worried about my gecko throwing up :/

[mcfrog113]

So I have a few week old baby gecko which i just purchased a few days ago. The first night i fed her 4 crickets, which she ate and kept down no problem. The second night because she's so tiny and young i wanna make sure she eats enough, so she ate 7 crickets, again it seemed like no problem. She was actively hunting them and was very interested in eating them. But then today I found that she threw up a few of them...so I figured she just ate too much, so tonight I tried giving her 3 and shortly after she threw up 2.....could it be because I fiddled with the cage right after she ate (water spilled, and I wanted to replace the paper towels) and maybe being held and moved stressed her out? what should I do, and should I be really worried? :/ i'm thinking about not holding her at all tomorrow and just feeding her a few tomorrow night..maybe she's getting too much contact which is stressing her?

 

[martinez2828]

I don't think It's because of th e handling I handleine all the time after a feeding and they do just fine. I had the same probelms with one of my hatchlings except with mealworms I figured it was because they have a thicker exoskeleton so I switched to crickets and she Did fine maybe don't feed her a day a two and don't touch her just let her relax and than drop a couple crickets in there and see what happens. If not try something else.

 

[LeopardShade]

It is highly likely that she is under a large amount of stress due to a multitude of things, coming to a new home, a new enclosure, new surroundings, fiddling with the cage, and being handled excessively. When getting a new gecko, especially a juvenile, for the first two weeks or so you want to keep the handling to an absolute minimum, if not at all. Handling during the acclimation period can cause loads of unnecessary stress on the animal, and that stress can be multiplied due to the fact that you seem to have a very young gecko on your hands that is probably not familiar, nor used to human contact. I would stop handling her for now, at least for two weeks or until the gecko begins growing, and only disturb the cage for maintenance/cleaning/feeding purposes.

As far as the throwing up, my best guess is due to the stress she probably has endured. Throwing up is always something out of the ordinary, but it is usually not a huge deal unless the gecko begins displaying other detrimental symptoms such as loosing its appetite, abnormal stools, and thinning out along with the vomiting. All these symptoms can be a predecessor for an extremely deadly disease called Cryptosporidiosis. As long as your gecko is not displaying any of these other symptoms along with the throwing up, I wouldn't worry about it excessively. I'd hold off a day or so on food, try again with a small amount and see if she keeps it down, and slowly build from there.

 

[Jusselin]

stress for sure....how are you heating the cage?

 

[mcfrog113]

Thanks everyone! Just in case it was mainly due to stress I've stopped handling her and I put a towel around her glass enclosure to make it more private and comforting. She still has a very good appetite which is really good, she eats as soon as i put a cricket in there..i'm now thinking it might also be a heating issue. At night, we've been using a night time blue light, but i'm thinking although its meant for nighttime that it's still making the enclosure still too hot at night? so i'm gonna turn it off for a few nights, to ensure the temp is room temp at night, and see if that helps. if so i'll hold it higher up from the cage so its not as intense from now on.

Also, question, how important are heating pads? her air temp during the day is really good, but is it possible the bottom of the cage might still be too cool for her? i dont think this would effect her eating, since she eats at night, but just in general i was wondering. I'm planning on purchasing one this weekend.

Thanks again for all the feedback! i'm been a really worried mama lately

 

[LeopardShade]

Considering most geckos, when brought to a new home, typically go off feed for a few days - up to a week, appetite is always a good sign.

Heating pads (commonly known as UTHs - undertank heaters) are very important when it comes to leopard geckos, as they absorb most of their heat through their bellies. There is really no need to monitor the air temperatures, it's the ground temperatures you want to be focusing on. Overhead heating is unnecessary for leopard geckos, and should not be the only source of heating available in the enclosure. Insufficient temperatures can affect and impede eating habits, as well as lead to poor digestion, immunity, and possible upper respiratory infections in the animal.

Your warm side temperatures should range from 90-94 degrees F at all times. If you don't already have one, I'd recommend purchasing a digital thermometer (found at most petstores) so you can accurately monitor the floor temperatures.

 

[mcfrog113]

got the heating pad, and it seems like she prefers mealworms over crickets because last night she ate 1 or 2 mealworms! she already seems like she's becoming less and less stressed out, so that makes me so relieved. thanks again!