Wants attention more than food :(

[GeckoNub]

Ive had Daisy since March and shes about 8 months old now. for the most part shes been a great eater, had most things ive tried her on and gained a healthy weight and a chubby tail.

For the last few weeks shes been iffy. She doesnt seem interested in mealworms anymore and she used to love roaches but now she is more interested in comming outta the viv than eating.

I put Peppa in with her over a week ago now and apart from the initial bite Peppa gave Daisy, im guessing cos Daisy got all up in her face and scared her, they have been getting on really well I dont think Daisy feels threatened by Peppa as they share hides a lot, follow each other around, step on each other and just usual gecko stuff

Peppa is eating fine and normally has 1-2 roaches every other day and snacks on mealworms from the dish that are in there all the time.

I havent seen Daisy eat from the dish but know from past experiance she doesnt normally eat them. She hasnt eaten for a week now and even though she doesnt seem to be losing weight i still worry.

When i feed her roaches she chases them, licks them, then comes up to the glass wanting me to pick her up.

She will happily sit on my hand, walk up my arm, watch the TV etc till i put her back, then shes flapping at the glass again.

I always thought it was sweet how much she loves to be picked up but now i just wish she would stop being as clingy and eat something

Ive tried leaving her with the food and ignoring her while i see to the other geckos but she still ignores the food and stands up at the glass watching me.

Any ideas what i can do to encourage her to eat?

 

[Linford]

have the exact same problem with my male Roger who is 5 months old. Its so annoying isnt it! If anyone can find or has a solution to this then i'd appreciate it too. Feel for ya man!

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I hate how everytime I respond it sounds like im saying everyone's animal has parasites but here goes lol....
I noticed in effected animals they would have similar behavior. They would seem listless, roam around the perimeter a lot, were restless and during feeding time walk right over food and instead look to be picked up. We also had two where they would eat a whole bunch and then stop all while maintaining the same weight.

After we treated these animals they resumed normal activity and would no longer seek the edge of the glass or our attention. For the most part I think they act like they want to be held when they are sick or something is wrong. You have to remember that it is an animal after all and no animal in its right mind would want to walk right toward a larger animal(you). It is beneficial to a parasite to make the animal wander out of its hide toward larger animals because then it gets to move to a new host and spread.

Im going to include this because I find it interesting. In the case of Taxoplasmosis, it goes into the brain and uses an enzyme that disrupts the production of dopamine. Dopamine is responsible for mood, motivation, voluntary movements etc.... So im reading on taxoplasmosis on wiki and apparently a study was done on rats with taxo, and they exposed these rats to cat pheromones. Not only did these rats not run and hide, they actually followed the pheromones trying to find the source. This is an example of how the taxo tricked the brain into more risky behaviors in order to propagate itself. They have found that in humans it has similar effects and might even contribute to schizophrenia.

Parasites make animals do weird things.
Check this out ZOMBIE ANTS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGSUU3E9ZoM
ZOMBIE SNAIL!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWB_COSUXMw

 

[LizMarie]

I think it might be stressed from being with another leo. Humans see awww they're climbing each other, acting as each others shawdows, sleeping together they must like each other and want to be around each other, right!? WRONG! Leos aren't humans and if anything one of her females can be trying to show her dominance over the other with such actions.

I would honestly find a small tank 10 gallon or a bin and place her there and see if she starts eating on her own. If she does I would say the stress is because of being housed together.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I agree Liz, the stepping on each other and following each other around looks cute but it is most likely dominance issue. I have noticed when the dominant female claims the food dish others will not touch it. If they do she will come out and step on their heads(dominance) until they retreat and show disinterest in the food. This is just my experience with housing them together. They really do seem to have different personalities and some mesh and some don't!

 

[GeckoNub]

Well today i moved Peppa out of Daisy's viv.

I decided to get Daisy out on her own and let her have a walk around and try her with some food. She is very clingy but seemed ok and ate 2 super worms.

She had been staying in her moist hide most of the time while Peppa had been sprawled out in the warm hide. When i put Daisy back in she went in the warm hide but was then licked and pestered by Peppa till she got out.

I thought it might be a good idea to put more hides in, so as i was altering stuff Peppa went in the cool hide. Daisy followed her in and was moving around and i saw Peppa bite her tail, so Daisy ran out and hid in the moist hide again. Thats the 2nd time ive seen Peppa be agressive to her but i dont know if shes done stuff i havent seen

So that was the last straw. I feel really guilty now to not realise Daisy was being bullied. She is bigger than Peppa so i thought if anything it would be her, but she is just so sweet and chilled and a pacifist :sweetheart:

So sadly my plan to give Daisy a friend back-fired We would never think of getting rid of Peppa as she is family now and we love her to bits even though she is a big bully, so she will just have to get a nice big viv all to herself :main_rolleyes:

Daisy may still get a friend as i will try Freya with her when she is big enough. Im hoping that will be more successful as Freya has spent all her time with Bubba so she is used to being with another and shes normally the one to move outta the way, although Bubba isnt a bully

I have lots of snuggles to give to Daisy to make up for putting Peppa with her

 

[Riyo]

IMO, leopard geckos do better individually.. they do not need friends or companions.

 

[lillith]

I'm inclined to agree with Riyo; it could simply be the stresses of having a new roomie that has put her "off her feed", so to speak...

Try separating them again and see how they're eating in another week?
Unless you're willing to have them bite each other at night (when you're not looking) for another few weeks, to establish the pecking order in the house. She may be put off her feed even more.

I have had geckos torment their roomies to the point the roomies won't eat. I just trawl Craigslist for another 10 gallon tank when that happens and wait for a cheap one to pop up. In the meantime, if it's really bad, the Sterilite tubs, they are cheap!

oh! I just saw you're other post. Good that you're singling everyone out again...

 

[ariana]

i had a female who didnt eat for almost 5 months. i put her in a 10gallon, by herself, humid hide warm hide. water dish and food dish, i only got in there to mist the humid hide and to add new food every other day. she started eating again before a week had gone by