Neon Aurora
New Member
- Messages
- 1,376
- Location
- New Mexico
I've got a "rescue" leo that just seems a little different from my others. I've never had one from poor conditions before, so I would like any input anyone can give me.
About your leo:
- Sex - Female
- Age & Weight - Age unknown, but over 2 years. Weight 49 grams last Saturday
- How long have you owned your leo - A few months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) - Random neighbors gave her to me
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo - Once a week when I move them to clean the enclosure
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. - She's healthy and not acting different, it's just her feeding response is slower than any gecko I've ever owned.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. Not since I've had her.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) - Normal
- When was the last time he/she went - Yesterday
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on - She just has a really slow feeding response. I weigh all of my leos weekly and noticed that her tankmate was gaining weight and she was losing weight, so I started removing the tankmate to feed her. However, I was hanging out and watching her one evening and it takes her incredibly long to empty the bowl. No wonder the other one was getting all the food. I got impatient tonight waiting for her to eat and ended up tong feeding. Even this was slow. When she is eating out of the bowl, she stares into the bowl and looks interested and will cock her head back and forth and then stop and do it again. Eventually she will eat a worm. When tong fed, I found I had much more luck holding the worm so she saw it and then touching it to her mouth. Then she would take it. Her appetite is fine, she ate 15 worms, it just took forever for her to eat them all. It just seems weird to me because all of the leos I've had have a voracious feeding response. They see the food, cock their heads once, and lunge. She takes probably 4-5 times as long to strike at a worm than any of the others.
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size - 20 long
- Type (ex. glass tank) - Glass
- Type of substrate - Linoleum
- Hides, how many, what kind - 2 cool, 2 warm, 1 humid
B) Heating
- Heat source - UTH
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) - Standard, 90 warm and 75ish cool
- Method of regulating heat source - Cheapo thermostat
- What are you using to measure your temps - Temp gun
- Do you have any lights (describe) - No
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) - One female
- Describe health, or previous problems - Was a little thin and poorly colored when I received her and had stuck shed. All of those problems have resolved, although I would like her to gain a bit more weight, which is why I noticed the slow feeding response.
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) - Mealies, 15 every other night until she puts more weight on
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) - Dish normally with tankmate removed, but tongs tonight
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) - Repashy Calcium Plus
- What are you gut loading food with - Bran and veggies
I almost didn't want to fill out the whole thing, because it's not the set up. I'm just wondering if anyone else has any healthy leos with a very slow feeding response. Should I worry about eyes? My neighbors got her as an adult and had her for two years, but they didn't know what they were doing. She was on sand and everything, so I can only guess that she was never supplemented properly. Vitamin A deficiency causing eye problems? Normal variation in personality? Any input welcome.
For the record, she's really quite healthy. She's a much brighter yellow than she was when I first got her, and I even think she got a little bigger. Not sure how that would work in a 2+ year old gecko, but I remember being surprised how tiny she was when I saw her. Now she looks like she is the same size as the other one she shares a tank with. Perhaps it's just fat stores that makes her look more filled out.
About your leo:
- Sex - Female
- Age & Weight - Age unknown, but over 2 years. Weight 49 grams last Saturday
- How long have you owned your leo - A few months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) - Random neighbors gave her to me
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo - Once a week when I move them to clean the enclosure
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. - She's healthy and not acting different, it's just her feeding response is slower than any gecko I've ever owned.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. Not since I've had her.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) - Normal
- When was the last time he/she went - Yesterday
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on - She just has a really slow feeding response. I weigh all of my leos weekly and noticed that her tankmate was gaining weight and she was losing weight, so I started removing the tankmate to feed her. However, I was hanging out and watching her one evening and it takes her incredibly long to empty the bowl. No wonder the other one was getting all the food. I got impatient tonight waiting for her to eat and ended up tong feeding. Even this was slow. When she is eating out of the bowl, she stares into the bowl and looks interested and will cock her head back and forth and then stop and do it again. Eventually she will eat a worm. When tong fed, I found I had much more luck holding the worm so she saw it and then touching it to her mouth. Then she would take it. Her appetite is fine, she ate 15 worms, it just took forever for her to eat them all. It just seems weird to me because all of the leos I've had have a voracious feeding response. They see the food, cock their heads once, and lunge. She takes probably 4-5 times as long to strike at a worm than any of the others.
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size - 20 long
- Type (ex. glass tank) - Glass
- Type of substrate - Linoleum
- Hides, how many, what kind - 2 cool, 2 warm, 1 humid
B) Heating
- Heat source - UTH
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) - Standard, 90 warm and 75ish cool
- Method of regulating heat source - Cheapo thermostat
- What are you using to measure your temps - Temp gun
- Do you have any lights (describe) - No
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) - One female
- Describe health, or previous problems - Was a little thin and poorly colored when I received her and had stuck shed. All of those problems have resolved, although I would like her to gain a bit more weight, which is why I noticed the slow feeding response.
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) - Mealies, 15 every other night until she puts more weight on
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) - Dish normally with tankmate removed, but tongs tonight
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) - Repashy Calcium Plus
- What are you gut loading food with - Bran and veggies
I almost didn't want to fill out the whole thing, because it's not the set up. I'm just wondering if anyone else has any healthy leos with a very slow feeding response. Should I worry about eyes? My neighbors got her as an adult and had her for two years, but they didn't know what they were doing. She was on sand and everything, so I can only guess that she was never supplemented properly. Vitamin A deficiency causing eye problems? Normal variation in personality? Any input welcome.
For the record, she's really quite healthy. She's a much brighter yellow than she was when I first got her, and I even think she got a little bigger. Not sure how that would work in a 2+ year old gecko, but I remember being surprised how tiny she was when I saw her. Now she looks like she is the same size as the other one she shares a tank with. Perhaps it's just fat stores that makes her look more filled out.
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