lil' one not eating enough

[GeckoTeach]

I have a lil' hypo that came to us quite small, but she is losing weight. We weighed her last week and she was 9 g and now she is 8, I know it's only one, but we fed her some repti-aide and baby food, she ate it. We also moved her to another cage 10 gal by herself.. is there anything else we can do for her? I can't give age, pet store buy... Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[GeckoTeach]

Anyone out there got more suggestions for Toni? I am worried. She has found a nook in her new home and doesn't seem interested in coming out of it at all. Should I just give her a few days, and if I do.. how many?

 

[OhioGecko]

What is the setup?

Substrate:
Heating:
Temps:
Food:

 

[david13]

people say pheonix worms help bring a leo to start eating more because they wiggle so much or something

 

[GeckoTeach]

set up is ten gal. papertowel. 78-90 degrees. He/She tends to like to hide in the borrow we bought her and doesn't want to move... I got he/she out tonight and gave her repti aide again, took it well.. still solid 8 grams.

 

[david13]

is she even interested and food? does she look at it?

 

[GeckoTeach]

Nope, I am surprised that she will lick up the repti aide and baby food, peach, when I give it to her while I am holding her.

 

[david13]

the only thing i can think of is get some feeder that wiggles a lot.. i don't know what else or why your leo won't eat. hopefully someone else will reply

 

[OhioGecko]

when you say 78-90 does that mean a constant 90 at one end and 78 at the other?

You might want to try to raise your temp to 92-93 on the hotter end.

Are you using under tank heat (UTH) or lamps?

What are your feeding the gecko? Besides the repti aide. What is your feeding schedule? What are you gut loading with and how are you gut loading? Are you providing water? and if so how often are you changing it? Is the gecko in shed and when was the last time it did she?

what part of the cage is the hide in? hot end, cool end, middle. Also if you are using light for heat, this could be why she is staying in the hide. Leo's are nocturnal.

 

[GeckoTeach]

when you say 78-90 does that mean a constant 90 at one end and 78 at the other?

It is 90-92 in the warm end and 80-78 in the cold, night obviously cooler

You might want to try to raise your temp to 92-93 on the hotter end.

Are you using under tank heat (UTH) or lamps? both

What are your feeding the gecko? Besides the repti aide. What is your feeding schedule? What are you gut loading with and how are you gut loading? Are you providing water? and if so how often are you changing it? Is the gecko in shed and when was the last time it did she? We feed crix, Toni doesn't take mealies at all. I gut load them with the orange crix cubes and dust as well prior to feeding the leo at 7:30 pm each nite

what part of the cage is the hide in? hot end, cool end, middle. Also if you are using light for heat, this could be why she is staying in the hide. Leo's are nocturnal.
Hide is a borrow from T-rex that runs the length of the 10 gal, so it is in both warm and cool.

 

[GeckoTeach]

Opps, missed the water Q, everyday it is changed and yes I am certainly giving it and it is aged water too.

 

[david13]

I just give my leos tap water..it comes from a well. By aged is that to distill it or something?

 

[acpart]

Two suggestions:
Some geckos, especially pet store ones, can have parasites which makes them stop eating. You might want to consider a vet visit

I have had some hatchlings that got off to a slow start with eating. I would hold them in one hand and gently push the feeder (I use mealworms, but you could do this with a cricket) against its mouth. I had one hatchling who ate voraciously that way but did not seem to want to feed herself. After awhile she began to associate my hand with food and would run over and grab my finger whenever I put it into the tank. I had to train her to eat from a bowl by dropping mealworms into the bowl at just the right moment. Once she caught on she doubled her weight in 2 weeks.

Aliza

 

[fallen_angel]

Very nice story Aliza

 

[OhioGecko]

It looks like you have all the bases covered by the information you have given. I would suggest maintaining the UTH and removing the light. It really is not needed and can be causing stress on the little one.

Can you maintain 92 with your UTH heat?

If so remove the light and see what happens...

When was the last shed?

 

[GeckoTeach]

Thanks, I will remove the light, I will certainly feed "her" mealies via hand and try that tactic. A vet is our next course of action if not eating by Monday. She just shed last week. Yes, the UTH has been working well with heating the tank. Thanks, I will keep everyone posted!

 

[GeckoTeach]

Quick update, we have gained a gram since Sunday! I am thrilled. "she" seems to be used to her new playground and is moving around now and finding new hides...mind you I took the borrow out and gave her a nice climbing area and a new humid hide for shedding. Seems much happier.. but quite the jumper. Leaped right out of my hubby's hand.. all but gave me a heart attack! I hope when she gets a bit older she calms down!