Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so here is some background.
my leo was pregnant and was laying eggs fine, but she was laying them every 3 weeks and she was loosing weight. well she had held on to her last eggs for like 5 weeks and then laid them but she had a hard time and lost a lot of weight. she has no tail reserve to speak of. also the eggs were smaller than any of her other ones. so after her last eggs she did not eat for a couple of days and then ate 2 crickets(thats nothing for her) well i picked her up to weigh her and she jumped out of my hands. she was only about 10 inches above the cage floor. at that time she seemed ok. the next day she hid and the day after that she was walking funny. so i isolated her and put her in a quite room with her own cage, hides and food bowls. i left her alone a couple of days and tried feeding her with no luck i di this for 2 weeks and she was getting emaciated. her spine was noticable and her shoulder blades also. so i started giving her water, calcum dust and crushed mealies and waxies in a syringe and dripping on her nose. that worked ok but not enough so i would put it right into her mouth and that worked great.all in the same time i kept trying to get her to eat on her own. so she has not been putting weight back on but she is not loosing weight either. so after i cleaned my other cages and then i had to put her somewhere to clean the cage she was in so i put her back with the others and they were eating so i kept an eye on her and them and wouldnt ya know it after being in their not 2 minutes she ate 2 crickets on her own!!!!!!the other geckos didnt care that she was gone they did not wave thier tails they just looked at her and kept on eating, like she never left.

so why would my gecko not eat on her own in isolation in perfect conditions but then go back in the colony and eat just fine right away?
should i leave her or reisolate her until she is back up to weight and just feed her with the others?
these things are what keep me interested in reptiles. once ya think ya know it all something else pops up.
adam
p.s. this was posted in leos health and diet also
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hybrid breeders association
0.0.17 baby corns
16 corn eggs-due aug 5th
5 leo eggs-due aug 1st
0.1. normal corn het hypo,anery
1.0. snow corn het hypo,anery,amel
1.0. amel corn unknown hets(4ft 8inch long)
1.0 sinacorn
1.1 kenyan sand boas
0.1 mbk
0.1 albino nelsons
0.2 normal leo geckos
1.0 blizzard leo gecko
0.0.1 3 lined mud turtle

A lot of breeders will tell you it's best to house leos by themselves, and I'd be right there with them. However there are a few like yours when seperated, or more or less taken from familar surounding will stop eating. I have a male that will not eat for two weeks after I take him away from his female, but will eat fine while he is with her. Some males won't eat much at all when housed with females cause they have a one track mind. You have to know your leos and do what is best for each one, even if it's complete oposite of the others.

Personally if she is eating better back with the group, leave her there just keep an eye on her, make sure she keeps eating and gains the weight back. You may want to remove the male if there is one in that group, can't remember if you said he was housed with the females. This way she gets a break.

I hope this helps.
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www.LeopardGeckoBreeder.com

www.LeopardGeckoArt.com

6.19.3 Leos
1.0.1 Red Ear Sliders
1.0 Pembroke Corgi
0.2 Cats
8 fish

It is very common for Leos to stop eating when moved to new surroundings. I would leave her with the group but would remove all the other Leos from the cage when I was going to feed her. This would give her first shot at the food.

Also will she eat pinkies? I have a famale that has laid 18 eggs already this season and has not lost an ounce. However she crushes 1-2 pinkies after every clutch. My females that don't eat the occasianal pinky are lucky to throw 8 eggs in a season, and almost always lose more weight than those that do.

I would really watch her though, especially in regards to food intake. Also you might want to get a fecal exam ASAP, just to be sure. Also prepare for the worst. I know it sucks but occasionally a female will get too worn down from breeding and egg laying and passes away. But I guess that is just one of the risks of breeding.