Waxie Addict?

[Repkyle]

I'm currently experiencing, or think I'm experiencing. An addicted leo.
A few weeks back I noticed my Leo wasn't eating normal, if anything at all. Also I notice there wasn't any fresh poop laying around either. I started to worry, thinking the worst, that's around the time I joined this forum. I did some searching and read the related threads which lead to the purchase of a digital thermometer (for more accurate reading) and a digital scales.
She hasn't lost or gained weight for the last 12days and the temps are spot on. She has now had 3 poops, all in the last week but they were extremely small compared to the usual.
I have two reasons why I think she may be addicted to wax worms;-

1st 2-4 weeks prior to the above statement she ate wax worms as her main source of food for the 3 weeks mentioned. ( totally my fault, I was aware they wernt all that good for her, but no idea they are as bad as I now know.)

2nd She still has an intrest for food. She snaps into "hunt" mode whenever she spots the pray, then just after realising what pray is on offer she turns her head at the meal and returns to what ever she wa doing.

This frustrates me! Mainly beacause if she is addicted to waxes then it's my fault, I know this and I hold my hand up.

What I'm asking is, What do I do next? How do I get her appetite back?

P.s she's 76 g has been everyday since I bouht he scales 2weeks ago, she's also around 6-7 years old
Thanks for you input

 

[Repkyle]

Anyone?

 

[sunshinegeckos]

I would just continue to feed her supers, mealies etc and eventually she should eat them.

 

[Repkyle]

I would just continue to feed her supers, mealies etc and eventually she should eat them.

Yeh that's pritty much what I'm doing now, I can't get supers over here. Or at least not that I know of. I'm just going on the assumption that if she's not loosing wieght then it's not a BIG problem.
Any other help is welcome, she used to be such a good eater

 

[LeoMerlin]

Were you feeding the wax worms as a main diet? I can understand if it's to help them gain weight for a short period of time, but since the waxies are so high in fat from what I know of, I think they're just supposed to be treats for the geckos. I haven't tried giving my guy any yet, he's eating crickets and mealworms. I think if it's addicted, the thing you're supposed to do is kind of ween them off the waxies. Reduce the amount that it's been getting and slowly go back to the other food that she's been eating. That's what I have been reading the most around here I believe. Hope this helps.

 

[lillith]

I had a gecko that I got in that would eat nothing BUT waxies when she was shipped to me. I ended up going through my worm bins daily and using only 1-3 squishy, just-shed, "white" mealworms to mix in with her waxies, and then slowly switched ratios. It took two months to get her to accept these white mealies. It then took another 3 months to introduce gradually crunchier mealies until I had her all the way onto normal mealworms. When I got her she was small for her age, now at 2 years old she wolfs mealies and supers down and tips the scale at 62g. She still loves waxies, but only gets them as post-egg treats.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

reptiles do not get addicted to anything. just keep offering other insects and sooner or later it will eat when hungry and fat reserves have gone down a bit.

 

[LeoMerlin]

That's good to hear! I am wanting to start my own colony of mealworms but need to get a few things at the store this coming week. Hoping that will slow down on the spending since my dad keeps saying "You're spending WAY TOO much on your lizards." >_> but any who, just try offering different food sources to your little one and eventually it should eat normally again instead of just waxies.

 

[Imperial Geckos]

btw DO NOT give in. Do not feed it wax worms anymore until it will eat other things with no hesitation. They can be stubborn, but don't worry a healthy leo (with good fat reserves, since it was eating only wax worms) can go a good while without food with no ill effects. Monitor its weight and overall look. Just because it looses a gram or two doesn't mean its dying.

Good Luck!