Leopard Gecko Won't Eat!

[LeoGirl575]

I purchased a skinny leopard gecko from a guy (not the best decision) who said that he was eating. The guy said he only had the gecko for a couple months, and in all the time he had him, he only grew in length. He got this gecko from a reputable breeder, who apparently was that skinny when he was bought.
Well, guess what? I have him now, and he won't eat a THING. The strange part is though - He's pooping a lot. Normal, healthy poops, every day. But I can guarantee he's not eating, because no mealworms are missing from the dish, or superworms, and no crickets are going missing from the tank. When I first got him (last week) I fed him a slurry of beef baby food, D3 calcium, regular calcium, multi-vitamins, and mashed up superworms and mealies. I haven't fed him since, because I'm scared he's going to get "dependant" on it, and only eat the slurry.

My parents aren't allowing me to take him to the vet..
What should I do?

By the way, he's held steady at around 27 to 28 grams since I got him, and he's 8 months old (Yeah, I know.. He's REALLY skinny..)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Here is a very good thread/stickey that should have some useful info for you.
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70080

Also I wouldn't leave crickets in the tank with your leo overnight as the crickets can nibble on and stress your leo when you're not looking. You should always remove crickets after you've given the leo a fair amount of time to attempt to eat.

 

[LeoGirl575]

Thanks! I guess I should have seen that earlier...

Well, he's at that "tail getting skinny" stage. Well, frankly, he's emaciated. Still active and pooping though which is the weird part of it all. I'll try all of those, although I have tried waxies already, which haven't worked.

Thanks again

 

[Dog Shrink]

I would take a fecal sample/the animal into the vet to make sure he doesn't have parasites or cripto. Denying an animal proper medical care when they are obviously sick constitutes animal cruelty and in the U.S is punishable by law.

 

[prettyinpink]

Are your temps right? How long have you had him a week? He could still need some settling in

For your parents there's nothing really we can do about that. And no one is going to punish your parents/take them to jail for not taking a leo to the vet. If you were to call the police they'd laugh...Sorry but I just don't agree with what Dog Shrink said. If you had a dog and they were beating it up that's a different story. It's just different, sad but it is.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Sorry but denying ANY animal that is in need of medical care veterinary attention constitutes animal cruelty and if it were reported to animal enforcement agencies (not police they would laugh at you) they would likely investigate. I never said they would go to jail, I said it was punishable under the law.

 

[LeoGirl575]

I'm sorry.. Animal cruelty and ignorance are two different things. Yes, my parents are being ignorant by not wanting (actually - they don't have the money) to spend the money for the vet, but they are NOT being cruel. If they were being cruel, they'd be intentionally making the gecko sick. It sickens ME that you're calling my parents cruel to animals. To compare them to people who hurt animals intentionally is just disgusting...

But I know I must follow the community guide lines, so I won't continue to argue this point. Thanks for the answer; I will continue to monitor my leo, and try the tricks that were given to me. He's not losing weight, still pooping normal poops and alert, it's just a matter to get him to eat.

And btw, he's in my rack system, in a 7 gallon bin. On paper towel. Warm side is about 92F, cool side 75F. 3 hides - humid, warm, cool.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I wasn't saying your parents were being cruel. I was simply making a statement is all. Denying any animal proper medical care is cruel. Not every person that is cruel (under the letter of the law) to animals does it intentionally. Sometimes it is a matter of simply not being able to afford proper care, sometimes it's ignorence or lack of knowlege, some...not. Sorry you mistook my post. Hopefully your leo is doing better in no time and his lack of eating is just a settling in thing.

 

[prettyinpink]

Well you've only had him a week right? My leos took a month to start eating, my little one ate right away...but let's not talk about her she's a pig :main_rolleyes: It's VERY normal for leos not to eat for a week, but you've fed him slurry (which I wouldn't have done, yet) so he's still got food in him...and he's pooping which means he's doing good for the most part.

