New additions haven't been eating

[geckolabs]

Hi all, I just recently added a few new additions. Most of them have adjusted very quickly and have been eating very well. Two of them however, have not eaten yet that I have observed.

They arrived a little over two weeks ago, and both of them took until about 6 days ago to even poop for the first time since arrival. One is a giant and is around 85g, so I'm not as worried about him. But the other of the two is about 2.5 months old and is around 20-25g.


About your leo:
- 1 male (giant), 1 female
- M (~10 months @ ~85g), F (~3months @ ~23g)
- Both arrived around 2.5 weeks ago
- Obtained from breer

A) Health/History
- Gave them both week adjustment period, now I include them both in my daily handlings
- Not acting any different. In tubs they both always remain in their humid hides, but are very actively exploring when I handle them.

B) Fecals
- Looks normal. typical brown with white urates
- Both went within the past two days
C) Problem
- See above

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Sterilite 28qt tubs
- Paper towel
- 2, 1 normal and 1 humid
B) Heating
- Flexwatt w/ thermostat
- Warm side set to 88F, cool side stays around 75F
- Digital thermometer
C) Cage mates
- Both housed individually because they are still in quarantine period
- Both seem healthy and are very active when I take them out

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- Offering supers, mealies, and crickets. even offered the giant a pinky. Neither have shown any interest. I leave mealies in both tubs overnight in hopes that they eat but I haven't noticed any missing
- Mainly leaving in dish or putting them in a feeding tub. I've tried hand feeding with both, including popping the heads off the worms and rubbing along the mouth line, and no luck
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- Reptivite dusting 2x week, flukers calcium always available in tub
- Apples, potatoes, carrots and orange cubes

Giant male


Female

 

[Kristi23]

I keep my hot side around 94. You could probably bump yours up to 90 at least. I would still keep handling to a minimum. Some geckos take longer than others to settle in and feel comfortable enough to eat. Especially adults. They can take a month or more. If they're not loosing large amounts of weight, I wouldn't worry too much yet.

If they are pooping, they are probably eating something. You might not notice a couple worms missing. Try adding a small piece of carrot to the worm bowl to keep the worms more active.

 

[geckolabs]

Ok thanks Kristi, I'll try raising the heat a bit and I have more supers coming in tonight so I'll triple count them before I put them in the tubs. I was just concerned because out of the 12 I just added to the collection, these are the only two that have yet to begin eating and they were from the same breeder. Everyone else has developed great feeding responses. But I will give that a try and see how it goes!

 

[Kristi23]

Each one is different, so even though they're from the same breeder, it might take longer for a few. I had one recently take a month to start eating and now she eats fine. Others from the same breeder have only taken a week, so it can really vary.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I agree with what Kristi has said. I keep my babies at about 90-92. The bigger ones don't mind the cooler temps but the babies appreciate a bit warmer. Handling everyday for a new gecko is a lot and might be stressing them more than needed. 28qt bins are also HUGE for a 20-25g baby gecko. I might consider switching them to 15qt bins until they get around 40-50g. If you cannot do that I would make sure all of their hides and water bowl and what not are close together in half the bin. Make sure the hides are snug and not really spacious, this might make them feel more secure too. I would just count 10 mealworms and leave them in an escape proof bowl and check on them every other day. Some of the little one's I've gotten were scared to death of me and only ate late at night when everything was 100% quiet.

Large male geckos tend to eat very little. Mine eat 1 or 2 dubia or superworms a week. Your giant may still be growing and eat a bit more but I wouldn't try to rush his growth with super fatty foods like pinkies. I only give high fat foods to breeding females that are looking a bit "rough" from breeding. They are generally unhealthy in my opinion just like they would be for a human.