My Leopard Gecko has never eaten - long post

[GeckoHut]

Can I force feed you ? Do you think it will be pleasant? No a stressed out leo doesn't need more stress it needs less. Also you can hurt the leo by force feeding that is why it is a LAST RESORT not some cure-all for any non eating problem! I'm done, you obviously want to solve it yourself so I hope all goes well for your lil girl and we see some pics of a fat healthy gecko soon. Good Luck!!!

 

[Ehatcher]

Im not talking about shoving the syringe down their throat. Im talking about putting some of the mixture on their mouth and them licking it off. That is my terms of force feeding. If his gecko is in the age range to do so, it could be an ovulation issue, which is what was the problem with my particular female.

 

[LeapinLizards]

I just need to back up Eric here...97*F is NOT too hot, although I wouldn't go any hotter on a steady basis. There have been many conversations about heating over the last couple years especially, and the old thinking of 90*F being ideal is out the door. I personally have my thermostat set to 96*F and my geckos are thriving.

 

[thestack510]

It's not as if they will just stay on the hot side constantly. 97 degrees is fine for them, as long as they are afforded a decent temp. gradient. I think you have Eric's interpretation of force feeding greatly exaggerated.

 

[Krow]

I had to force feed my girl a just a few days ago becasue she had not eaten in 2 weeks. & theres was nothing wrong, she came from a nice breeder, good weight, no chance of impaction, she did shed fine & ate it like normal, pooped fine, I didn't know what was wrong. When I forced fed her, I only did the first worm, then I put 3 more down in front of her & she just gobbled them all up. She ate 4 supers, she was that hungry!! Now she is back to eating just fine. I held her in my hands kinda tight , killed the worm & touched it to her mouth & kinda pushed, she opened right up & swollowed it down, she could have spit it out if she did not really want it.

*Also, the lonliness may be it if she was used to being around other leos. BUT!!! Before you get another leo, if thats what you decide to do, you NEED to get a fecal done to see if she has parasites. And when(or if) you get another leo, keep them seprarate for at least a month, & maybe just in case get a fecal of the new leo as soon as you get him/her. Thats another thing, they both need to be female if you want to keep them together.

IMO: I keep my warm side at about 92-95, & my cool side at 81-84, I think 90s on the WS, & 70s on the CS is too much of a temp change. Also, you may want to get a thermometer that has a probe. That way you can take the temp on the bottom of the tank at your geckos level (the kid that stick to the glass on take the temp of the glass).

Best of luck with getting her to eat, I would try force feeding, maybe she just needs a reminder what it is to eat & have something in her belly.

You can also try a different way that I sometimes do. Take a worm(keep it alive) & hold it tightly (so it wont thrash about) in the middle of it's body with it head pointing toward you & tail outward. Cover the tail with calcium, set your leo on a table with nothing of little on it for her to hide in & under. Touch the calcium part to her nose & get her to lick it, my leo does this, licks the calcium a few times, then just gobbles down the worm with no problem. If that doesn't work, I would result to force feeding.

Good luck with her & I hope she gets better & I hope this helped

 

[Krow]

Can I force feed you ? Do you think it will be pleasant? No a stressed out leo doesn't need more stress it needs less. Also you can hurt the leo by force feeding that is why it is a LAST RESORT not some cure-all for any non eating problem! I'm done, you obviously want to solve it yourself so I hope all goes well for your lil girl and we see some pics of a fat healthy gecko soon. Good Luck!!!

You really need to go to the vet!! This post can no longer help you

You need to lighten up. Force feeding IS NOT was it sounds like. Its touching a feeder to the end of the leo's nose & when it opens it's mouth stick the feeders body in, not all the way in, not even half way. Then the leo is like "Oh, look, food, hummm..., I haven't eaten in MONTHS, maybe I should eat this!! I'm so hungry, finally I have food!" If the leo does not want the food, it will just spit it out, then you know, "Hummm, I guess this wont work either, time to go to the vet, its my last option." If the leo comes to it's senses & relizes "Hey, this is food!" then it will sollow it. "FORCE FEEDING," is not "Holding the leo down, prying open it's mouth with pliers & shoving down food," thats not it at all, thats what it may sound like, but thats not what it is. Some people may do that, & it is horrific if they do, but that is not what it is sopposed to be.

I agree that KDFreder should porbably do a fecal, or take the leo to a vet, but you also have to consider that maybe they dont have the financial means to go to a good herp vet. I sertainly do not right now, I could borrow money from my realitives, but I already owe them money as it is. Just consider these things before you say something like this.

 

[GeckoHut]

Force feeding isn't rubbing some worm guts or substance on their lips or wiggling a worm in front of their face.That is hand feeding. It means inserting a syringe into their mouth and forcing food down their throat. It means exactly what is says forcing food down their throat. So no it is not exagerated, the term "force feeding" is greatly exagerated. No i will not lighten up on the subject of force feeding an animal! It is a painful and traumatic experience for ANY animal, let alone a small gecko. If you don't have the money to support a pet when it neeeds medical attention, then why do you buy it? You should consider this before buying any animal.

 

[Riyo]

I'm just going to throw my 2 cents in here:

1. I keep all of my animals at 97F on the hot side. They are all very healthy and have had no issues. It is not too hot, period. If your animal is laying on the hot side ALL DAY like you said she is, this could be dehydrating her. She should be thermoregulating rather than just laying on the hot side constantly.