 

[LeoGirl575]

Thanks Dog Shrink, but I still have to disagree with you. Because then you can say humans are being abused as well, because not all of us can go to doctors because of money (which isn't really a problem in Canada, but is in the States).
I know you can bring the line, "You should only have pets if you can take care of them properly", but I do care for my pets properly. I just don't take my lizards to the vet when they seem healthy (I know my one that's not eating is potentially not healthy, but in this case, we simply don't have $300 dollars for the vet - where I live in Canada, it is that much. I checked).
Anyhow, thanks for explaining further.

Oh really, prettyinpink? That's comforting to know. But I'm a bit worried about him in particular, since he's so small already, and a hunger strike of a month could very well kill him. :/

Thank you!

 

[prettyinpink]

Do you have any pics of him? Or his weight/age? If you have a scale on hand, that measures grams you can keep track of his weight (which we tell most keepers to keep on hand, well for any animal), if he's not loosing much then he's most likely fine.

It's completly normal for them not to eat for a week when settling in. The handfeeding you did may have stressed him, and was not needed. If you take a look at some other threads you'll see how comon it is for them not to eat when settling in

 

[LeoGirl575]

Yeah, I've been weighing him every couple days. His weight has stayed steady at about 28 grams. Thinking about it now, he may have eaten a cricket and a mealworm, because one or two were missing from the tank, but I can't be sure. He's shockingly skinny, just a warning...
[IMG=http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6980/sam0958.th.jpg][/IMG]

 

[Dog Shrink]

Just a thought reading your last post... are you keeping crickets in the tank with him all the time? From what I understand of crickets being left in the tank they can harass your leo or nibble on him if they aren't provided with an alternative food source and that coud really stress a leo out. I know a lot of what I've seen about feeding crickets suggests to never leave them in the tank overnight with your leo for that reason. it is suggested to leave them in for a few hours if you can monitor the situation and remove them when you realise he won't eat them. Granted I don't feed crickets so this is just what I have read, but it could be a possibility. Also what about winter slow down? Could his lack of eating be from winter slow down? Esp if he isn't losing much weight and all his husbandry cares are spot on?

 

[LeoGirl575]

Thanks. No, I'm not creeping any crix in with him. Just mealies in a dish and a superworm. Yeah, I was thinking a winter slow down. But he's apparently always been a finicky eater.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I wonder if trying roaches might peak his interest or maybe a softer bodied insect like phoenix or silk worms. I wonder if he gets intimidated by larger prey. Also I looked at your pic of him and his tail does look thin but he is by no means emaciated looking. His body still looked pretty decent. Kinda odd that he's a pickey eater. Maybe he thinks he's a ball python.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Speaking of hand feeding.. it doesn't mean to put your hand in with a feeder. Feeding tongs are inexpensive and highly recommended. Not people tweezers. Tongs from the dollar store may even work. Putting your hand in the enclosure to hand feed can indeed intimidate the animal, while a long object holding prey does not.

 

[LeoGirl575]

Just wondering... Why not people tweezers?

And I would like to try roaches, but I have no idea where to get them. I've found places in the States that ship, but I think that's illegal for Canada - or you have to pay lots of money.. And I've checked around pet stores and such.. No luck.. :/

 

[Dog Shrink]

I think Laney meant people tweezers are different from feeding tongs. Feeding tongs are a lot longer I think like 7 inches, but I use regular tweezers to feed my leo. Also I think you're right on the roach thing in Canada... I don't believe they are allowed to be shipped there, Sorry didn't even think of that when I posted it.

 

[LeoGirl575]

Ohh, that's really unfortunate. I really want a colony of roaches. :/ And so far I'm making no progress with my gecko. His poops are turning a bit more watery again, so I fed him some more slurry (they were normal after the slurry).

Actually - as a side note - the previous owner DID take him to a herp vet a couple months ago to examine a shedding problem he had (and he was that skinny at the time), and she said he was healthy.. So I'm not sure.. :S