Gecko has not eaten in a month.

[skyline]

My female leopard gecko has'nt eatern anything in a month I can see white things in her stomach but I dont know of there impaction or eggs. I though she was pregnant but now Im kindof worried. She wont eat anything. The only good thing I see is that she is nice and fat. Also she starting eating the peat moss I put in her laying box I've used that and vermiculite so what do I use for a laying box now. Does anyone know whats going on?

Thanks TY

 

[fallen_angel]

If you could post some pics, it would help. She could just be pregnant and hasn't laid yet, or she could be egg-bound.. ? Do the white blobs that you see in her stomach look like two eggs? It's perfectly normal for females not to eat when they are preggo, as long as they start eating right after they lay..

We also had the same problem with our females.. we had vermiculite, and two of the females were eating that, so we had to change to moss.. The females then started eating that too (and it caused some sort of irritation/rash on one of the males).. So I then used perlite that I had sifted into the tiniest grains possible, just to get the moss out of there until we bought something else (and they ate that too).. We are now using bed-a-beast (coco fiber) which seems to be a big hit with all of the geckos, as they have all been laying in the moist hideboxes since I've changed it, and one female laid her eggs the very same day

One little note, though. The moss we used was "frog moss" from PetSmart - we just bought it because it was the only moss the store had at the time.

 

[lytlesnake]

My local reptile store has New Zealand sphagnum moss, which is a nice golden color and it's really clean. The geckos like it, and so far I haven't noticed any of them eating it, and no rashes either.

You should post pics of that gecko so someone more knowledgeable than I can help you out.

 

[david13]

i have sphagnum peat moss..and i sifted it, the geckos seem to like it alot, and it is suuuuuppppeeeer small...
post a pic of your females tummy

 

[skyline]

Here are pics of her tummy I hope these help.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Has she been with a male? It looks like she has either very large follicles or actual eggs. Like everyone said, make sure she has a moist nest box to lay if she's going to.

Many females go off food when they ovulate, but most follicles get reabsorbed into their bodies if they are not fertilized. Occasionallly, they will turn in to infertile eggs and get laid.

After the eggs get laid, the females are usually very hungry. If she doesn't pass or reabsorb these eggs, it could be problematic if she doesn't eat. ASlo, egg-binding can be an issue... especially with infertile eggs.

 

[david13]

i couldnt have said it better myself, haha

 

[Gecko Ranch]

If you could post some pics, it would help. She could just be pregnant and hasn't laid yet, or she could be egg-bound.. ? Do the white blobs that you see in her stomach look like two eggs? It's perfectly normal for females not to eat when they are preggo, as long as they start eating right after they lay..

We also had the same problem with our females.. we had vermiculite, and two of the females were eating that, so we had to change to moss.. The females then started eating that too (and it caused some sort of irritation/rash on one of the males).. So I then used perlite that I had sifted into the tiniest grains possible, just to get the moss out of there until we bought something else (and they ate that too).. We are now using bed-a-beast (coco fiber) which seems to be a big hit with all of the geckos, as they have all been laying in the moist hideboxes since I've changed it, and one female laid her eggs the very same day

One little note, though. The moss we used was "frog moss" from PetSmart - we just bought it because it was the only moss the store had at the time.

Never never use perlite as a laybox material, it is like giving your gecko little rocks to eat! Since that is what perlite is....

The expansion-type substrates like Bed a Beast are a risky thing to use as laybox/moist hidebox substrate because they can be eaten by the gecko, then expand in their stomach, which will likely result in death. I have had one solid case of this in a leopard gecko when a customer did this with a youngster they bought from me. Youngsters are more prone to eating substrates just because they are more curious than adults about everything, just like in people where they call this behavior "pica."

A nice spaghnum peat moss is good, also vermiculite. Mine eat vermiculite more when they are first introduced to and then less and less as they get used to it. Like the kids, they are just somewhat curious. It wears off pretty quick though. Once in a while I find a poop or two that has a lot in it. So far no health issues with it in 15 years of using it. I've had over 100 leopard breeders for many years, so I'd say that makes a good case for vermiculite being safe as a laybox medium.

 

[malt_geckos]

we use sifted peat moss in all of our moist hides. It is very cheap, holds moisture well (so if you're lazy like us, you only have to spray it twice a week ), and the geckos do well with it as a laying substrate. It's very small grained and they can pass it if they eat a bit of it accidentally.