2. I agree it might be time to take her to a exotic specialist (not just any vet). At least get a fecal exam.

3. Reptiles do not get lonely and do not need friends, they lack the parts of the brain that make emotions like that possible. Infact, exposing your gecko to another animal at this point may only make it worse.


Good luck with your gecko, but I think it is time for a professional opinion.

 

[acpart]

Just a note on the rheostat, since there seems to be some confusion about that:

If you plug in a UTH, it may get too hot. You can check this by measuring the temperature on the tank floor above the UTH after it's been on for at least 6 hours. If it's too hot, you need the rheostat to make it cooler.

When the rheostat is set at the maximum, it's not doing anything. Otherwise it works as a dimmer: the lower you set it, the less power is going through the device and the "dimmer" (or less hot) the UTH will be. So the rheostat is used to reduce how much power goes to heat the UTH.

If you already understand the rheostat, please disregard; it just seemed as if there was some confusion.

Aliza

 

[Krow]

Force feeding isn't rubbing some worm guts or substance on their lips or wiggling a worm in front of their face.That is hand feeding. It means inserting a syringe into their mouth and forcing food down their throat. It means exactly what is says forcing food down their throat. So no it is not exagerated, the term "force feeding" is greatly exagerated. No i will not lighten up on the subject of force feeding an animal! It is a painful and traumatic experience for ANY animal, let alone a small gecko. If you don't have the money to support a pet when it neeeds medical attention, then why do you buy it? You should consider this before buying any animal.

I'm going to argue with you, but you do not need to tell me that I cannot "support" my animals. I did have enough money when I first got her & a few weeks after so. But now, as our economy is turning to CRAP, my money has been depleted. I am not posting here anymore & you do not need to tell me how to care for my animals.

 

[Geckonut]

Just a note on the rheostat, since there seems to be some confusion about that:

If you plug in a UTH, it may get too hot.

I hate rheostats...far too variable! A good proportional thermostat is the way to go IMO. Stable temps are important.

 

[Saphira]

link??

 

[Geckonut]

link??

The Spyder Robotics Herpstat has been recommended by many here and I am currently evaluating that one. I like it a lot so far. Zoo Med 500Rs suck IMO. You get what you pay for I guess.

 

[Adinar]

After reading thru this thread this had me wondering, when the hell did slamming other people become ok? Grow up people. The person asked for advice, not to be riddiculed.

*Note : This is not towards those who actually offered advice. *

 

[Krow]

After reading thru this thread this had me wondering, when the hell did slamming other people become ok? Grow up people. The person asked for advice, not to be riddiculed.

*Note : This is not towards those who actually offered advice. *

Much agreed:main_yes:

 

[Krow]

I'm going to argue with you, but you do not need to tell me that I cannot "support" my animals. I did have enough money when I first got her & a few weeks after so. But now, as our economy is turning to CRAP, my money has been depleted. I am not posting here anymore & you do not need to tell me how to care for my animals.

& sorry, I just now noticed it, I mean't "I'm *NOT* going to argue with you."

 

[Geckonut]

Let's all be nice here...like our leos! Leos! Leos!

 

[Krow]

Well. for one, KDFreder posted to get help, not to get chewed out, I apoligize KDFreder for my posts, but I will not have someone tell me how to take care of my own animals. I have cared for them in the same way I have for years & it has not let me down so far. I'm not rich, but I'm not completely broke either, just close to it, lol. The reason why I'm so broke is that I put most of my money into mine & my Dad's comic book store that we own, trying to keep it from going under in this piece of crap economy & government ruling & etc., also what money I have left over from that goes into my animals!! Buying food, etc. What LITTLE is left over is put into savings. Anyways, like Geckonut said, lets all play nice like good little kids. HAPPY HAPPY!!

 

[EchoPet]

KD, take a look in the health and medications forum. There's a sticky at the top by Golden Gate Geckos with a recipe for slurry. Make some of that up and with a syringe, put some on your geckos nose/lips to get her to lick it off. Slurry can be used as a complete diet for a longer period of time, unlike Jump Start - but hopefully it will give her some nutrients and energy to feel better and start to eat on her own in the long run. Once you get some slurry into her and can get a fecal sample, take it to a vet for a parasite test. If she's not producing stools that can be tested, there's not much a vet is going to be able to tell you. You can also try some warm soaks in Pedialite (to warm it up, put some in the microwave but make sure you test the temp so it's not too hot at first). It'll give her some hydration plus some electrolytes and such that water alone doesn't have. If she struggles, you can wad up a paper towel so she still has something to grasp to and partially sit on. There's also nothing wrong with the higher temperatures that others are recommending here. I keep my thermostats set at 95 degrees, and I've had the temps go up to 97 in my tanks sometimes with no problems. Warmer is usually better for sick geckos to help them fight off whatever is wrong. Make sure her tank is away from windows, outside walls, and air vents so that the ambient temperature will be warm enough to up her core body temperature. If the UTH isn't getting the floor temps up to 95, it's probably because of where the tank is placed. A low wattage red bulb or heat emitter can help give a gentle warmth if the ambient temp is too low due to air conditioning in the house, but I'd do away with any sort of day light bulb.

Also, make sure the calcium in her tank is without D3. Too much D3 can cause an overdose.

Good luck.

 

[KDFreder]

I appreciate all the 'assumptions' of how completely negligent I've been with my gecko.

Rest assured, I will not bring up any issues or threads here again.

Thanks.