Shy leo

[meg1877]

I have a baby leo that is very shy and doesnt want to eat out of a food dish. should I just put a bunch of crickets in her tank and leave them for a while? she is an albino strain and has some trouble seeing her food. any help would be apreciated!

 

[clouded_leopard]

Do you have any lights that could be affecting her? Leopard geckos (especially Albinos) are sensitive to bright light.

I wouldn't leave a bunch of crickets in the enclosure, as they will bother her.

Put five crickets in the cage. If she eats them, add five more, and so on.

 

[mudskipper]

Leaving crickets in the tank can stress her out. Hungry crickets can bite leopard geckos, too. It's recommended that you remove the crickets after 15 minutes. If you lost a couple, leave some fish food or a dog kibble in the tank for the crickets to eat.

My 2-month old tremper albino has a hard time seeing food too regardless of the brightness. Try crushing the cricket a little so it's injured and can't move very fast. One trick I use with mine when I feed mealworms is getting her to notice a waxworm first. Let her eat the waxworm. Then keep following with mealworms. LOL

Also, she'll eventually come out to look for food once she's more comfortable with the tank. Don't try to handle her or move the decors around.

Another tip I have is I always lightly bang the tank with the tweezers every time before I feed so my leos wake up and come out. This works great with turtles and all my fish, too.

 

[meg1877]

I only have a red light in the room for feeding so its not light. I have been removing the legs from the crickets to make it easier for her, also she is not interested in mealworms at all, and the one time she ate a wax worm she threw it up. I havnt been moving anything in the tank cept the food bowl to try to get her to eat. My other gecko comes out when he is ready to eat and gives you the feed me look lol. If anything moves in the tank he is on it in a hot second. And no they are not in the same tank. they were for a bit but my albino didnt like it so they were seperated.

 

[mudskipper]

Maybe she just needs time to adjust How long have you had her?

 

[meg1877]

going on 3 weeks. she was eating at first and then she just stopped. she has maybe eaten an average of 1 cricket a night. she is still going to the bathroom and everything so its not an impaction. plus she is on tile. the temp is 94 on the hot side and low 80's on the cool side. she just doesnt seem interested in food at all.

 

[mudskipper]

Post pictures of your tank and your leo.

 

[clouded_leopard]

Post pictures of your tank and your leo.

:main_yes:

 

[meg1877]

these were just tanken

 

[clouded_leopard]

What are the temperatures?

Also, do you have a heat pad?

The setup looks good, so nothing wrong there.

 

[meg1877]

I have a UTH on the right under the large hide. Hot side is 92-95 the cool side is low 80s

 

[Crewdog00]

IMO the tank seems really big for the size Gecko you have. My Leo got real stressed and shy when I moved her from a 5 gallon to a 10 gallon.

I saw some people put a cardboard divider in the tank to make it smaller and as the gecko gets. Offer then expand to the full size versus shocking them of a Huge Tank.

Nice setup!

 

[meg1877]

I dont think it is the tank size cause she was eating really well the first week I had her but then the end of week 2 she stopped eating alot. now she will maybe eat 1 cricket a night.

 

[clouded_leopard]

How many gallons is the tank? I don't think it is too big.

 

[meg1877]

Its a 20 long so 20 gallons

 

[Crewdog00]

Temps and stress typically are the causes for not eating IMO.

I looked on google and through threads. I dont see too many people putting babies in 20 gallon tanks. I k ow snakes get stressed when tanks are too big.

I say you should just try it out for a few days or just keep waiting with the 20 and eventually your Leo will eat.

 

[meg1877]

Ok i think she ate the ones i put in there last night. that or they magically disapeared. I think the red light was bothering her.