Feeding Times

[Korb]

Hello, I am curious as to how often geckos eat or is it different for each gecko?

I have had 2 leo's for about 6 months now. Both look great however they went from eating every other day to about 1 time per week.

Could they just be getting bored with their food? I try and switch it up as much as possible between Meal worms, crickets, Phoenix worms. sometimes they wont eat at all for 1 week.. anyone else ever have any problems with this? they arent losing/gaining any weight.. I use indoor/outdoor carpeting as substrate, and have used it since I have had them. so i dont think it can be impaction....

 

[GoGo]

It might be because the temperatures in your tank are a bit too low and they feel so sleepy. Or your geckos might be bullying each other. What sexes are they? Oh and also it could be they just don't feel like it. If theyre not losing or gaining weight its not really anything to worry about.

 

[Korb]

i dont think it is a temp thing. i have a UHT and lamps. the tank is always around 85ish at the hotside during the day. and doesnt get below 75ish at night.. I have both female. they seem to get along just fine.. they cuddle when they sleep even.

I will see what happens in a week or 2.. I think they just dont feel like eating or they're just not hungry...

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I think it IS a temp thing. The hot side should be 90-93 at ALL TIMES. Your hot side is getting colder than your cold side should ever be. Cuddling while they sleep is actually not a good sign. They are solitary animals and like their own space, so most likely, one of them is bullying the other. I would separate them and kick their temps up to about 92, then see how things are after a week or so. It could also be that they are starting to produce eggs. If they are not fertilized, they will just reabsorb them, but that is a cause of a loss of appetite.

EDIT: What color light bulbs in your lamps? Bright lights stress them out a lot. If you feel you really need lights, use a red, black, or blue bulb because leos cannot see those colors.

 

[Korb]

i will bump of the temp then.. everything I have read said that 82-88*F is a good temp. the Night light is a Black light and the day time light is well.. a regular light color? haha im not too sure what to call that... but during the day you dont even notice the light is on.

 

[GoGo]

Regular light color is no good. Leos are noctournal, stick to red lights and blue lights. Oh and one day id like to meet this everyone and prove how wrong he or she is about so many things.

 

[Korb]

I didnt say everyone I said everything.. http://www.leopardgecko.com/emcare.html shows 82-88* as okay. http://www.pythons.com/lg-care.html this site shows 85* as okay.
http://www.geocities.com/geckodistrict/leopard.html another 82-88*
http://www.bright.net/~a1rep/a1leocare.html 85* day 75* night.

each one seems to have a different preference as far as temperature. so i am assuming anything from 85-90* as okay. so I dont think that temp is the issue.. the lighting maybe however. I will be changing that today thanks for the info! :main_thumbsup:

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I have read many posts on here where people had their temps around 87-88 and their leo would not eat. They raised it to 91-92 and ate like crazy. Just a thought though, I am so no one knows "for sure". I just suggested that because that seems to work for everyone without problems. Keep us posted.

 

[Korb]

I will bump it up to 91 as suggested.. think a heat lamp that gives off no light would be best for day? I think they are called Porceline heaters?

 

[Cricket]

I am new to Leopard geckos myself. One mistake I was making was measuring the air temp instead of floor temp. I was having problems maintaining 90 deg until I found out it was suface temperature I should have been measuring, not air.

 

[Korb]

So i set the tank up to 90* as suggested... my leo's do not seem to like that too much.. they now sit at the cooler end of the tank most of the time..

They are up to eating 2 days this week now. so it is an improvement.

 

[KiKi]

they will get used to the warmer temps and then they will be in the warmer area most of the time

 

[Scott&Nikki]

How are you measuring the temps? Are you sure it is 90?

 

[monkeygirl]

i was 'told off' by the local pet shop for using normal bulbs (which i got with the tank from a different pet shop and he said it was ok) but this lady said normal bulbs can blind the geckos so i use a red bulb now during the day if they get cold, most of the time they dont need it though

 

[Scott&Nikki]

i'm actually surprised they were close to on the right track. I dont know if it blinds them, but at least they know they arent "good" to use.

 

[Korb]

When i originally got the tank the dude at the pet store gave me everything i "needed" i swapped to red lights and everything seems to be fine now. ty for the info. they still eat every 2 days or so and i guess thats somewhat normal. They arent losing/gaining weight, they just shed and now they are bright and pretty* so i guess everything is fine.. they are used to the 90* and seem more active..

They seem to be fine. and happy at the moment. Ty for the info.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

how are you measuring your temps, though?

 

[GoGo]

Yea, how you measure is important. Lol my birthday is this saturday and one of the things I want is a temp gun to help me control my geckos tank better.

 

[GeckoGroupy]

Will be switching to a red light this weekend after reading this. Though she's had a standard reptile heat lamp for a year and a half.