Juvenile stopped eating and opinion on "Zilla jump start"?

[equinelove93]

Hi everyone.

So im a fairly new reptile enthusiast. I have 2 leopard geckos and a few other reptiles.

My 4 month old juvie has stopped eating normally.

I acquired my young gecko from a breeder at around 5 days old, 4 months ago. From the time i had him up untill 2 months he would rarely eat. Then at around 3 months he had an enormous appetite. He would gobble up a dozen meal worms each feeding. I have been dusting the meal worms with pure calcium nearly every feeding, then reptical calcium+vit D 3x a week and reptical multivitamin once a week.

I then started changing up his diet to small crickets and he would eat about 4 a day. Then i was alternating between crickets and meal worms because certain days he would only eat one or the other. The past two weeks he has hardly been eating at all. I purchased some butter worms 2 weeks ago and he has eaten about 4 small ones in two weeks. He is rarely interested in any insect i offer him.

I noticed he really started to dislike the reptical calcium with vit D. And i noticed it smelt funky so i switched over to flukers calcium+vit D. But he is just not eating anything now.

Here is his set up:
10 Gallon tank with 3 hides one hot, warm and cool.
I have a UTH with a hide over it aswell as a 60 watt black heat light (my house is getting cold with it being fall now)
Temperature readings with temp gun:
90 on the hot side 85 in the middle and 80 on the cool side. Humidity 35%
I use paper towel as substrate.

He has been pooping. I cleaned his cage 3 days ago and he pooped twice. The poops look normal. He has finished his shed 2 days ago.

He is about 4 inches long and weighs 5 grams. He does have fat stores in his tail. I have attached a picture what he looks like.

What could be causing my leo to not be interested in eating? Could it be because the natural daylight in my room is getting shorter? Also i bought "Zilla jump start" which is a liquid food for reptiles that is supposed to be high in calories and stimulate appetite. I never force fed it in his mouth but i did put a dab on his nose which he licked off. Is this safe to do or should i stay away from this supplement?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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[sdsb1992]

First of all your setup sounds perfect if I were a Leo I would love to live in there the supplement you are using to jump start his appetite is perfectly fine I used the same stuff sometimes geckos will take a break from feeding every once in awhile do not worry keep an eye on him just to be sure do not give calcium everyday give it to him like every three days you don't want the calcium to build up other than that keep up the good work he looks nice and healthy I hope this helps

Seth

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[Neon Aurora]

I would remove the heat light. It could be causing him stress, as lights often do. The temperature of the air is not going to matter as long as the heat pad makes the floor 90 F.

Most breeders won't sell hatchlings younger than 2 months of age. I'm wondering if this could be a factor since you got him at just 5 days.

Are you sure that weight is right? 5 grams is how much my hatchlings weighed fresh out of the egg. Now they are 3-4 months old and weigh almost 30 grams.

He looks healthy, so I wouldn't stress it too much for now. Many geckos change their eating habits with the seasons. I would just keep an eye on him and try to leave him alone as much as possible (just necessary enclosure maintenance, no handling for fun) to see if it is stress related. I would say get a fecal done, but it sounds like his poops are normal and he is not losing weight rapidly.

Also, if you are looking for a new supplement, I recommend Repashy Calcium Plus. It's an all-in-one supplement you can use everyday. Most people say not to use calcium + D3 every day for risk of overdose of D3, although I've never seen it happen.

 

[discoverlight]

I've personally used Jump start on a gecko that wouldn't eat, but it just gave her diarrhea. I'm sure it probably gave her a few calories though, she started to have a bit more energy despite her stomach not agreeing with it. I wouldnt use it daily, but if you use it once or twice that would be okay

Is he losing weight? Usually weight loss can be a sign of parasites. Theyre very easy to get rid of though, theres stuff called Fenbendazole or Panacur you can give you geckos for worms. They need tiny ammounts though, like only a drop a week to cure parasites.

My geckos are going off feed for the winter, the temperature has dropped in my house, but i do have their hide spots at 90F.

 

[equinelove93]

Sorry i accidentally said he was 4 months when he is actually 3 months old. When i got him as a hatchling he weighed very little. He was about 1.5-2 grams. Im thinking of buying a digital scale because im using a small kitchen sacle. However I find it somewhat accurate because i have a 3 year old female who i did weigh on a digital scale that a friend had. On the digital scale she was 48 grams and on the scale i have (a few months later and after putting on some weight) she weighed 55 grams on the scale I have been using now.

He has still not eaten anything. I only handled him today to check his belly and noticed a blue speck on his belly which was higher up..just below his front legs. Could this be an impaction?
Also i noticed a wet spot on the paper towel where he normally chooses to use the bathroom. It has a slightly yellow appearance. Could this be diarrhea?


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[Neon Aurora]

Whoa, 1.5-2 grams? That is really small. Do you think you could get a picture of him with something for size reference? Those weights don't sound right right to me.

If he is actually small for his age, than I would recommend getting a fecal done. Parasites could be a reason for stunted growth and not eating. Liquid is not necessarily abnormal.

As for the blue spot, it probably isn't impaction since he has not really been exposed to anything that could cause impaction. Unless he has? You didn't mention any loose substrates involved.

 

[equinelove93]

No he has never been on sand or loose substrate. He was on reptile carpet for maybe 3 days when he was with the breeder i bought him from.

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[equinelove93]

I apologize again. Sorry everyone about the weight numbers i gave out. I purchased a digital scale and got much more accurate readings that make sense. Currently Echo weighs at 24 grams.

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[Neon Aurora]

Ah, okay. That sounds much more right to me. That's a perfectly healthy weight. You could have a fecal done, but I would probably just continue to wait it out. Could just be the onset of fall. Watch his poop for any mucus or discoloration or soft texture.

 

[stager]

He looks healthy, iv had a few juvys slow down on feeding this time of year. Still has good weight I would hold of and maybe feed un dusted a few time a week cause I have a few that don't like it.