Help my guy wont eat.....

[dod_resq_ff]

I bought a male albino from a breeder that is about a year old and from the breeder all he was fed was meal worms. Since we got him about 2 or 3 weeks ago he hasnt eaten any of the meal worms or the few times we tried crickets. We havent seen him eat or poop yet, he drinks alot of water and his cage is never above 88* or below 84*. I have gone as far as taking a pair of tweezers and holding a meal worm in front of him, he licks it then moves his head. What am I doing wrong or what can I do?

Thanks

Kyle

 

[Stitch]

His warm side temps should be between 88-92*. A lot of times the gecko gets stressed in its new home, so try not to bother it too much.

Can you describe his habitat? Like what substrate? How many hides? Is he housed with any other animals?

 

[dod_resq_ff]

He is kept in a 20 gallon cage with paper towels by himself with a moist hide, a rock hide, and a wood log hide. 1 water dish and 1 meal worm dish. He will spend most of the day either on top of the moist hide or under the rock, or at other times he will try to "climb" out of the cage and press his body up against the wall. We had put him and another female in a bigger cage to see how they would act and he wanted to mate right off the bat, could it be he just needs to mate then he will eat?

 

[Stitch]

could it be he just needs to mate then he will eat?

If he can still see the other geckos that may be stressing him. He may see the female and want to mate and that is why he is not eating. I have heard of males going off feed because of mating season. I have not experienced this. But I introduce the male to the female and when he is done his deed he goes back to his own cage. Others leave the male with the female for a few days and that is probably why he goes off feed.

But breeding him with her alone probably won't fix this.

 

[dod_resq_ff]

Thanks for the replies, any ideas on how to force feed him? Or is that not a good idea?

 

[Stitch]

Force feeding will only stress him more. How old is the gecko and what is his weight? Or how thick is his tail compared to his neck?

If he still has a nice fat reserve then leave him be. You can also try Marcia's Slurry (which would probably have to be force fed). The slurry should help him to prodcue a fecal sample so you can take it to a herp vet to be tested. Sometime if you just place a drop on their nose they will lap it up.

 

[trizzypballr]

Look at his overall body mass, make sure to weigh him and keep an eye on it, if he drops more than 3 or 4 grams then its time to worry. It could possibly be just because he wants to breed. It is beleived that an ovulating female gives off some kind of sent, because usually when you have 1 female ovulating all the others seem to begin to all at once. LoL go figure. He could possibly know that there is a female close by who is ovulating. Also keep in mind if need be F/T pinkies and roaches are a good way to pack some weight back on him quickly. Force feeding is a bad idea unless it is absolutely needed, which it sounds like in your case it isnt.

 

[JConley]

i had same problem

Well i had the same problem when i got my female.

She would not eat from the stress of shipping. She was 57 grams when i got her and she ended up going to 55 before she was comfortable in the new tank. (This took a while)

Dont force feed its not necessary as of now, but what i would do is take your other leos out for a few days, and when you feed him take everything out of the tank for 1 hour and then feed crickets and mealies in plain sight, and watch him for an hour, i would be willing to bet he will eat after a couple tries.

My gecko had poor hunting skills and my tank set up didnt help in hunting!

But now both my geckos know when i remove everything out of the tank its feeding time and they go nuts!!

Its weird i know but it works.

 

[dod_resq_ff]

Stitch,
Dexter is one year old and has already breed before with success. His over all body mass and tail size are great, he weighs about 60 grams and hasnt lost more than 1 or 2 grams since we got him. Thanks

trizzypballr,
Where do you find that slurry you mentioned? Thanks


JConley,
We already remove everything from all 6 of our cages and it works great, the only problem we found was keeping the one male and female together he would eat them before she could. How long did it take your Gecko to start eating again after you got it? It has been almost 3 weeks since we got Dexter and havent seen him eat or goto the bathroom yet. Thanks

 

[JConley]

She took approx 3 weeks (Give or take a few days) before anything happened that i could observe, she lost 2-3 grams total just drinking water and living off her fat. So i tried emptying the tank of everything including all other geckos.

Then i put in tiny little crickets, she ate 6 crickets and 2 waxies. I did notice she shed right before all this happened that may have caused the lack of interest in food. Both my Geckos seem to loose interest in eating a few days before they shed for some reason. I have read some geckos could lose up to 6 grams trying to adjust.

Everything will work out! Dont worry

P.S. Keep the info comming on how he is doing!

Hope this info helps

 

[MichaelJ]

I would not mate the male with anyone until you get him eating and acting normally. Also, I wouldn't have any newly acquired animal near my others until a 60-90 day quarantine was complete.

I agree with John that you should take things slowly and not worry too much until you notice a noticable change in their body.

I would alway try some waxworms to get his appetite going though. Not too many because they're very fatty..

good luck!

 

[Stitch]

Where do you find that slurry you mentioned? Thanks

Go here:
Marcia's Slurry

 

[dod_resq_ff]

Thanks we have seen him eat 3 different waxworms but days apart. We will try the slurry tomorrow. Thanks

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I wouldn't have any newly acquired animal near my others until a 60-90 day quarantine was complete.

Yes, yes, yes!

Force feeding will only stress him more.

Yes, yes, yes!

I wouldn't even try to give him any slurry at this time. My slurry was created to give geckos nutrition and substance so they can produce a stool for veterinary examination, or to give nourishment to anorexic geckos being treated. It is not a 'cure' for anything!

If you provide the adequate environmental requirements for this gecko, 90-92 degrees belly heat on a portion of his enclosure (using a UTH), and normal room temperature on the rest, he should begin eating on his own in time.

Leave him by himself for at least 60 days, and stop trying to tweezer feed him. Being exposed to a female during his acclimation period will only make matters worse since many times males will lose interest in food when there is a female around. After he has calmed down and feels secure in his new home, try dropping a few mealworms right in front of him so he notices them. You can lure him to a bowl with the worms.

Good luck!

 

[dod_resq_ff]

We have now had Dexter for about a month and he has only pooped once and that was a few days after buying him, he doesnt eat much but we have seen him eat 3 waxworms this week and still no poop sample to take to the vet. Is it abnormal or dangerous for him to seem not to poop or pee or even eat much? We have seen him drinking water often, we have tried crickets, waxies, and mealies on him and nothing. Thanks

 

[eventer289]

Any update as to how he is doing?