Not gaining weight?

[animeavatar]

I feed my gecko and he poos but he doesn't gain weight(he is about 53 grams). I usually feed him 8 crix a night and I dust them as well. He eats and poops well. Also, does anyone know why his colour sometimes darkens?

 

[Jayme]

Dark color could mean the gecko is stressed or too cold. But then they also change colors as they age so it could potentially be that as well. And if a gecko is eating a lot but not gaining weight or even losing weight, it can mean they have some sort of parasite which is stealin their food. So just keep an eye on his appetite and his weight. Try feeding him superworms as those are good for putting a little weight on a leo. And if you're ever in doubt, you could always take him to a reptile vet.

 

[animeavatar]

He's probably too cold because right now he isn't sleeping in his hide like he usually does.
On Thursday he got a small cut on his tail. Today I put some Zoo Med Repti Wound-Healing Aid. Hopefully that helps but why isn't he in his hide sleeping? He is just standing there.

 

[Jayme]

What are the cage surface temps? What are you measuring them with? What are you using to heat the cage?

Also how did his tail get cut? Make sure the cage is clean to help prevent infection. What substrate are you using?

 

[animeavatar]

I am using paper towels, an UTH, analog thermometer and the temperature is aroung 88F.
I think his tail got cut on asharp object so I removed all objects that might've cut him and I also cleaned the cage when I found out about his cut.

 

[animeavatar]

Is 53 grams light for a male leopard gecko( I got him on Nov 28/10, he was probably a few months )?

 

[Jayme]

Ok, good using the paper towels and removing any sharp stuff. It's really important you get a digital thermometer with a probe though (from a local petstore or something, they only cost 10 bucks) to measure the surface temps accurately. The analogues measure ambient temps instead of the surface, and their accuracy is questionable.

Get one of those and put the probe on the hot side. If the UTH is too hot then that could explain why he won't go into his hides (and maybe the dark color) and if it's too cold then that could explain the strange colors. People on this forum have found the ideal temp range to be around 90-95. It's important to have the proper temperatures maintained because without them it compromises the gecko's immune system.

53 grams is on the lighter end of a healthy weight, though a lot of it depends on the length of the gecko is as well.

 

[animeavatar]

Last night I checked the cut and it looks cleaner and has less blood. I checked the temps and it was too warm so I fixed that.

 

[animeavatar]

I checked on him today and he is about to shed

 

[animeavatar]

He shed and now the cut looks cleaner but it looks more like dried blood so I don't know what to do. Also, he lost 1 gram

 

[animeavatar]

How do I get him to gain more weight?