Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi --

So we've somewhat adopted an albino gecko that was given to us for free that has a VERY skinny tail and like I said has not eaten for us.. We got the geckos in late July so it hasn't eaten in about a month, we've tried crickets/meal worms and have given her plenty of time to settle in.. She has an adequate hot spot with a hide and then another hide on her cool side..

I know they store energy in their tails, but can also drop their tails if they need to..

Does anyone have any tips/tricks? How long can they go without eating?

All our other geckos are thriving and eating fine, this one is under quarantine in another room..

Thanks in advance!
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1.0 Het Albino Burm
0.1 Albino Burm
1.1 Mojave Ball Pythons
0.1 Normal Ball Python
1.0 Albino Ball Python
1.1 Pastel Ball Pythons
0.1 Spider Ball Python
0.2 Het Albino Ball Pythons
0.1 Lavender Albino Retic

Seeking bigger cages for the family

Invest in a plastic syringe and try getting it started on a liquid diet. You can find several ways to make your own gecko blend or you can simply try baby food such as peaches or apples for example. Add some calcium to whatever mix you come up with and try feeding about twice per day until your gecko comes around. If it laps up any of the mix you should see a drastic change in behavior. Hope this helps a little, let us know what happens.
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-Patrick

Thanks Patrick -- I just ordered Fluker's Repta Aid so we will see if that helps.. I got my fingers crossed that it comes around
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1.0 Het Albino Burm
0.1 Albino Burm
1.1 Mojave Ball Pythons
0.1 Normal Ball Python
1.0 Albino Ball Python
1.1 Pastel Ball Pythons
0.1 Spider Ball Python
0.2 Het Albino Ball Pythons
0.1 Lavender Albino Retic

Seeking bigger cages for the family

You should take it to the vet. It may be impacted which is treatable, or have cryptosporidiosis which is not treatable because this gecko is new to you, you may not have seen the warning signs like regurgitation of shed skin, loss of appetite,regurgitation of undigested food, complete loss of appetite,diarrhea. Crypto is extremely easy to pass to others through the feces so be very carefull because it can wipe out an entire colony. There have been over 50 anti-coccidial and anti-parasitic medications that do not work effectively but they are still working at it so you never know. GL