Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I got a baby leopard gecko at petco on tuesday, 7/22 and has not eaten yet and it already sunday, 7/27. But on saturday, 7/26 he shed his skin. So is that why he has not been eating and should I be worried? Should I take him back with the 15 day warranty ? Any SUGGESTIONS? Please help me asap!!

Usually it takes a few days for the gecko to get used to the new area. As long as you have everything step up right you have nothing to worry about.

Well one mistake you made was buying it from petco. My advice is take it back and buy from a professional breeder either online or at a reptile show. 9 times out of 10 any animal from petco or a chain petstore will more than likely have something wrong with it. Just my 2 cents
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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

I bought my leos at petco. They are very healthy and growing nicely! I got them soon after they came into the store. That may have been part of it, but I go back to the shop now and then to see how the others are doing and they are growing as well. I have been tempted to get another one from them, but I am waiting to see what sex ratio I have with my 2 first. I think one needs to do their homework and use observational skills to ensure the choice of a healthy animal.

I don't think it hurt that I bought them on sale at $17.00 each. LOL

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not all petco animals are doomed. if the buyer knows what to look for they can pick healthy animals even when petco keeps them under subpar conditions.
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1.1 Western Painted Turtle (Mougly, Scooter)
1.1 Albino Leopard Gecko (Daphne, Guy)
1.0 High Yellow Leopard Gecko (Sunshine)
1.1 HTCT Leopard Gecko (Rocket, Dot)
0.1 SHTCT Leopard Gecko (Tequila)

I'm not singaling out PetCo here. But coming from someone who's been involved in the pet buisness for about 18 year & having work in retail shops, wholesale facilities, & currently as a breeder the issue with most pet stores, brokers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, or any other multi animal facility that deals in the sale of live animals is the high risk of cross contamination of diseases & parasites. When you see a cute little baby Leo in a pet store you don't know who or how many hands it's been through befor it ends up in the cage at the retail shop or how it was maintainer previously.
Honestly, the problems are not so much at the retail leval but generally speaking most retail stores get there Leos along with there farm bred, wild caught, & even other captive bred reptiles from one wholesaler for convenience. Who knows how well they were taken care of at the wholesaler. Who knows if they steralized there hands when they went from maintaining the wild caught Agama to maintining the Leos or if the cages were even sanatized between animals. The botom line at the wholesale leval is the bottom line. The faster you can turn an animal & the bigger the profit margin
Another issue with the demand for cheap Leos is some breeders have resorted to (for the record I DO NOT partake in this practice) pretty much selling & ship out hatchlings rite out of the egg. Then with the long journey with who knows how many stops along the way, the retail store may be the first opportunity the hatchlings have a chance for a meal. So already in there short lives, they've been under alot of stress which would leave them vulnerable to disease & parasites.
I'm not belittling of trying to bash anyone who purchases there Leos from PetCo. So you got your Leos for $17.00, good for you. But to say you don't think it hurt paying that price, well the only thing it didn't hurt was you pocket book.
I apologize for this long post, I tried keeping it short. But I just wanted to provide a little insite into were that baby Leo came from.

Well, it has only been 5-6 days and yes some animals can take a little longer to adjust then others. I got a 20/25 gm juvie last Feb & it took about 2 months for her get adjusted. Eating maybe 2 dozen mealworms in that time frame. But she's eating like a champ now & growing rapidly. On the other hand, I've had some others take as little as 3 days.
What I would do, first double check that all enviormental conditions are correct. If that all checks out, then I would contact the retail store, speak to the manager or reptile specialist, express your concerns, & see what they have to say. Anyone worth there weight in salt would be helpful & should under the circumstance extend the garantee in the intrest of the Leo & keeping you the customer happy.

I think Nyu's had the fastest adjustment I've ever seen. She explored her tank as soon as I put her in, ate readily from the calcium dish and water dish. She ate that first night and every night since then.
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1.1.5 Mali Uromastyx (Ra, Isis) Sobek, Atum, Tut, Nefertum, No Name
0.1 Super Hypo Tangerine Leopard Gecko (Lucy)
0.1 Sunglow Leopard Gecko (Nyu)
1.1 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (R.I.P. Diablo and Samael)
2.0 Tabby cats (Cloud, Magus)

>>I think Nyu's had the fastest adjustment I've ever seen. She explored her tank as soon as I put her in, ate readily from the calcium dish and water dish. She ate that first night and every night since then.
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That's been my experience with both of the geckos I've gotten from the little reptile-specific pet shop that i like. My leopard and crested both ate right away and kept on eating enthusiastically right up until they slowed down a bit when they reached adult size. Of course, the owner of the place loves reptiles and takes really good care of all of them, so obviously that makes a big difference.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

When sellers really love their animals, it shows.
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1.1.5 Mali Uromastyx (Ra, Isis) Sobek, Atum, Tut, Nefertum, No Name
0.1 Super Hypo Tangerine Leopard Gecko (Lucy)
0.1 Sunglow Leopard Gecko (Nyu)
1.1 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (R.I.P. Diablo and Samael)
2.0 Tabby cats (Cloud, Magus)

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