It's been a week...what should I be doing?

[curiousKathy]

Okay...I have let Angel settle in for a week and I was wondering what I should be doing at this point. She still hasn't eaten and I have left her mealworms in her dish since the second day we brought her home. Should I give her more time or should I be doing something to entice her to eat? Since she hasn't eaten she hasn't pooped...<grin>.

She has been hanging out in her humid hide mostly and it was getting dry so I got her out earlier in the week to spray it. The second time I tried to get her out she lunged at me. I talked to her and kept my hand around for a little bit, then left her alone to settle in some more. Tonight I needed to ask her out so I could change the papertowel and moss in her humid hide (it was starting to look yucky). This time she didn't try to bite and I was able to coax her out. She went into one of her warm hides. Should I start trying to get her used to my hand first like she was a baby or ask her onto my hands like her previous owner did? Is it too early to start asking her to interact?

Is there something I am missing that I should be doing?

Thanks!

curiousKathy

 

[BretWeber]

how about trying crickets? what was she fed on before she came to you?

Bret

 

[curiousKathy]

Nope, she was only given crickets as an occassional treat. I guess she did like the hunt, but with the way the enclosure is set up there are too many places for crickets to hide and the previous owner didn't want to deal with trying to find the ones she didn't eat. I guess I could try it anyway...good idea! what size crickets would I need for a 9 month old leo? Would the large size that the petstores sell be too big? Or is she considered an adult? He did feed her more like an adult; every other day instead of everyday.

Thanks for your suggestion and I appreciate your feedback!

curiousKathy

 

[Scott&Nikki]

You can use regular sized crickets. You could try to tweezer feed or place a mealworm on the ground in front of her. If she goes after it, place the next one closer to the dish and just keep doing it. That is how I finally got mine to realize what was in that dish in the corner.

 

[LadyGecko]

Hi Kathy-
Congrats on your new Leo!!
I checked out your post about her and she is beautiful and her set-up is awesome
With her nice fat tail- one week of not eating should not do her any harm-however I can understand your concern about her not eating
You might also try super worms and/or roaches for variety
She certainly is large enough to eat supers

I have noticed that since I started feeding my Leos the Supers-they aren't too interested in the much smaller meal worms
I also find that the Super Worms tend to keep longer than mealies (mealies morph really quickly compared to them) and you can buy 1000 online and they will last quite a while

Leos are funny creatures when moved-some adjust quickly and eat right away and some seem to take forever to get settled into their new homes and routine
I would just continue with what you are doing regarding handling her-at least until she starts eating again

If she continues to refuse food then I would bring a fecal sample into your vet to have checked
It's actually not a bad idea to bring one in anyway


I hope that she starts to eat for you soon

Sandy

 

[curiousKathy]

LadyGecko,

Thanks for the support and kind words! It made me a little more relieved to read some of your comments about her not eating yet. I was hoping that she doesn't lose any weight, and I hope that she will start eating soon. Last night she did look at the mealworms and I thought she might actually eat one, but she changed her mind. My kids and I picked up two sizes of crickets today, so maybe she will eat crickets tonight! I plan to try some super worms but the petstore where we stopped and got crickets was out of superworms. I will check back later in the week or check a couple other stores. She did crawl up on my hand last night! I am really excited; it seems that she is very sweet. Now I would be thrilled if I can just get her to eat!

Thanks for your reply!

curiousKathy

 

[Scott&Nikki]

LadyGecko,

Thanks for the support and kind words! It made me a little more relieved to read some of your comments about her not eating yet. I was hoping that she doesn't lose any weight, and I hope that she will start eating soon. Last night she did look at the mealworms and I thought she might actually eat one, but she changed her mind. My kids and I picked up two sizes of crickets today, so maybe she will eat crickets tonight! I plan to try some super worms but the petstore where we stopped and got crickets was out of superworms. I will check back later in the week or check a couple other stores. She did crawl up on my hand last night! I am really excited; it seems that she is very sweet. Now I would be thrilled if I can just get her to eat!

Thanks for your reply!

curiousKathy

My honest opinion is, if she saw the mealworms, you no longer have to worry. Unless there is a medical problem (doubtful) I think the "hard" part is them realizing there is food there. Now you just need to wait for her nerves to calm down and hunger to kick in. She knows exactly where to go now. Obviously keep a close eye, but it will happen. I would consider that good news. And I'm jealous she crawled on you.

 

[moosassah]

Kathy thanks for you post as with Gabe's new gecko, I'm sitting in your shoes. Waiting anxiously for the first bite of anything. I hope your gecko eats soon.

 

[curiousKathy]

Scott,

Thanks for helping me feel better...the only thing is that I was cheating and dropping the food in front of her when she was in her hide. Does that make a difference? I dropped a cricket in her humid hide with her tonight...it was twitching, but not moving. She licked it, but didn't go for it! Again I thought she was going to...guess I will just keep trying every night and hope she eats soon...Oh! Don't be too jealous about her crawling on me...I have to entice/strongly suggest to her to come out of her hide. She still is afraid to move around her tank if I am sitting close to it. Although tonight she came down from the cool end to the warm end and got in her warm hide.

Jeannine,

I hope Gabe's leo eats soon, too! It's difficult dealing with her not eating when I care so much for her....it's like fretting over my human kids! <grin>

Guess I will wait and see what happens in another week. So far I don't think she has lost any weight. I should probably get a scale though to be sure...

Thanks guys!

curiousKathy