HELP! Tokay REFUSES to eat!

[xcynnerx]

Our little Tokay Gecko, Marvin, has refused to eat since we got him. He's very tame, and friendly, and loves to come out and hang out on our shoulder and enjoys walking around....BUT HE WILL NOT EAT! I've tried Mealies, Crickets, Pinkies, Crested Gecko Diet EVERYTHING. I've been doing Reptaboost because he was JUST losing TOO MUCH WEIGHT!!!!! He's housed by himself in a 20 Gallon enclosure with a live pothos plant, and several additional fake plants for cover. He has a hide placed on top of a UTH. Temps are checked/regulated as needed. He's misted morning and night, has a water dish, a dish with calcium, and a dish with some mealies that he NEVER eats. The pothos plant was washed and repotted with organic soil. I used linoleum for substrate, as he frequently walks around and licks so, I deemed any other kind of substrate unsafe. Feedback/advice appreciated, Thanks so much!
-Cyndi

 

[robin]

First question? Is he captive bred or wild caught. A wild caught one could have a parasite load. They generally are not that friendly. His behavior may not be friendliness but rather lethargy. You need to get a fecal done ASAP. Many wild caught tokays end up dying simply because of the parasite loads and stress

 

[touch 13]

to chime in on Robins coment, regarding the behavior. Naturally they are aggressive. there are exceptions, but especially being so new to the family. In most cases, acclimating is required to any new gecko. Stress could be his reasoning for lack of diet. What are his ambient temps sitting at at throughout the day? Most 20 Gallon tanks are approx 18" tall. Some Tokays will grow 10-14", if a fecal sample prooves everything is okay, give him some time as acclimation takes 2-4weeks.

 

[xcynnerx]

We've owned him for 5 months. He doesn't have parasites, as he was vet checked 4 weeks after I got him and had a fecal done. I run a reptile rescue so, any critter coming into my house gets checked out by the vet, and gets a fecal done. It took a while to get him that tame. He was horribly aggressive @ first, but after handling him and showing him we aren't the enemy, he's been great. Still nips every now and then but, he doesn't latch on like he did when we first got him. Any other suggestions/ thoughts?

 

[Embrace Calamity]

As others have said, I'd be concerned about his behaviour. I know of someone who has a very tame tokay, but it took quite a while for that to be achieved. A new tokay shouldn't be that friendly. Definitely see a vet ASAP.

Also, is humidity being monitored with a digital hygrometer? I know these guys require high humidity, and assuming you're using a screen top for your tank, it's unlikely you can maintain proper humidity without some preventative measures.

EDIT: Disregard first part. You posted as I did. Though if he's losing that much weight, he needs to see a vet anyway, even if he's been tested for parasites.

~Maggot

 

[robin]

As touch suggested stress of handling could be it. Also you might want to try roaches.

 

[robin]

Also he hasn't eaten in five months?

 

[xcynnerx]

Ooos 3 months LOL we've owned him for 3...and no..he has never eaten on his own. He has a dripper system, plus we mist him. hygrometer shows humidity is @ 80% right now.

 

[xcynnerx]

Also, I don't think it's fair to say that because he is "so tame" there is something wrong. We are very good @ what we do. Anyway, he's been to the vet, checked for parasites, what else are they gonna do?? I mean for real?? He doesn't have a tail either. We obtained him from +++++ because we felt sorry for him. They had him on moss substrate in a tiny enclosure with no UTH and no coverage. Sad. He was very thin there too. I'll bring him back to the vet, maybe get another fecal done and see what she says. Maybe he has an infection?? We'll see. He eats the reptaboost when I feed it to him.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Also, I don't think it's fair to say that because he is "so tame" there is something wrong. We are very good @ what we do.

Everyone here said that when we were under the impression this was a new reptile. No one said, "Your tokay can't ever be tame because you suck."

Anyway, he's been to the vet, checked for parasites, what else are they gonna do?? I mean for real??

You think the only thing a vet will ever do is test for parasites? That there's nothing else a vet can look for or suggest?

Ooos 3 months LOL we've owned him for 3...and no..he has never eaten on his own.

A vet visit would have been a good idea 2 months ago.

He has a dripper system, plus we mist him. hygrometer shows humidity is @ 80% right now.

Digital or analog?

~Maggot

 

[Fatal_S]

The most likely reasons for not eating are illness/injury, impaction, and stress. If he's been pooping for you, impaction isn't the issue. The vet can help figure out illness/injury. The last option is stress.

Stress can be from many causes. The setup may not be ideal for that particular gecko. Too wet, too dry, too warm, too cold. Not enough hides, too much activity in the room, etc. The handling could be another stress.

Best solution: first, have a vet help rule out illness/injury. If that doesn't help, create the most stress-free environment possible for the gecko until it is healthy and eating well. This might mean re-thinking the enclosure, moving the enclosure to a more suitable room, and ceasing unneeding contact.

If he is in awful shape, then contact may be required for force-feeding until his body condition is stable. If he's not in awful shape, keep trying different foods and different feeding techniques until he catches on. Try roaches? Apparently they eat a lot of beetles in the wild.

It is great that you've tamed him, but that needs to be step 2. Step 1 is having him healthy and stress-free in his new home. Good luck with him, tokays are amazing.

 

[touch 13]

I'm loving the Team we got here on the "other gecko" tab

You stated that the humidity is around 80%. I'm assuming this is right after a misting? The humidity should reach high 70's - low 90's for approx 2-4hours per day, the high humidity is not required all day long. I requested ambient temps earlier; I have spoken with some keepers who have kept ambient temps in the triple digits. High 80's - 90's as an ambient and a nice basking spot up to 103F - 107F. I hope just maintaining the husbandry will give him the kick he needs.

I want to state that I too have these beautiful geckos and they're tame with me. I really want to help and am not trying to discourage you about their personality. These animals are extremely hardy and will adapt to almost any environment from Northeast India to the Philippines as well as Belize, Florida, Texas, Hawaii and some Caribbean islands. Keep us all up to date!

 

[xcynnerx]

Vet appt is Wed. My vet isn't specialized in exotics, unfortunately. That's why I said "what else are they going to do?" I appreciate the feed back, I don't appreciate the disrespect. I think we'll just table this discussion because I'm not in the mood to be bashed anymore. Have a nice day.

 

[xcynnerx]

He went to vet on Tuesday instead because I was FREAKING OUT. See updated post. thanks for the input. sorry I took things so personal....was a bad day
-Cyn