Should I feed him more often? Is he too little?

[2bacop]

those pictures arent of a leo?

 

[kyahbean]

those pictures arent of a leo?

lol no he's an African Fat Tail.

 

[nats]

African Fat Tail. He's not a Leopard.

Oh, thanks :main_yes:

Are they smaller than leo's?
Yours just looks really small for his age.

 

[kyahbean]

Oh, thanks :main_yes:

Are they smaller than leo's?
Yours just looks really small for his age.

I dunno. I don't know much about either one of them. Aliza keeps both and says they are smaller in proportion to the leos...so I'm thinking AFTs maybe just grow differently? I was hoping someone with lots of experience with AFTs might know. He seemed small to me, too. I'll weigh him again next week and see if he's gained any weight or not. I also know the guy who sold him to me was feeding him every other day, so maybe he couldn't beef up by eating every other day.

I fed him again today and he ate 7 crickets. I'll keep feeding him every day as long as he'll eat every day. I've been taking the crickets out of his tank if he doesn't eat them right away. Today was the first time he crawled into his humid hide and ignored the last one there.

The pet stores around here really don't have much in the way of mealworms. They all look dead. I don't want to feed him dead worms lol.

 

[2bacop]

wow i really thought that was a leo! LOL

 

[kyahbean]

wow i really thought that was a leo! LOL

Haha! Yea they are closely related but come from different countries. The Fat Tails mainly originate from West Africa and are not as abundantly bred as the Leos. It's only in the past few years that people have begun to breed them in larger quantities. This little guy won't lose his bands as he sheds like leos do. It's harder to find concrete information about AFTs because they aren't as common. Most books and literature are geared towards leos and they have different habits and stuff, such as requiring a more humid environment, and being more docile and lazy than the leos. I have also heard they are harder to breed, therefore making them a bit more rare.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

I thought it was a Leo too.

When I first made my post, I thought that it was a Leo.

Then, someone said AFT.

I then looked at the pic and sure enough the tail is different.

So ... what do I know. Feed it what it will eat and see what happens.

But, you are right that they need a little more humidity than a Leo.

Have fun and I hope it works out.:main_thumbsup:

 

[nats]

I dunno. I don't know much about either one of them. Aliza keeps both and says they are smaller in proportion to the leos...so I'm thinking AFTs maybe just grow differently? I was hoping someone with lots of experience with AFTs might know. He seemed small to me, too. I'll weigh him again next week and see if he's gained any weight or not. I also know the guy who sold him to me was feeding him every other day, so maybe he couldn't beef up by eating every other day.

I fed him again today and he ate 7 crickets. I'll keep feeding him every day as long as he'll eat every day. I've been taking the crickets out of his tank if he doesn't eat them right away. Today was the first time he crawled into his humid hide and ignored the last one there.

The pet stores around here really don't have much in the way of mealworms. They all look dead. I don't want to feed him dead worms lol.

I Googled African fat tails and Puzzle doesnt look like any of the pics I
have seen! :main_huh: is he an unusual morph?

 

[kyahbean]

I Googled African fat tails and Puzzle doesn't look like any of the pics I
have seen! :main_huh: is he an unusual morph?

He's an amel. I'm not sure exactly what type, I don't know a lot about the different morphs. This thread on Geckos Unlimited has one that looks similar and says it's a Tangerine Albino. So maybe one of those? He's young and his colors have yet to really show.

If anyone else knows what type of morph he is, by all means chime in here.

 

[nats]

He's an amel. I'm not sure exactly what type, I don't know a lot about the different morphs. This thread on Geckos Unlimited has one that looks similar and says it's a Tangerine Albino. So maybe one of those? He's young and his colors have yet to really show.

If anyone else knows what type of morph he is, by all means chime in here.

Thanks, now I see :main_thumbsup:
Your little Puzzle is so cute!

 

[kyahbean]

Thanks, now I see :main_thumbsup:
Your little Puzzle is so cute!

Thanks!!! He finally shed today. I'll put pics up later. And Pat says that he is a Banded Amel, and that his colors will start to show more when he hits the 20-30 gram level. So I guess I need to beef him up! :main_laugh:

 

[kyahbean]

So I've been feeding him every day, he's been eating like 7-8 crickets per day. I weighed him again and he's 9.5 grams. Cross your fingers and hope that he keeps eating and gaining!

 

[kyahbean]

Just an update, I weighed him today and he's up to 14.8 grams!

 

[paintedlizards]

wait...they are supposed to slow down on the eating?

all my adults will eat 10-20 crickets a day.

 

[kyahbean]

wait...they are supposed to slow down on the eating?

all my adults will eat 10-20 crickets a day.

Most people seem to say that when they are adults there is no need to feed them more than 2-3 times per week. I dunno, Puzzle is my first and only gecko.

 

[nats]

Most people seem to say that when they are adults there is no need to feed them more than 2-3 times per week. I dunno, Puzzle is my first and only gecko.

I believe thats true.
Mine are now adults, and I feed them about 3 times a week.
Here in the winter months, they have really slowed down eating,
so much so, that my crickets are all dieing off on me

 

[kyahbean]

I'm trying to get him to eat more mealworms so that I can buy less crickets. I love watching him hunt the crickets, but it's nice to not have to deal with them every day.

 

[acpart]

My AFT's (adults) have not eaten since mid-November. I warmed up their cage a few months ago but they have been nearly the last of the geckos to wake themselves up. My male Tremper had also not eaten until a few days ago and he only lost 3 grams (he's weighing in at 112).

ALiza

 

[e_cupcake26]

I dunno. I don't know much about either one of them. Aliza keeps both and says they are smaller in proportion to the leos...so I'm thinking AFTs maybe just grow differently? I was hoping someone with lots of experience with AFTs might know. He seemed small to me, too. I'll weigh him again next week and see if he's gained any weight or not. I also know the guy who sold him to me was feeding him every other day, so maybe he couldn't beef up by eating every other day.

I fed him again today and he ate 7 crickets. I'll keep feeding him every day as long as he'll eat every day. I've been taking the crickets out of his tank if he doesn't eat them right away. Today was the first time he crawled into his humid hide and ignored the last one there.

The pet stores around here really don't have much in the way of mealworms. They all look dead. I don't want to feed him dead worms lol.

They look dead because they go into a coma or deep sleep while refigerated. You havde to let them warm up to room temps and then they start to squiggle around. Most pet stores keep them in coolers or in a refridgerated compartment. I thought they were dead too until the sales person at the pet store explained that to me! LOL!

 

[cwazy]

i was just gonna point that out about the mealies... dead mealies are black... simple as that if they are not moving its because they go dorment when chilled... once warmed up they will magicly come alive