As for the female, I can't see anything from the pictures. But what Marcia said is very helpful!

Good Luck! Hope she lays for ya.

 

[david13]

ya i use sifted peat moss too (idea from Mallorie)..

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I use 50% vermiculite and 50% sifted spaghnum peat moss in my lay boxes, and mist it evey other day.

 

[fallen_angel]

Never never use perlite as a laybox material, it is like giving your gecko little rocks to eat! Since that is what perlite is....
Yes, I sifted the perlite before I used it, it was just what we were using in between the moss and the bed-a-beast.

The expansion-type substrates like Bed a Beast are a risky thing to use as laybox/moist hidebox substrate because they can be eaten by the gecko, then expand in their stomach, which will likely result in death. I have had one solid case of this in a leopard gecko when a customer did this with a youngster they bought from me. Youngsters are more prone to eating substrates just because they are more curious than adults about everything, just like in people where they call this behavior "pica."
Thanks for the info. We don't have any little ones on anything but paper towel

A nice spaghnum peat moss is good, also vermiculite. Mine eat vermiculite more when they are first introduced to and then less and less as they get used to it. Like the kids, they are just somewhat curious. It wears off pretty quick though. Once in a while I find a poop or two that has a lot in it. So far no health issues with it in 15 years of using it. I've had over 100 leopard breeders for many years, so I'd say that makes a good case for vermiculite being safe as a laybox medium.
Our girls didn't seem to eat that much at first, then began eating more. One time I caught one of them literally chowing down on the stuff like it was some kind of buffet!! I really REALLY liked the vermiculite, it never let me down besides the females eating it... but I think I will get the sphagnum/peat moss as soon as we can, it's just that the pet store near us still didn't have it the last time we went

 

[Gecko Ranch]

Never never use perlite as a laybox material, it is like giving your gecko little rocks to eat! Since that is what perlite is....
Yes, I sifted the perlite before I used it, it was just what we were using in between the moss and the bed-a-beast.

The expansion-type substrates like Bed a Beast are a risky thing to use as laybox/moist hidebox substrate because they can be eaten by the gecko, then expand in their stomach, which will likely result in death. I have had one solid case of this in a leopard gecko when a customer did this with a youngster they bought from me. Youngsters are more prone to eating substrates just because they are more curious than adults about everything, just like in people where they call this behavior "pica."
Thanks for the info. We don't have any little ones on anything but paper towel

A nice spaghnum peat moss is good, also vermiculite. Mine eat vermiculite more when they are first introduced to and then less and less as they get used to it. Like the kids, they are just somewhat curious. It wears off pretty quick though. Once in a while I find a poop or two that has a lot in it. So far no health issues with it in 15 years of using it. I've had over 100 leopard breeders for many years, so I'd say that makes a good case for vermiculite being safe as a laybox medium.
Our girls didn't seem to eat that much at first, then began eating more. One time I caught one of them literally chowing down on the stuff like it was some kind of buffet!! I really REALLY liked the vermiculite, it never let me down besides the females eating it... but I think I will get the sphagnum/peat moss as soon as we can, it's just that the pet store near us still didn't have it the last time we went

I share Philippe de Vosjoli's opinion that ingesting substrate in excess is related to some sort of issue that we are not providing them that they need, for example, proper supplementation and diet. Of course this would apply to our more mature geckos and not the little ones.

 

[shadowx362]

do you think leopard geckos try to eat vermiculite and junk so it could help them poop just like i heard dogs and cats eat grass(catnip).

 

[fallen_angel]

I share Philippe de Vosjoli's opinion that ingesting substrate in excess is related to some sort of issue that we are not providing them that they need, for example, proper supplementation and diet. Of course this would apply to our more mature geckos and not the little ones.

We'll have to see if this is our problem, we need to get Calcium with D3

 

[skyline]

Thanks allot everyone. This really helped.

 

[Gecko Ranch]

do you think leopard geckos try to eat vermiculite and junk so it could help them poop just like i heard dogs and cats eat grass(catnip).

This is an interesting idea. Possibly insects in the natural environment of leopard geckos have substantially different fiber content than the commercial insects we
feed our captive bred leopard geckos. Regardless, it is highly likely there is something in their natural environment that we do not have precipitating this ingestion behavior.