Stubborn Leo

[camie31]

I have a 4 year old female named Cupid and she has always been great with eating. All three of my guys take mealworms and crickets. About a month ago I decided to try some wax worms as a treat for my guys I hand fed each of them 4or5 and left some mealies in the tank that night. Next morning the other 2 ate everything no problems however Cupid has been refusing to eat almost anything since the waxworms. I can get her to eat maybe one or two crickets every few days but thats it its been almost a month like this and she has lost a little bit of weight on her tail...

Any tricks to get her eating the normal stuff again.. how long can she really hold out for?

Thank You!!!

 

[SC Geckos]

Do you know how much weight she has lost or is it just visual?
If shes begining to loose weight (especially enough to see) I would call a vet and have her looked at. Its possible she has become sick. It could be related to the waxworms or just be a coincidence.
You can try squishing part of a mealie and dab it on her nose. It may stimulate her to grab it, but I think a vet is needed before she looses too much weight.

 

[camie31]

Its just a visual at this point I'll call the vet in the morning... Could it be just a stubborn thing how bad would it be to offer wax worms again and see if she goes for it?

 

[SC Geckos]

Its just a visual at this point I'll call the vet in the morning... Could it be just a stubborn thing how bad would it be to offer wax worms again and see if she goes for it?

I would try squishing the mealie or the cricket first to she if she takes it, but if that doesn't work then I would offer a waxworm. If shes loosing weight any food is good. Do you have a picture of her to show how thin she is?

 

[camie31]

Give me just a min ill take one I offered a cricket with no luck then cut a mealie in half and she gave me the mom your annoying me tail dance and walked away. Offered a waxworm and she went nuts and ate it and 2 more -_-. Picture in a few min

 

[camie31]

View attachment 48768

View attachment 48769

there you go

 

[SC Geckos]

She doesn't look bad at all.
I would put a small bowl with some dusted mealies in her enclosure and leave them in with her for a couple days. Count them so you know if she eats any of them. Double check your temps to make sure those are still good and see if she eats in the next day or two. I would not offer her any more waxworms at least until she starts eating her mealies or crickets again. It still would be a good idea to get her checked out by a vet especially if she doesn't have a history of going off food for periods of time.

I would recommend going to Walmart and picking up a cheap food scale ($15-$20) to monitor her weight every few days to a week.
Is it possible that she is ovulating? This can also cause some geckos to loose there appetite.

 

[camie31]

No shes never been a big girl and she does get picky about food just never this long... I lost one of my males a few months back and took it really hard so I'm really paranoid whenever they are acting off. Thank you for all your help I will get in touch with my vet just to be sure ill give her a few more days with the mealies in a bowl again.

Is it possible that she is ovulating? This can also cause some geckos to loose there "appetite."
Never considered this how can I tell

 

[pilsboy]

well one thing i heard for sure is that those wax worms are kinda gecko crack/cocaine-- so very addictive, id definatly stop giving wax worms for now, if really needed 1 sometimes mostly as treat. pretty sure like ppl said u leave her with a bowl of mealies a few days she wont starve... she will go eat when shes really hungry.
other option to those wax worms.... butter worms.. a bit costy but good protein source.