Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey All,

About a month and a half ago I bought a sunglow giant girl that weighed about 19 grams. She was reluctant to eeat at first but seems to be pounding back the meal worms and crix on a regular basis. The only problem is she doesn;t seem to put on any weight. She is current 23 and change grams and she's been at that exact weight for weeks now. I'm starting to think some kind of parasite and I am in the process of finding a good vet, but I would like your thoughts as well? Temps are o.k. and thier is plent of hide space. I have two other geckos that never had any problems but they both seem to have stopped growing as well. My boy has been staying at 68.03 grams for the last two months.

~M

Are they all supposed to be giants? 68 grams is a perfectly normal weight for a normal sized adult leopard gecko. The 23 gram one, yes, I'd take her to the vet if she's eating and not growing, though one other thing to try is that she might be ready for the next size up of crickets from where she was at. I've seen them slow down growth for a while and then speed up again once you increase the size of their prey items.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Only 4 grams in a month and a half is surprising. A young one should definitely have grown more. Not knowing the age it's hard to determine. One thing to do, two things to try. First a fecal to the vet if it has parasites like tapeworms or too many nematodes they won't gain weight as fast as they should.
2 things -#1 Try larger criks like olstyn said, #2 and mix up the diet with waxworms (they have more fat). Nematodes are natural and necessary but too many of them steal nutrition from the host. Same with tapeworms, but you don't want any of them.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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**Kenn**

don't feed more than a waxworm or two a month, they're just like junk food. Sure, the gecko will gain weight, but it's not healthy to pack on the pounds by just eating crap. The best way to gain weight is by eating properly gutloaded and supplemented feeders. You can always try silkworms or butterworms, if you want to vary the diet more.

I found a web page that can help you decide how and what to feed your reptiles. I found it interesting and informative. Learned a few things myself. It is a study on what nutritional value different feeder invertibrates have, and what it means for your pet. Hope it teaches us all something.
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**Kenn**

Keep in mind needs can vary depending on needs. exercise, hibernation, stress, brumation, etc change these needs. A balanced diet adjusts for those needs when necessary. A bear stores up fat for the winter hibernation, normal summer needs require a different diet. Runners increase carbs before an event.
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**Kenn**