Okay to feed female gecko right after laying thrid clutch

[Awag]

Hey all, I was wondering if it was okay to assist feed a female leopard gecko a few minutes after she has laid her third clutch. She has dropped a significant amount of weight and has rarely eaten since I got her and she was beginning to ovulate. She wouldn't take the meal worm for like 20 minutes until she finally decided to swallow one, I was wondering if this was okay? I am going to try and assist feed tomorrow again or wait another day then do it and I was wanting to know for future reference when I should assist feed.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I would offer her food right away in a bowl but give her a day or two after laying before trying to assist feed. If she's losing weight at an alarming rate, looking really skinny and unwilling to eat that is unusual. If she still looks relatively healthy I wouldn't try to assist feed her as you may stress her more than is good. A picture would help gauge how bad she is. It is not uncommon for fat females to lose 20g or more in a season but they shouldn't start to have pencil thin tails.

I would triple check your temperatures and make sure she has a 90-92 degree warm spot that's not too hot. I would also get her as far away from the male as possible to try to encourage her to stop laying. If you're having to assist feed I would guess something else is going on and think about getting her in to a vet depending on how she looks.

 

[Awag]

Her tail is not "pencil thin", but it is A LOT thinner than it was when I got her. She always has mealworms/dubia roaches in a bowl available for her to eat, but she literally never does/has. She was 85 grams when I got her and three clutches later she is 55. Sometimes their hot spot can get to 86-88, but she has numerous spots with varying temps. I have always had the male and her side by side and she has not been eating since late February. (beginning of ovulation). She has ate one roach and one cricket, but that is all. I try to leave her food for her to forge and eat, but she doesnt lol I will defientely consider moving my other female next to her and putting both the males side by side. The first picture is her after her laying on 5/20, the second picture is a few days before her laying. The third pic is literally like 2 weeks after I got her, around feb. 25th or something. Fourth picture is her before I paired her the first time. The last picture is right before she laided on 4/21.

 

[Awag]

The first picture is her after the pairing on 5/10. And the second picture is her while developing her 2nd clutch which was laid 5/6. (sorry the first photo is upside down)

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Breeding females really need warmer temperatures. They do best with temps around 91-92. At 88 (as you're seeing) their appetites and metabolisms really can't compete with the demands of egg laying and breeding. She doesn't look scary thin yet but she's definitely looking rough. You might want to order some wax worms, butter worms, or some other high fat treat to help her keep her weight up. If bumping up her temps and tasty treats don't help I would think about getting her to a vet if she gets much thinner. She could have some sort of parasite issue that's adding to her stress and weight loss.

 

[Awag]

Sorry about that I mean 96-98 not in the 80s. I just got in some repta boost to try and see how she does on this, I switch tanks tonight so female is next to female and see what happens. I've tried waxworms and she seriously has 0 interest.

 

[SCGeckos]

She does not look thin to me. I personally would avoid assist feeding and the repti boost. She looks quite plump to me and all that other stuff is going to do is stress her even more than she likely already is. In fact she looks like she was a bit over weight when you first got her. Fat gecko does not equal healthy gecko as many people seem to think. Just keep offering her food and if she does not take it remove it from her enclosure to reduce stress and try again the next day but at this point I don't see a reason to try anything drastic. Last thing as far as your temps..... I would not go any higher in temps than 95 degrees on the warm side. Once you start to flirt with 100 degrees bad things will happen.

 

[Awag]

Okay I have a thermostat I can hook the heat pads up to. She was 55 grams on 5/20 and tonight she was 59 grams, do you think it is possible she is developing more eggs? I did not try the repti boost yet, so I will probably hold that off unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

96-98 is FAR too hot in my opinion. Her metabolism may be running on turbo and eating her reserves faster than she can make more or she may be feeling too warm to eat. Get your temps under control in the 90-93 range (not air temperature but floor temperature - air should be cooler) before forcing things down her throat or giving her medications. Just like with people, medications can have side effects for babies. Like SC said she's not in the danger zone of thin yet but you want her to turn around ASAP. At her weight females should be eating like hogs in between clutches. Mine usually eat for a week or two like they'll never see food again and then when their next eggs start to increase in size they quit eating the week before they lay. Good luck!!

 

[Awag]

Just wanted to let you know DrCarrotTail and SCGeckos that by moving the male and switching up heating methods by putting a thermostat she has began to eat. Thanks for you guys help and advice I really appreciate it!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Glad to hear it!! Hope she keeps doing well!!