Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My leo is about 10 months old. In the past month and a half, he/she has been eating a lot less than he used to. I've been giving him mealies for the past 2 months, b/c when I've tried giving him crickets recently, he just doesn't go for them at all. He seems a little more lethargic, like he used to come out of his cave when I turned the light off b/c he knew it was time to eat (or maybe he doesn't get excited b/c I haven't been feeding him crickets??) He DOES still eat though, but it seems like he's eating every other day, and less than he was when it was warm. Do leos eat less when it gets colder out? Is he eating less b/c he's grown so much? (he hasn't lost any weight, and he's a pretty healthy looking gecko). Should I be worried about this or not??
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0.1 ball python (Kilimanjaro)
1.0 amel corn snake (Houdini)
0.0.1 leopard gecko (Charlie)
1.1 cats (Kitty & Milo)
0.1 mouse (Creepers)

They can lose appetite for several reasons.

1. They've reached adult size and thus don't need as much food anymore. How big is your gecko at this point? (Total length nose to tip of tail and weight?)

2. They will slow down a bit if their environment gets cooler, as any reptile will; the speed of their metabolism is directly related to their temperature, so if it's getting colder out and that means that the temperature in their terrarium has dropped somewhat, they might eat less. Sometimes in the winter, they'll go into a period where they have greatly reduced appetite - mine did this last year (though it was more like November or December when she did it), and she barely ate for a month, but didn't lose any weight. I worried about it, but it turned out that she was fine, and after that month or so, she got her appetite back full force.

3. They will eat less (or stop altogether) if they have parasites or are impacted. Impaction is pretty easy to rule out based on environment - presuming you're not using sand or small wood chips as substrate, it's pretty unlikely. Parasites are less easy to be sure on w/o a visit to the vet, but if he/she looks sickly or is losing weight, they'd be a concern.

I would suspect #1 or #2 from what you've said so far, but if your gecko is not at full size yet (8-10 inches long, and anywhere from 45-60 grams), it could be worth worrying about #3. 10 months old is on the lower end of the range for reaching adult size, but it can happen anywhere from there out to 18 months. Mine slowed down at about 13 or 14 months old, but yours may have grown quicker or just reached a bit smaller adult size (mine is 10 inches/60 grams, so she's a bit on the large end of the scale for a non-giant female.)

More info on your terrarium setup (number of hides, temperature, size, substrate, etc.) could help people here give more useful and specific advice, but hopefully what I've said is a decent start. Obviously if you end up unsure and worried after doing everything you can to figure out what's going on, a trip to a good reptile vet can rule out parasites and impaction once and for all.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

I had the same issue last month whereby my Leo would not eat her usual supply of 8-10 mealies a night and someone on this forum told me to feed her every other night as she was more than likely entering adulthood. I now feed her every other night and she will munch them right down.My leo is roughly 9 inches long so im putting it down to her being an adult now. I think you should try feeding every other night and see how you get on. Pots back with the results.