heat and my leo

[Pinky]

I need some input. We have 2 leopard geckos one regular and one what I guess is high yellow? She is mostly pink and white with yellow highlights. We have had them since they were babies close to 1 1/2 years. My wife has become very fond of pinky. She is very friendly comes out when called spends hours on my wife's neck and shoulders at times. But lately she has been sleeping in the moist hide all the time. It is near the warm side of the tank ( average 89-90*). But she is always so cold feeling. So I put the temp probe in there it is only 68* in there. Zoltan hides in the cave directly over the uth. There is two seperate hides on over the uth. We are worried that something is wrong. She is difficult to get to eat which I assume is directly related to lack of belly heat and digestion. Can anyone help us? Is she ok? Is this safe? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[acpart]

I can tell you that you're probably going to get different responses from different people. I've been keeping leopard geckos for 10 years and breeding for 8. I find that most of my adult leopard geckos eat very little during the winter (and for them, "winter" seems to start around Sept. when the light declines). Some of them go over to the hides on the cool side and spend most of their time sleeping there, as if they're brumating on their own initiative. I can't imagine that the winters in Pakistan and Afghanistan are that warm. I just offer food every other day or so and let them do what they want. Last year, the geckos were probably about 6 months old and were juvies. This year they're adults. So, from my perspective, what she's doing is fine.

Aliza

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I agree with Aliza. Most of mine stop eating for the most part during the winter too. In fact I usually only feed my adults about twice a week and they get 10-20 mealworms or 2-3 dubia per week in general even if they are eating. Any more than that and they start becoming "difficult" because they're just not hungry. As long as she has access to a warm hide and she's not getting bullied by her tank mate, I would buy a scale, monitor her weight and not worry about her eating or sleeping habits unless she loses more than 10% in body weight (assuming she's not really fat to begin with).

 

[Pinky]

Thank you guys I feel so much better now. The pink one has really become a little more than a pet to my wife. Pinky has as much or more personality than any cat and dog.

 

[Poppy243]

+1 to what everyone else said above. Just as long as her weight doesn't drop too low so she looks real skinny, and she behaves normally, I generally tend to say the gecko is fine. We often forget these critters are built to withstand long periods of minimally available food/water, as with most desert animals!

 

[LIZARDLOVER]

This was interesting reading, as I have experienced similar phenomena with my Leo's. It's good to hear that others have witnessed the same thing; it not only eases my concerns but verifies an interesting behavior as normal. I figured it may have been a type of self-induced brumation, but seeing as not all of them do it I had doubts. Mine experience a natural day light cycle however, and the temperature fluctuates seasonally as well. Interesting indeed...