HELP!!!

[tyler19]

my geckos will still not eat! i gave them i nice big 20 long the other day and decked it out for them to have fun in and they still will not eay anything. they are getting skinny now and im getting really worried. what am i doing wrong? heres a picture of their new home... please tell me if theres anything i can do? my room is in the basement of my house and its a daylight basement thats almost all finnished so i was wondering if it ha anything to do with the moisture? but i always have a dehumidifier running so...? they have meal worms wax worms and crickets to choose from and they chose NOTHING ugh

 

[Nigel4less]

One take out the light, and get a UTH, and add a Humid Hide. And WAYYY More cover.

 

[tyler19]

no light? more cover? they love that thing with the plant in it because theres shelves in there that they sleep on. what else can i add?

 

[Ccrashca069]

You need an UTH( under tank heater), a dig temp gauge with probe, a humid hide and more things for your leopards to climb and hide in. And you don't need the light because leopard geckos need belly heat not air heat.

 

[JConley]

Under tank heater (UTH) No light or maybe only for cleaning purpose to see only. Hides are good but add a moist hide and a calcium dish. thats it!

 

[tyler19]

so a UTH will make them eat?

 

[Ccrashca069]

it is proper set up

 

[JordanAng420]

Yes, I agree with the general concensus...although I will explain a little further in detail. Purchase an under tank heater BECAUSE leopard geckos need heat on their bellies to help digest food and keep the GI tract working properly. You can also get your critters dewormed at the vet. Sometimes barium can do WONDERS for the intestinal tract.

 

[downthebeatenpath]

You don't have to get rid of the light but you need an UTH. I personally use a light and an UTH just because they are in my finished basement as well and its colder down there then the rest of my house and the UTH alone doesnt keep the daytime temps high enough, night time temps are fine. You need a calcium dish in there too. Also are those two dishes water dishes? I can't tell, if they are I would get rid of the bigger one and move the smaller one in it's place, you only need one and it should be on the cool side. I would also get a more enclosed cave then the one you have on the outside and use that as the moist hide. Also, I'm surpised no one mentioned this, when do you feed them? Try feeding them at night when it's dark. My leo now will eat anytime of day she doesn't care, but one of my males I used to have would not eat unless the room he was in was dark so try feeding the crix then. Oh I forgot, I don't know if you mentioned this in a different topic or not, but how many are in there and are they adults or babies?

 

[Bling_my_leo]

Yea. You could have just saved yourself money. By not getting the bulb and lamp ficture.

 

[tyler19]

there are 2 babies and there is a calcium dish i just hadnt filled it after i washed it for the pic and ill take out the bigger water dish and alsoooo how hot does the uth get? the tank is on my sub box (see pic) and its lined with carpet to prevent sliding in the trunk...but its in my room. would it get too hot to put on there?

 

[tyler19]

forgto to mention that i feed them every NIGHT when its dark and they have the red repti bulb on at night and i havent seen the tangerine come out of his new favorite spot in the caves with the plant coming out of it since 2 days ago. i never had this problem with my other leo and he didnt have a uth and ate crickets and was on sand.....im getting frustrated. im not going to hand feed something that doesnt want to live. they just wont eat!!!

 

[Bling_my_leo]

No. The uth will be fine. They don't need that night time bulb either...

 

[brad.a.c]

What they mean by more cover is get more caves. That little Exo-Terra cave you got in there is good, just get like 2 or 3 more, and replace the lodge with a cave also.

 

[JConley]

Well there are many reasons why they wont eat, but i can tell you without proper digestion and proper temp zones they will decline fast.

They need belly heat not over head heat. The belly heat helps them absord the food thats in their belly, but you can keep that lamp but put a red glass bulb in it instead NO white bulbs.

Leopard geckos are nocturnal so they dont really like light to much atleast for long periods of time.

They could also be not eating because of a tank change, Leos get stressed when you change their home and it takes a while for them to get use to it.

1. proper temps 89-92 hot side 70-room temp, cool side
2. Stay away from stress Example: White light, tank changes, disturbing them when they are sleeping!
3. proper tank set up Hot hide, cool hide, moist hide
4. proper gutloading and dusting of (meal worms, crickets etc)
5. keep tank clean and water bowl clean and full (change water daily to prevent allege build up in dish)

oh and enjoy your gecko

 

[darkangel212]

I dnt have a UTH and mine is doin just fine...A while ago she wldnt eat either but we got the wrong info and had the wrong lighting and not the right temp in the tank. Now she is fine, but you do need a hidebox type thing in there. Also how big are the geckos? because another reason my girl stopped eating was because she was too fat. The only thing she used to eat were wax worms, no matter wat else we gave her, so she got so fat that she stopped eating for almost a year...I had to force feed her for her to get the nutrients and everything. Now that we have better lighting and have adjusted the times we keep the light on, she is on a normal weight, more active, and is eating reguraly.

Here are some pics of my setup so you can get some ideas of how to set the tank up. Its a 20gal long.

Left Side

Right Side

 

[JConley]

See alot of people think that Leopard Geckos like basking in the sun, but they do not. If you watch them they like finding the warm spot from the light and laying on that spot, but this dont mean they like the light, they like the heat on their belly so they deal with the light.

This is why belly heat is best since thats what they are looking for. They are nocturnal but do come out sometimes during the day time. I have a hide and a rock on the hot part of the tank floor so they either go in the hide or lay on the hot rock at night.

 

[darkangel212]

See alot of people think that Leopard Geckos like basking in the sun, but they do not. If you watch them they like finding the warm spot from the light and laying on that spot, but this dont mean they like the light, they like the heat on their belly so they deal with the light.

This is why belly heat is best since thats what they are looking for. They are nocturnal but do come out sometimes during the day time. I have a hide and a rock on the hot part of the tank floor so they either go in the hide or lay on the hot rock at night.

Yea...same but mine isnt a heat rock...but the light is right over it so the top of it gets pretty warm...She loves to hide in the rock cave most the time anyway...lol

 

[JConley]

Yea...same but mine isnt a heat rock

Its not a heat rock its a regular "granite" rock that sits on the UTH! So the rock absorbs heat and stays warm, thats why they like it. (Heat rocks that plug in are bad)

I use to use a lamp and sand until the fine folks on gecko Forums set me straight, now i cant begin to tell you the difference in my Leos its amazing!

Now all i use is Tile and Cage carpet and UTH and the Leos are so so healthy and happy gaining weight and growing fast (no junk food either) just mealies, crickets, superworms and a rare waxie.

 

[Bounsall06]

Is this set up ok?.....kinda hard to see so I'll try and describe it.


I am using an 18x18x18 Exo Terra glass terrarium.....with a compact top.

I am using a Repti 10.0 Bulb in the compact top....and I also have a seperate dome lamp with a night lamp in it which I leave on all and turn off before I go to bed. The light is set to come on at sunrise and go off at sunset.

On the right side (Side with the light shining on it) I have a half log and a snake rock thing (for snakes to climb in and out of). Water is on this size as well.

On the left side (the side with te heat lamp on it) I have a tupperware container with moist moss in it, and a exo terra medium size cave. Food and calcium dishes are located in the middle. I have the thermometer sitting on the ground on the heat lamo side and it registers between 90-95 during the day.

The side with no heat lamp is normally almost the same and I am not sure how I can change this. I do have a UTH that I am not using. Should I put that on and scrap the heat lamp?