What have I done...

[Karah]

I have had my gecko for a little over a year now, and since the day I've gotten him, he always had problems eating. When I bought him, he was 89 grams (he is a Giant). He just doesn't eat very much. I've tried crickets and he wouldn't touch them. I tried mealworms, and thankfully, he'd eat around one or two a day. He kept losing weight, so I tried waxworms (there are only crickets, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms at my local petstore). He weighed 74 grams. Now he weighs 77 grams, after a week of eating waxworms. I did some more research on waxworms, and read that they were addicting. I tried feeding him a mealworm, but he wouldn't touch it. I offered a waxworm, and he ate it. I'm freaking out because he won't eat anything else. I read that waxworms are really unhealthy, so I'm not sure of what to do. I want to try feeding him dubia roaches, though my parents are 'terrified' of them, so I can't... please help?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

The general idea is that if they get hungry enough, they'll eat what you put in there. So start by cutting waxworms from his diet completely, and offer mealworms, superworms, silkworms, phoenix worms, etc.. Once he gets hungry, he should start feeding on whatever you are offering him. It may help to keep a dish full of mealworms in his tank, so he can snack on them as he gets hungry. Sometimes they may get their appetite late at night or early in the morning when we are sleeping.

When male geckos become sexually mature, they can lose appetite and start eating less. Sometimes they'll also be affected by the breeding season if they get excited about wanting to find a mate. So it's quite normal to have a male leopard gecko not eat as much during the breeding season. It's especially so if they get the scent of a female gecko. Although if you have a male that's gone from 89 to 74, there may be other cause of it. How is your husbandry? Is he getting enough belly heat? Is he supplemented with multivitamin when you feed him?

 

[Karah]

The heat pad is measured with a digital thermometer. It varies from 90-95 degrees. He has one humid hide and three dry hides. The substrate is paper towels. I change his water dish every three days. I am currently supplementing his waxworms with Repashy. When I dusted the mealworms with it he would rarely eat them. I have tried three different supplements: Repashy, vionate, & repcal. He will occasionally eat mealworms dusted with Repashy but only after he hasn't eaten for a week.. Vionate never worked. Repcal multivitamin never worked. But I see him lick the rep cal d3 and rep cal without d3 that he has in his tank all the time.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Looks like you have done your homework and your husbandry is sound, so good for you :main_thumbsup:

Could you take a pic of him so we can see how he looks, and how proportional his tail is to his body?

 

[Karah]

Also could you tell me his morph? All the owner told me was that he was a Giant. If this photo is hard for you to see his tail in proportion with his body, let me know and I'll upload a different picture

 

[Karah]

I really wish that I could give him silkworms or Phoenix worms, though they aren't at any pet stores in our county. Id have to get them online, but my parents don't want to pay for shipping...

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Tail looks fine, doesn't look skinny. The gecko looks like a tangerine/high yellow.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I would agree that he doesn't look super skinny. Maybe he's just not hungry but can't resist the "junk food" waxworms? I would try not feeding him for 4-7 days and then offering him a bowl of mealworms. As Online said...when he gets hungry enough he'll eat.

 

[sausage]

I agree with the others hes looking healthy nice lad you got there. all my geckos appatites go up and down all the time. I did make the mistake of feeding them too many wax worms because i was worried they would starve lol. but they are just like kids, they would prefer to eat sweets and burgers instead of real food . but as already said they will eat if they are hungry enough

 

[Karah]

I've got good news! He refused to eat mealworms for nearly 2 weeks until today, he finally gave in. He ate 7 mealworms today, so it seems like he's finally over his obsession of waxworms. Thanks for your help, everyone!

 

[sausage]

Im so glad hes starting to eat again. congrats keep it up

 

[tibi]

i've noticed that all my geckos eat much better when they have a full bowl of mealworms. didn't have anymore eating problems

 

[mörten]

I've got good news! He refused to eat mealworms for nearly 2 weeks until today, he finally gave in. He ate 7 mealworms today, so it seems like he's finally over his obsession of waxworms. Thanks for your help, everyone!

This is great news

He is very pretty btw Love tangerines and high yellows of all kinds