Leo Not Defecating

[Indigo]

About your leo:
- Sex: Male
- Age & Weight: About a year and a half & last weighed at 97g
- How long have you owned your leo: Since October 30th, 2011
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Breeder

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: Min. 2 weekly
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: Kovu is acting as he always has. He seems active and looks healthy.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.: No prior health concerns.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): Last time he went the looked normal
- When was the last time he/she went: February 19th
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on:
Kovu, my male leopard gecko, has not defecated in 3 weeks. He is acting normally. Equally as active as he has always been. He has been eating his usual "winter amount." He is not bloated at all. I have tried soaking him in warm water, to no avail. Here is a sample of how he has been eating since his last defecation:
Feb. 20th- did not eat
Feb. 23rd- ate (1) mealworm
Feb. 26th- ate (6) mealworms
Feb. 28th- ate (2) mealworms
March 2nd- ate (1) mealworms
March 6th- ate (4) mealworms
March 9th- ate (4) mealworms

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 20 gallon
- Type (ex. glass tank): glass tank
- Type of substrate: tile
- Hides, how many, what kind: 3 hides- 1 warm dry hide, 1 humid hide, 1 cool hide
B) Heating
- Heat source: UTH, plus a ceramic heat emitter as we live in a basement
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): hot side- 90.3, cool side- 70.6
- Method of regulating heat source: hydrofarm thernostat
- What are you using to measure your temps: mastercraft temp gun
- Do you have any lights (describe): Just the regular light in the room/window
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): none
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): He gets fed every three days in the winter. 10 mealworms get placed in his dish and superworms are offered, but not always accepted
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): mealworms are left in the dish, superworms are offered by hand
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): Repashy Calcium Plus used to dust the mealworms every feeding
- What are you gut loading food with: fresh vegetables and fruits, looking into gutloads atm

 

[katie_]

Hmm, he hasnt really eaten all that much.

 

[flukefoot]

Im not an expert so that being said you may have an impaction on your hands, I have heard that sometimes chitin from mealworms and superworms can build up and cause this. Superworms have a higher risk because they are bigger and have bigger chitin. Im not dissing mealies because i feed them to my leo and she is fine. I really dont know any tips on how to treat impaction so you may want to look it up.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Im not an expert so that being said you may have an impaction on your hands, I have heard that sometimes chitin from mealworms and superworms can build up and cause this. Superworms have a higher risk because they are bigger and have bigger chitin. Im not dissing mealies because i feed them to my leo and she is fine. I really dont know any tips on how to treat impaction so you may want to look it up.

That's pretty unlikely in this case IMO. Usually you see that if the gecko isn't getting proper temperatures or supplementation, which this one is.

I'd just be more likely to believe that it's simply because the gecko hasn't eaten enough to really need to. I know breeding season can do some weird things to them.

~Maggot

 

[Indigo]

Hmm, he hasnt really eaten all that much.

True, it doesn't seem like that much, but I've compared it to how he ate last winter and it is identical. That's why I wrote in the form his "usual winter amount." He eats much more in the summer months.

Im not an expert so that being said you may have an impaction on your hands, I have heard that sometimes chitin from mealworms and superworms can build up and cause this. Superworms have a higher risk because they are bigger and have bigger chitin. Im not dissing mealies because i feed them to my leo and she is fine. I really dont know any tips on how to treat impaction so you may want to look it up.

I thought that, too, but I've read impacted geckos are supposed to be lethargic or express discomfort. Kovu is just as active and curious as always. While it could be impaction, I doubt it is. I won't rule it out, though. He's getting plenty of soaks, so hopefully they get something moving along. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Indigo]

That's pretty unlikely in this case IMO. Usually you see that if the gecko isn't getting proper temperatures or supplementation, which this one is.

I'd just be more likely to believe that it's simply because the gecko hasn't eaten enough to really need to. I know breeding season can do some weird things to them.

~Maggot

It's nice how one comment can ease a bit of the panic in my mind. That is what I'm hoping this is. He's still getting the warm soaks, whether he likes it or not though. It's just weird to me he ate the same last winter and defecated regularly, and has not done so this winter.

 

[B&B Geckos]

Last winter he would have been about 4 months old, growing fast and eating accordingly. Now he is an adult, so shouldn't compare the two. As mentioned above, it is breeding season. Most likely he's just acting like a typical adult male gecko preoccupied with finding a mate.

 

[Indigo]

I have never been so happy to see poop in my life! Kovu has finally defecated this morning! Poor guy, it was the size of his head. Thank you for all of your suggestions.