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Gecko is not eating. Distressed !

cherisse Jan 03, 2007 07:55 PM

My female gecko is about 11 months old. She has not showed intrest in food for 2 weeks. I'm very distressed. The crickets crawl around in front of her and she puts up no chase. I'm not sure why this is happening. Her stool seems to be in good condition and she doesn't show any signs of infection. Her cage is kept at tempatures around 83 degrees on the hot side and 75 on the cool. Thanks for taking the time to read. Any advice is most greatly appriciated.

Replies (5)

begunwithaletter Jan 03, 2007 08:22 PM

You do know that leos should have hot side temperatures between 88-92 F, right? She may not be eating because she's not warm enough to digest properly, or she may just be 'bored' with crickets. Try bumping her temps up, and offering her a different feeder, like superworms, butterworms or discoid roaches.

Leos do tend to 'slow down' their eating in the winter, but she shouldn't be going that long without showing at least some interest... I'd suggest taking at least a fresh fecal sample into your vet, or make an appointment to have her looked over.

supremegecko Jan 04, 2007 04:27 PM

I don't think temperature is the issue either but you should have a distictive gradiant.

The idea to vary the leopard's food is a good one. When I've had leos that are reluctant to eat, I offer wax worms. For some reason, waxies are like candy to the leo.

Also, make sure the gecko has a nice humid place to retreat to. It might be in shed (or just shed). That will throw them off of feed a few days as well.

Keep us posted.
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nikongirl Jan 04, 2007 05:30 PM

#1 I would try worms (mealworms or others that have been recommended in reply to your message). Crickets can really "bug" lizards because they crawl all over the place including on the lizard. So she may simply be annoyed with her food. Put worms in a shallow dish. When they warm up, they'll wiggle. You can even try feeding with tongs.

#2 Make sure she has a dark hiding place over a warm spot as well as a dark hide in the "cool" side of her tank.

#3 As already recommended, make sure she has a container with vermiculite or some other sterile bedding material that is moistened but not wet. A clean plastic food container with the lid on and a hole in the side is great. The lid helps contain the moisture so it's humid to aid shedding. My geckos love to just lay in there nearly every afternoon, shedding or not.

#4 Try covering her tank (don't get the cover near the heat source) to give her some privacy for a couple days.

#5 Have you checked her belly for eggs? They should be visible as elongated white orbs on either side of her belly (two). Leopard Gecko breeding season should be ended now (although I actually got one late egg two weeks ago), but it's possible she's egg-bound. If so, this will likely require vet attention.

Some notes: If she's not eating, once she has cleared her intestines, she should no longer be pooping. Clean her cage well then watch to see if she poops anymore. Maybe she has eaten a cricket or two that was hiding and you just don't know it. How fat is her tail? If it's nice and fat, you don't have to panic. you can try the above and things others have recommended over a reasonable period of time. Just watch her tail, because when she's not actively eating, her body will consume the fat stored in her tail. What kind of substrate are you using? It's possible she has ingested some (e.g., sand) and has an impacted intestine/bowel. This will likely require a vet visit.

Hope there is something here that is helpful. Good luck.

coachfrickle Jan 06, 2007 09:32 PM

My friend called the vet when his leo wasn't eating and he told him to forcefeed it. Either make it mad so it opens its mouth and put a waxie in it and don't let it spit it out so it eats it. My sister did this sith crickets and her leo and now it eats crickets out of her hand when they weren't eating any more.

nikongirl Jan 06, 2007 10:12 PM

Well - personally, I think a person should always try to identify the reason any animal isn't eating and force-feeding is usually a last resort, when you have assured there is no identifiable reason the animal stopped eating (and normally there is a reason). Force-feeding can actually be a stressful procedure for the animal and the person. And, if the reason her gecko isn't eating is related to some physical problem, force-feeding it could amplify that problem. So, first correct issues that may be causing the gecko not to eat, allowing it to resume eating naturally. This includes environmental causes such as proper heat, humidity, etc. as myself and others have described in more detail, and any possible physical ailments (parasites, egg-bound, etc. also described by myself and others on this thread). I also think that a vet who tells a client to force-feed any reptile in a phone conversation without having examined that reptile first probably doesn't have much experience with herps. For what it's worth...

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