Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i live in texas and as you can see its already december so its getting a little chilly for us "southern people". its about 60-70 degrees outside with the occaisional 50 degree drop

my leo hasnt eaten since around the beginning of november so i put in a mealie dish. it hasnt touched any food recently.

is this normal? i still see defecation and the tail is not skinny to me. it is a little thicker than the abdomen.

should i continue to try to feed or just leave it alone because i heard that in some colder months reptiles reduce their food intake.

thanks

btw: it has shed about 1 week ago

Hey,

Its likely that you have nothing to worry about and its just a winter cool down - it is that time of year and if the leo is otherwise fine and not loosing any weight, then thats probably all it is.

However, before assuming thats the case you should double check your husbandry...

- Tank size?
- Substrate?
- Temps?
- How is the tank heated?
- What type of thermometer do you use?

As long as the temps are being digitally monitored so you have an ancurate reading of them - the belly temps (substratae floor on warm side) should be 88-92 degrees.

If the temps are good and all other areas of husbandry are good then you are probably fine. Its not a bad idea to invest in a gramscale, if youdont already have one - and keep track of the weight during this time. They shouldnt loose more than a few grams.

I do continue to offer food during this period - as long as the temps are still good and they are utilizing the warm hide then it cant hurt. They just usually dont eat.
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

but hmm..

also my mealies dont get active anymore they just kinda curl up in the metal dish and cocoon up

can i get them to be more active?

10 gal
temps fine
subsrtae: p towels

animal is about 4 months old

btw: whats husbandry?

www.dictionary.com my friend.

sir/ma'am

im not lacking in the ability to look up a word. i was familiar with its meaning before-hand but as i am relatively new to reptiles i decided to get an opinion/say from a member of this forum board whom i trust to be more knowledgeable than me. this way i feel i can fully understand the term being used

i dont need your post telling me to look up words for myself. if you had time to waste posting that useless statement then please waste more in explaining to me husbandry. if not i would appreciate your being considerate and keeping quiet.

thanks

Not at all! I live in Southern California and I'm experiencing the same thing right now. My leos are fed on superworms and usually they are avid eaters. Now that the weather has shifted, they don't even seem interested. Keep their food source available at all times, but don't be suprised if it goes untouched.

-Patrick

Mealies in dishes generally dont move much - i usually feed my Leos my dropping the mealies with tweazers in front of the leos - this way they wiggle and crawl around.

Husbandry means how you take care of the leo.

When you say the temps are "fine" - what does this mean? What exactly are the temps? And how are you measuring them (digitl thermometer or analog)? What are you using to heat the tank?
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

sorry for the vagueness of fine

hot around 88 most of the time and cool around 74-79

the hottest part is the center of the heat pad and i measured that to be ~ 91-93

i was wondering how to get my leo to be familiar with eating out of a dish because i find it will be easier for pet-sitters to take care of it. any tips on getting them used to the dish?

thanks for explaining husbandry

The temps do sound good - thanks for clarying

As far as getting leos to eat from dishes - i have had mixed results trying this with my guys. My beardies catch on right away (pigs that they are!) but my leos dont like it as much.

The method i have used that has worked has simply been to feed the leo a worm, when he comes out to eat it - drop another one closer to the bowl and draw him out to the dish - then drop the worms into the dish, or hold the worm with the tweaser directly over the dish so its wiggling in the air above the dish.

Doing this repeatedly they wll often catch on and start sitting by the bowl when they are hungry

Funny enough, i always use the same set of tweasers when i feed all my Leos and they go NUTS when they see them - they come racing out and start looking up frantically for food, lol. They have learned that the tweasers mean food - so the method with the bowl is very similar.
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

that sounds pretty funny lol

well i guess ill try that again, believe it or not ive done that several tiems before.

he/she seems to just lose interest after a while

Yeah i hear ya, i've given up with my leos
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

ok thanks for your help mimc85

No problem

Good luck!
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog