Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi - my son just purhcased a young leopard gecko - he did his research and the little girl appears to be active and bright-eyed. He is concerned because she has not eaten in the two days that we have had her, and the store owner assured us that she eats voraciously. I am sure that she will be okay for a couple of days and that she is just trying to get adjusted to her new home. But just in case, is there anything that we need to be aware of? We have seen her drink. We were told that she is 3 mo. old and she is about 5" total length from snout to tail. She has a light at one end of the tank, plenty of places to hide, crickets dusted and fresh water. Today my son put in a small enclosed container with moist paper towels thinking that she may want to shed, and she has been hanging out in there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would not handel her for a few day, let her get settled in. If after a week she hans't eaten any crickets try a few meal worms the small ones mind you because the girant meal worms can be a little hard on the stomach. hope this helps.

Sometimes new geckos won't eat for a week or more after you get them home, due to the the stress of being transported and the new environment. The most important thing to do is AVOID ALL HANDLING of the animal, which I know is hard but is really neccessary for the animal's health until it starts eating. The second is to make sure there are adequate hides where the gecko feels safe and secure. THere needs to be at least one moist hide and one cool hide on the warm side, and another dry hide on the cool side. To reduce stress and make the gecko feel secure, you can also cover three sides of the tank with paper, and make sure the gecko is not near heavy foot traffic ofr a TV or speaker.

Also- have a jar lid of calcium available at all times- must be phosphorus free, buy at pet store.

Make sure the temp is 88-90° on the warm side.

Give the gecko time to adjust, a healthy subadult or adult gecko with fat reserves can go quite awhile without food.

Thanks to the both of you from me and the Arborealkid for the advice. We will give it some time. We have her moist hide on the cool end of the tank but will move it to the warm end if that is better. It has been very warm here (97) and we don't have air conditioning. The warmest the hot end of the tank has gotten is 90. We have her in the family room but maybe there is too much action going on for her. I will cover three sides of the tank with paper and that may make her feel more secure. I will post again if I have any other questions. Thanks again for your help.