is this the way it works??

[geckobeginner22]

ok so it has been 5 days since i bought my baby leo home, i have pics of it in my other post in the morphs section. so the problem is is that its not eating. well just to be clear. i got it to eat about 2 mealworms and 1 waxworm. but it does not eat out of the dish. i do not think the dish is too high or anything. i only got it to eat because i droped the worms right in front of it... is it still scared of a new house? is this normal?... it just looks so skinny to me... i also have not seen any poop in the cage yet... is this just the way it works when you bring a baby gecko home? it just stays in its hide all day. sometimes warm side which is on zoo med heat mat and allife tempstat set at 92F. and sometimes it is on the cool side hide which is at 76F, i never see it drink water but the first time i put it in the tank. and i never see it lick from the cal dish i have. i also tried crickets the other day and it would not eat any. so i took them out. someone please give me some advice. i dont want nothing to happen to it.

 

[acpart]

What you're describing is not unusual. Young geckos and geckos in a new environment tend to stay in their hides a lot until they get bigger or get more comfortable. It's not unusual for them to take quite awhile (one of mine took 2 weeks with no poop) to start eating. If you got your gecko from a breeder you could contact the previous owner to see if the gecko ate mealworms from the bowl or needed "help". Most of my hatchlings eat from the bowl, but I do have 2 now that need personal attention. You may never see your gecko drink or lick the calcium but it probably is doing that when it needs to. Just keep providing food and be patient. I know it's hard and worrisome, but things should work out OK.

ALiza

 

[geckobeginner22]

well i got mine from the big chain pet store where i work, (not sure if i could say the name on the forums)...there they feed them crickets everyday and they leave a dish of meal worms in the tank... there are alot of geckos in there maybe like 6 babys in about a 10 gallon tank, so i dont know if it ate out of the dish or the crickets... if i just feel it alone with mealworms in the dish... would it eventually go out and find the dish with worms and eat? or will it just stave itself unless i keep trying to put worms and food in front of its face? also is it ok if i put some cal powder with D3 on the worms when i would like it to eat that?
I have no problem feeding crickets, i just would like it to eat out of the dish also... just in case i miss a cricket feeding.

 

[77gecko]

I would drop mealworms in front of it to make sure it's eating - I wouldn't leave it to find the bowl.

I tong feed my 2 girls next to their mealworm bowl - I think that helped them associate the bowl with food. Then, to make sure they were eating out of the bowl, I would put 20 mealworms in the bowl and then count the the next day. I leave worms in all the time, but I also hand feed every night with my young ones, to make sure they are eating.

When my girls were little, they'd eat close to their hides, but as they got bigger they'll come out to me - they know tongs = food time!

As Aliza said, young geckos (especially in a new environment) will hide more. He/she is probably drinking late at night (we can't watch them 24/7 lol) or possibly licking condensation out of the humid hide (one of my girls does that) As they grow and become more confident with their surroundings, they'll adventure out more.

You might check the hide, he/she could be pooping in there (I've got a hide pooper)

Mine lick from the calcium dish - I see them do it once and a while It probably will once it gets settled in (could take a few weeks for it to feel comfortable and move around the tank)

Good luck with your little one

 

[geckobeginner22]

ok thanks, so should i take the mealies out of the dish and leave no dish, and just feed it every night with tongs just to see if i can get it to eat? or should i feed it every other night?

 

[77gecko]

You could leave the dish with some mealies in it, tong or hand feed some mealies next to the dish and see if it will associate the dish with food - it seemed to work for my girls.