C
Chieira
Guest
I realize that this is a pretty common complaint, but I think the circumstances warrant me asking about it anyway, just to be safe. I do apologize for the repetition, though <3
My boyfriend and I recently got a leopard gecko. We are really fond of reptiles, but have always had snakes; this is our first time with a lizard. We've had him for a few months, and he's been doing fine, but recently when I opened his tank to feed him, he managed to jump out and fell about a foot and a half to the floor. At first, I panicked because he wasn't using his front legs, but I kept an eye on him for the next hour and he quickly began using his legs again with no problem and seemed fine. He didn't seem to be hurt at all, so I didn't think we needed to take him to the vet.
I decided to leave him alone for the rest of the day and just keep an eye on him, since I figured he was probably stressed, so I didn't feed him that day as I'd been intending to when he jumped out. The next day, however, he didn't eat at all. Again, I assumed he was just stressed and didn't worry too much about it since otherwise he seemed perfectly fine.
Now, however, it's been about three or four weeks, and he still refuses to eat. He also has taken to staying in his hide box all the time. I peek into the box to make sure he's still okay, and he walks around just fine. The only difference I've noticed aside from him not eating is that he seems a bit sluggish. I've read that leopard geckos can do some sort of semi-hibernation thing, and the cold weather did take us by surprise (it's Florida), so it took us a while to get his temperature adjusted when it got cold, so I'm wondering if that could be the reason for his hibernation? It didn't get really cold, but the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees and when I noticed, I checked the thermostats in both sides of his tank and it had dropped in there by a few degrees, too. Could this have caused the change in his behavior? The change in temperature happened shortly after his fall, so I have no idea if that's the cause or if it's still stress from the fall or if it's something else entirely.
Is there anything I can do to get him to eat, or do I just have to wait this out? Should I take him to the vet? Any help would be very much appreciated.
My boyfriend and I recently got a leopard gecko. We are really fond of reptiles, but have always had snakes; this is our first time with a lizard. We've had him for a few months, and he's been doing fine, but recently when I opened his tank to feed him, he managed to jump out and fell about a foot and a half to the floor. At first, I panicked because he wasn't using his front legs, but I kept an eye on him for the next hour and he quickly began using his legs again with no problem and seemed fine. He didn't seem to be hurt at all, so I didn't think we needed to take him to the vet.
I decided to leave him alone for the rest of the day and just keep an eye on him, since I figured he was probably stressed, so I didn't feed him that day as I'd been intending to when he jumped out. The next day, however, he didn't eat at all. Again, I assumed he was just stressed and didn't worry too much about it since otherwise he seemed perfectly fine.
Now, however, it's been about three or four weeks, and he still refuses to eat. He also has taken to staying in his hide box all the time. I peek into the box to make sure he's still okay, and he walks around just fine. The only difference I've noticed aside from him not eating is that he seems a bit sluggish. I've read that leopard geckos can do some sort of semi-hibernation thing, and the cold weather did take us by surprise (it's Florida), so it took us a while to get his temperature adjusted when it got cold, so I'm wondering if that could be the reason for his hibernation? It didn't get really cold, but the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees and when I noticed, I checked the thermostats in both sides of his tank and it had dropped in there by a few degrees, too. Could this have caused the change in his behavior? The change in temperature happened shortly after his fall, so I have no idea if that's the cause or if it's still stress from the fall or if it's something else entirely.
Is there anything I can do to get him to eat, or do I just have to wait this out? Should I take him to the vet? Any help would be very much appreciated.
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