Leopard Gehko not eating...

[slaminator]

I have a leopard gehcko who has not eaten in quite some time, nor appears to be poopiing. I've noticed he has been shedding several times over the last couple months. He is in a 10 gallon tank with a 75 watt heat bulb. Not sure where to go from here. Need some advice.

 

[GeckoCrossing]

Going to need a little more info than that to help at all... Fill this out and maybe post a photo too?

About your leo:
- Sex
- Age & Weight
- How long have you owned your leo
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size
- Type (ex. glass tank)
- Type of substrate
- Hides, how many, what kind
B) Heating
- Heat source
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food with

 

[GeckoGathering]

no eat, no poop, what's the scoop?

I have a leopard gehcko who has not eaten in quite some time, nor appears to be poopiing. I've noticed he has been shedding several times over the last couple months. He is in a 10 gallon tank with a 75 watt heat bulb. Not sure where to go from here. Need some advice.

Not knowing any more than the heat statement......
He needs belly heat to process food.
[very important]
Need a under tank heater.
Then, Shake the overhead 75 ...too hot on the height of a 10 gal.
get a 13 to 15 watt bulb for viewing.
Assumption on shedding is, I think they will shed from growth or
thinning down. [I haven't supported this] so if not eating, not pooping:
and you are checking weight he may have dropped weight.
Take care. HJ​

 

[slaminator]

This is his habitat. We've never had a heater underneath, and for the longest time we've had no problems with his eating. It does seem he is shedding a lot and more frequent than before. I think he is around 2 years old, but that is about as long as we've had him. We fed him mealworms and he used to pounce on them, now he just looks at them. Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

[ZombiGecko]

Get a uth. They need it to digest there food. And if that dont work try crickets. They can get bored with mealies after awhile. Its good to switch it up once in awhile

 

[ZombiGecko]

He is underweight as well

 

[LeopardShade]

Yikes... that gecko is incredibly thin! From those photos, the tail size and girth looks very poor. Can you please fill out that health questionnaire Jonathan provided above? It would give us a better understanding of the gecko. Has his tail always been that size? If there was a drastic decrease in tail size, that could be a strong indicator for internal parasites, which requires veterinary care to treat properly.

There are multiple things incorrect with your care/enclosure.

First off, leopard geckos need an UTH, some form of belly heat, to properly digest their food. An overhead bulb will definitely not suffice as proper heat for the gecko. They need an warm side hot spot of around 90-95 F. Bright light can also cause stress to the gecko's sensitive eyes, as they are nocturnal creatures and, respectively, have eyes adapted for nocturnal activity. I see you are also monitoring the ambient air temperatures with your stick-on thermometer. These are notorious for being inaccurate about temperature readings. It's not the air temperatures you want to be monitoring, it's the floor temperatures. You should look for a digital thermometer, which provides much more accurate readings.

Second, you need multiple hides in your enclosure. Having multiple places the gecko can go gives it a chance to thermoregulate - move where it feels comfortable. Having one hide does not allow this. I see some shed skin still stuck (wow that was quite the alliteration XD) on the gecko's toes, which is caused by low relative humidity and difficulty shedding. This can be corrected by providing a moist hide filled with damp paper towel. The added humidity in the hide is wonderful in facilitating the gecko's shedding process.

Third, I do not see a calcium dish present in the photos. Calcium is essential for leopard geckos, as well as many lizards, to help promote proper bone growth and density. You should provide a dish of pure calcium without D3 in the enclosure at all times, and dust food with Calcium w/ D3 daily.

 

[tiedxupxinxknots]

Yikes... that gecko is incredibly thin! From those photos, the tail size and girth looks very poor. Can you please fill out that health questionnaire Jonathan provided above? It would give us a better understanding of the gecko. Has his tail always been that size? If there was a drastic decrease in tail size, that could be a strong indicator for internal parasites, which requires veterinary care to treat properly.

There are multiple things incorrect with your care/enclosure.

First off, leopard geckos need an UTH, some form of belly heat, to properly digest their food. An overhead bulb will definitely not suffice as proper heat for the gecko. They need an warm side hot spot of around 90-95 F. Bright light can also cause stress to the gecko's sensitive eyes, as they are nocturnal creatures and, respectively, have eyes adapted for nocturnal activity. I see you are also monitoring the ambient air temperatures with your stick-on thermometer. These are notorious for being inaccurate about temperature readings. It's not the air temperatures you want to be monitoring, it's the floor temperatures. You should look for a digital thermometer, which provides much more accurate readings.

Second, you need multiple hides in your enclosure. Having multiple places the gecko can go gives it a chance to thermoregulate - move where it feels comfortable. Having one hide does not allow this. I see some shed skin still stuck (wow that was quite the alliteration XD) on the gecko's toes, which is caused by low relative humidity and difficulty shedding. This can be corrected by providing a moist hide filled with damp paper towel. The added humidity in the hide is wonderful in facilitating the gecko's shedding process.

Third, I do not see a calcium dish present in the photos. Calcium is essential for leopard geckos, as well as many lizards, to help promote proper bone growth and density. You should provide a dish of pure calcium without D3 in the enclosure at all times, and dust food with Calcium w/ D3 daily.

Very good advice^^^