My new Leopard Gecko isn't eating

[TrexsDad]

I have had Trex for a week, we bought him at a local pet store. He was sold as a "baby" he is about 4-5" long. We bought him small crickets to eat because my Mom read online we shouldn't feed the big ones as small as he was because he could choke on them. We also bought a jar of Gecko Food (dead flies of some time, can't remember what kind at the moment). After 6 days of him not eating my Mom and I went to the pet store and she asked them what he was used to eating and told them he hadn't ate since we took him home. They suggested the large crickets and meal worms, so she bought both. She also got a small jar of chicken baby food to try handfeeding him. She put small dabs on his lips and he licked it off, she fed him that until he didn't seem to want anymore. We left 2 meal worms and 2 of the small crickets in his cage over night. In the am when she got up she didn't see the meal worms anywhere, but the small crickets were still there. Later on when she came into check on Trex and Zilla (Beardie) she noticed the 2 meal worms in a little pile on the edge. Is it possible that he ate them and they still looked like meal worms after he passed them? I have one of the larger crickets and one meal worm in the tank overnight to see if he eats them tonight. I also haven't noticed any droppings in his cage after the first few days. (unless that is what the meal worms were today) My Mom read that after they come to a new home they can be a bit stressed and might not eat. Well I don't know if he is stressed, but I sure am. What would you advice from here? And thank you for your time.

 

[77gecko]

No, the mealworms won't look like mealworms when the gecko poos - IMO gecko poo looks similar to bird poo. I just got 2 new leos (had them for a week too) they they just ate their first good meal yesterday. It could be stress from moving and he'll eat soon.

What are you temps and how do you heat? I know that if the temp is too low that leos might not eat.

I never leave loose crickets or loose mealworms in the tanks - I put mealies in an escapeproof bowl so the geckos can free feed. I know crickets can nibble on geckos, not sure if mealworms will bite a gecko.

Good luck!

 

[lillith]

It sounds like you folks stuffed him with baby food.

I would follow the other suggestion to heat up his tank a little, you want it to be in the low-to-mid 90s on the warm side. They can't digest properly unless their little bellies heat up.

You've only had him a week, I'd say give him another week to settle in and don't fuss with him so much, the more you "ignore" him, the sooner he'll transition and start his regular eating schedule. Also, geckos don't have to eat everyday. Every other day is fine, and take out any feeders he doesn't eat within 20 minutes or so. Also, just try one food item per week for awhile: crickets OR mealies OR roaches. You may be giving him too many options.

In my personal experience, the dehydrated flies are worse than worthless, toss them. Someone else may have had a better experience, but if it isn't moving, most geckos won't touch it. I actually watched somebody starve their first gecko to death because they refused to believe it wouldn't/couldn't be taught to eat dead food. No matter how much I begged them to take it to the vet (or even CALL the vet!), it withered away and died. And I felt guilty about it and they didn't. I couldn't bring myself to "gecko-nap" it, since that was wrong, and watching it starve to death was also wrong. It was a craptacular experience all around and is the story behind my prejudice against dehydrated flies.

So yeah. TMI, but I was trying to help here.

 

[TrexsDad]

Thanks for the replies. We have skipped the baby food the last few days and have pretty much been ignoring him except for the food and water changes. He hasn't ate anything yet, but I'm being patient.

 

[lillith]

How's it going, eating anything else yet?

 

[OhioGecko]

What is the floor temperature in the hot spot of your cage?

How are you heating the cage?

What are you gutloading your insects with?

 

[MichaelJ]

In addition to checking the UTH temps...

• The feeder dish should be shallow enough for the gecko to see the worms (but deep enough so the worms don’t crawl out). We recommend using a 3” clay saucer, sold for less than a dollar at your local craft store such as Michaels.

• The worms in the feeder dish should be fresh; not obstructed by their shed skin or any dead mealworms.

• Make sure that you have enough mealworms in the dish to create a visual movement that will attract the leopard gecko. (15-20 mealworms).

