Should I be worried?

[thewesterngate]

Hello all, I'm very concerned about my young leopard gecko. I'm not new to reptiles, but I've only had him (a leopard gecko) for three weeks. Initially he was skinny, as all store-bought animals are, plus he's very young, but he hasn't appeared to put weight on since I've gotten him. He was on extremely fine sand, but was fed either in a smaller tank or in a deep sand-free plate. His appetite had been fairly good, but now he disregards both crickets and mealies.

I noticed that the end of his tail had turned red, but because he's solid-white, I couldn't tell if he had a bit of shed stuck on it. I soaked him for a while, then moved him to a 'hospital' tank with the bare basics (water, hide, calcium, moist hide, paper towels). He isn't any more lethargic than your average gecko, he cruises around or naps under the hotspot a lot..but how long should it take for him to gain weight? Or appear healthier? His feces is normal and regular though.

I could be overreacting..but his appetite is poor recently and his skin is wrinkled along his sides, as well as a skinny tail. Is there anything more I can do to get him back into better shape faster? He's currently on paper towels in a plastic bin with a hotspot of ~91F.

 

[GeckoGurl]

More experienced owners will im sure be here to help... but if your gecko is acting normal as in eating and pooping regularly then I would suggest a vet visit to do a fecal exam for parasites... you can go to walmart or a headshop or even order online a digital scale so that you can properly manage weight. I do know that they store fat in their tails for times that there may be a food storage so it may take a little while. All in all it could be impacted if he is on sand. Sand is not recommended though there are many as well as myself that have used it. Stay away from calci sand as he would eat it for calcium, I used play sand and I was fine but that was also before I became a member of this site. Hopefully I have not confused you more... Just trying to share a bit of knowledge I have learned from many members here. Good luck and hope all is well!