trying to feed my blind albino baby..

[lilactheleo]

Alright, so I know there are a lot of posts out there about not being able to get their leos to eat and being super concerned about it, but my issue with my leo is kind of different.

I got my two new leos at the same time, about a week and a half ago, and one of them is blind. When it comes to feeding time, Mel (the one who is not blind) eats with vigor. Mel attacks anything that moves, even my tweezers, with ferocity and feeding time is definitely his favorite time of the day. But Lilac (who is my blind baby ), I cannot get her to eat for the life of me.

Now, I know there are a lot of things that can cause a leo not to eat, but I'm starting to get concerned. Their terrarium is definitely big enough and it's definitely warm enough, because Mel is having no problems with eating, at all. There are plenty of hides, even though Lilac spends most of her time in a corner of the tank, soaking up the heat from the under tank heater and the over tank lamp I have set up. I do have both Mel and Lilac in the same tank, so I don't know if there's a "bullying" situation going on. As of right now, they are both about the same size so it's not as if Mel is much bigger than Lilac and is picking on her, but I don't know what goes on when I'm not home. And yes, I know that it can take awhile for leos to get settled into a new space, but I'm just concerned because she is blind and she can't exactly see, though she can smell, the food I'm putting in front of her.

I have gotten her to eat twice since I've gotten her, by force feeding, even though I really hate the idea of force feeding. I have tried dangling a worm in front of her face, which I was told was the only thing she ate before I got her, and then have left her alone with the worm for awhile, but she still doesn't eat it. I don't know if I should just give her more time to settle in and see if she eats on her own, but I'm still kind of worried about it, because of the added factor that she's blind.

So if anyone had any tips on how to get a leo to eat that would be super helpful, but keep in mind that she is blind and I'm not exactly an advocate of force feeding. I feel as if I've traumatized her the two times I got her to eat by force feeding her.

 

[acpart]

Are you sure she's blind (in other words, could you provide some more information). I consider force feeding to be when you cram food into the mouth using a syringe or something like that. I sometimes use assisted feeding where I hold the gecko and gently poke a feeder at the mouth, giving the gecko an opportunity to open its mouth and bite the feeder. If you can get her to eat that way, it's a good way to start. The hope is, she begins to associate the feeling of a feeder touching the mouth with eating. You can also leave a dish of mealworms there all the time in the event that she can smell them and eat on her own.

Aliza

 

[lilactheleo]

The reason I say she's blind is because she's about 2 months old with wobbly legs, most of the time, and she constantly licks everything. As a human would put a hand out for feelers, Lilac will bump something with her nose and proceed to lick at it until she realises what it is. And she doesn't recognize light. If I shine a light at Mel, he'll rear back and practically ask me why. Lilac, on the other hand, doesn't even notice the light in her face and just continues on with her business.

I've done "assisted feeing" with her, but she jerks away from the food and sakes her head. She ignores food I leave in a tank with her as if it's not even there. I've watched her bypass live mealies in her tank, not even noticing them. She's a stubborn broad and I'm getting worried. However, she's getting calcium and water, so she's not totally deprived. But I don't know how to get her to recognize that food is FOOD.

 

[Dinosaur!]

I used to have a blind albino gecko. It took me a while to figure out how to get him to eat, but i eventually got the hang of it. What I did was pinch the very back segment off of a mealworm, squeeze some of the "juice" out, and then wipe some of it on his lips and mouth so that he would get a taste for it. Once he started licking, i would put a little pressure on the side of his mouth with the "gutted" end of the worm, and then he would bite it and eat it. I slowly stopped having to gut the worm, because he eventually associated the pressure on his mouth with food, and then he began hunting by sound (or standing in the dish, and catching them as they crawled over his feet ) . I would provide photos for instruction, but he passed away of old age a few months ago.

Just dont give up, and be persistant. Remember that she cant see the food, and that you will have to teach her. It may take up to a year for her to begin eating out of a bowl though, but its well worth the effort in the end. Just take it nice and slow.

And can I ask how old each of them are? Because males and females WILL breed whether you want it or not, which can lead to deadlt complications if they are too young or small to handle breeding (especially if they are already having a hard time eating). I hope that this helps either way. Feel free to ask me about caring for a blind gecko, and I will try to help you with my own experience. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Neon Aurora]

I couldn't help but notice you said she has wobbly legs. Wobbliness as well as not eating is sometimes an early symptom of metabolic bone disease. Was she getting proper calcium supplementation before you got her?