• Feed in the evening, so the worms are moving at the time the gecko is ready to hunt. (The worms tend to settle after a few hours and stop moving as much). Keep the feeder dish in the enclosure at all times.

• Try dropping a few mealworms right in front of each gecko, one at a time on the substrate. You should be using plain white paper towels or paper as a substrate. This should stimulate their vision as they can easily see the worm wiggle around against the plain white back drop of paper towels. This is usually most successful if the gecko is inside their warm hide: You can drop a few mealworms at the entrance and the hide helps their tunnel vision focus on the mealworm you've just placed there. If this method works, proceed each day and slowly drop the mealworms closer and closer to the feeder dish to lure the gecko toward the dish. This will help condition the gecko to this area for feeding.

• You can try using tongs to feed the mealworms to your leopard gecko by hand.

• Make sure the leopard gecko gets a full night cycle.

Hope that helps ~

 

[OhioGecko]

Any updates?

 

[VitalTears]

yeah so hows ur lil guy doing?

 

[TrexsDad]

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you, but here's my update and more info. I'm having a hard time with the temp on the warm side. I use an UTH and it is only getting around 85ish with that alone, so my step mom put one of the red lights over his cage and the temp is showing in the low 90's when both heat sources are on. We turn the light off at night because we read a night temp drop is ok.

We have tried meal worms a few times with no results. He has ate maybe 3 crickets the entire time he has been here (almost a month), unless we have some how missed them in his cage. He hasn't ate any measurable amount of the gecko food, my step mom has me measure it with a measuring spoon and it always seems to be the same amount. My step mom has tried to offer him the veggie mix she feeds her Beardie, but he won't touch that either. Since everyone has said to let him be we haven't offered him any more baby food.

Besides the heat here is the rest of the info about his set up: we are using ceramic tiles as the substrate in his cage, he has a dark hide on his warm side (where he spends most of his time) and a moist hide on the cool side ( I have seen him in there a few times, and I have seen poop on the paper towel in there).He has a water dish, which my step mom makes me change everyday and she has me use the RO water we use for the birds in it) and he has the food dish with the gecko food in it. The thermometer has a probe stuck right on the tile in his dark side to measure the temp and you can switch it to see what the temp is on the cool side.

I haven't handled him in a while to try and let him settle in. When I wake up in the am (about 6:30) to go to school I turn on the red light for him. There's a couple hrs at night between 6-10 that I'm hanging out in my room with the lights and radio on. When I go to bed at 10 I turn the red light off. Any ideas on what I should be doing to make him eat better?

 

[Sandyballs]

maybe he doesn't like the substrate?
I'm no pro but i think geckos prefer a substrate in which they can get a "grip"

 

[TrexsDad]

I did use paper towels the first few weeks he was here and he wasn't eating then either.

 

[watspoppin25a]

You do not need to feed him veggies, or anything dead or not moving. Keep trying small crickets since he's eaten those before. Make sure to dust with calcium, i saw the pic of him in the other thread. A leopard gecko should NOT look like that...

 

[sammer021486]

How big of a tank do you have him in?

I had a little female which was under weight for her age of about 4-5 months judging by the size of her clutch mates.

What I did with her was put her into a small 6 qt shoe box.

Placed her on a heat mat at 90F and only feed her meal worms, be careful because some places sell the super worms as meal worms, make sure that you are feeding meal worms which are only about 1" long and at the biggest 1/8" in diameter.

Her cage setting was small and simple. Paper towel or toilet paper tubes cut in half for hides and paper towel as a substrate. Her water was supplemented with liquid calcium by exo-terra. I have not tried it yet, but you could try exo-terra's electrolyte to try and boost his appetite.


as stated above leopard geckos will not really go for veggies. I have heard of people giving their leos banana and apple, but they really don't need either as they are insectivores.

edit: Also I would stay away from the canned or jarred food. My first leo was feed canned crickets and he had ugly colouration and never would eat them for me so the first day that the pet store was open I started him on meal worms and his colours brightened right up after a month or two.

If you can get some try silk worms too, they can be very pleasing to the gecko, just get the correct size for them or else a regurgitation may occur