Winter feeding schedule

[idmd]

I know that geckos will sometimes reduce their eating in the winter for a number of reasons.

I have a fully grown male who is about 9 months old. From day one he has always had a ferocious appetite for meal and wax worms. Over the past 4 weeks or so he has really slowed down his eating. He's eating maybe 2-3 meals and/or wax worms every other day. He initially has his usual spunk when he sees them but after the first or second one he seems to become disinterested. Not losing a lot of weight although his tail may look a little thinner than usual. He hasn't shed in over 8 weeks but he's starting to look like a shed is imminent.

It's slightly cooler in the house now. UTH under slate gives a floor temp of 95F and the air temp on the cool side ~78F.

Habits have also changed. Spends more time on the cool side than usual. When he was eating 15 worms per day he spent probably 75% of his time on the warm slate. Now he'll go for maybe a few hours after eating 2 or 3 worms and go back to the cool side.

Is there anything I'm missing here? Is it normal to go from 15 worms every day to 2-3 worms every other day because of winter? He has NEVER been an eating problem. I was thinking of getting some crickets (I've never fed them to him) to see if they stimulate his appetite a little.

 

[Taquiq]

Just like you said the winter is reducing his eating. It's the air temperature that is affecting him, and all other people who just have UTH. It is perfectly normal and there is nothing to be worried about. It is happening to one of my females. Just keep offering food and he will be fine. You can try the crickets, maybe it will work but if it doesn't there is nothing to be worried about.

 

[T-ReXx]

I would agree that it is most likely due to winter slow down. Some animals stop eating completely during this time. Geckos don't always react just because of changes temperatures, they have an internal clock that often tells them it's time to slow down. To be safe I would indeed try a different food item, just to see if he's just bored with worms, but it may not have much of an affect. I would start to worry if you see a dramatic change in weight or it lasts for longer than a couple of months.

 

[acpart]

If you're feeding him every day, try reducing frequency to every 2-3 days. Even being fed every 3 days, most of my adults are barely eating but most of them are still 90-100 grams.

Aliza

 

[idmd]

If you're feeding him every day, try reducing frequency to every 2-3 days. Even being fed every 3 days, most of my adults are barely eating but most of them are still 90-100 grams.

Aliza

Well the little pooper did eat 10 wax worms tonight BUT MADE ME HAND FEED THEM! :main_evilgrin:

I've never hand fed him in his life. Anyway they were all dusted nicely and I'm a little less worried now that he had a relatively large (fatty) vitamin/Ca+2 covered meal.

I'll probably not offer to feed him by hand again for a day or two and I'll see if I can get him back on meal worms. He usually doesn't show a preference but he definitely reacted differently tonight when presented with both.