Small adult leo...?

[dallas306]

Hi everyone. I have a male leo that I bought last november as a juvi. At that time he was around 2-3 months old. I assume at roughly 14-15 months of age he should be full grown..? He only weighs 30 grams.. my 3 year old female leo is around 51-52. The think is, hes not skinny, has good fat in his tail and belly, eats like a pig, But he is definately not full length or weight..

My female definately matured faster than this, so I don't understand why he is so small? If anyone has any eperience on this, or knows how I can get him to grow please let me know. I was hoping to breed him this year, but at his size and don't think he would be successfull.

 

[acpart]

Some leos are meant to be small. I think the average leo weight 10 years ago may have been significantly less than currently. I had a supersnow female for about a year and a half that never got much over 40 grams, but she was perfectly proportioned. If you find that your male seems to be unusually short in the body, he may be a dwarf. Several people on the forums here have dwarf geckos.

Aliza

 

[dallas306]

Hmmm. Ive never heard about that before.. Can anybody else confirm or add to this?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

GeckoGathering has an adorable dwarf, named Spider. You might try sending him a message of inquiry.

 

[Desdemona]

The girl I just posted in the Blizz or MP thread is pretty short/small compaired to my rest. I hadn't realized how small she was till I put her in with one of my other normal sized girls (she is no longer with her). I should weigh her, but head to tail tip she is not much longer than my hand and I have small hands. She's a good couple of inches shorter but nice and chunky. I assumed it was because she went on a severe food strike a few weeks after I first got her, but maybe not. She lost all the fat in her tail before she finally started eating again (checked out fine at the vet).

 

[dallas306]

I just checked out your patternless desdemona and she is still way bigger than my male. Almost the exact same age. Ill try to snap a picture of him with one of my 50 gram females for comparison and then post it up.

 

[dallas306]

Here are the pictures:

 

[LZRDGRL]

Where is he? Oh, there, under the mealworm

Naw, just kiddin'. This is a rather small gecko. :main_yes: But he doesn't look sick or so; his tail is not wrinkled and thin. Do you keep him alone? Maybe he gets a bit less food than the others. He has perfect proportions, so that's not a dwarf of the same category as "Spider," who has a shortened back. Maybe he's a late bloomer, or just meant to be small. I'd call him Tiny Tim, from A Christmas Carol

Chrissy

 

[MiamiLeos]

He looks a bit thin to me and dull. Has he been getting supplements and does he eat normally?

 

[dallas306]

He actually eats more than the female he was in the pictures with. He also never seems to get much fatter than he is now. He's not the greatest hunter so I now have him on mealworms all the time to make sure he is getting enough food. He is also housed alone.

 

[dallas306]

The picture with the two of them in my hand shows that his head is only about half the size of hers... Very strange..

 

[artes]

He doesn't look underfed or anything - just skinny. Skinny people happen, skinny geckos do as well. As long as he's chowing down and being supplemented, just treat him like he's a tiny one and tickle him.