaving the slurry in the tank overnight. He might now want the assisted feeding anymore.


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[RRReptile]

I have tried it on my fingers but only after trying it with the syringe. I will try it with just my fingers. Also the dish might work, I've tried it before but I'll give it another go. Also I have been feeding him typically around 9PM (when i feed my leos) and 4AM (when i get up to do my morning routine).
He does have a UTH, forgot to mention that in the heating. I will cut his temp down a little bit, I've read they like it from 80-95 as a range but those were general guidelines. It might help if i cut the heat back.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Kmay571]

I wish you best of luck! It sounds like you are doing everything right.


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