Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My leo is very bad at hunting. When he pounces on a mealworm or cricket, he almost always misses. After a few tries, he will give up and go back to his hide box. He's starting to get really thin, you can even see his spine. Otherwise, he does not seem to have any eye problems. How can I get him back to normal again?

By all means that is too skinny if you can see his spine. Tweezers.

Use tweezers to hold the mealworm(s) infront of his face and let him eat them. If he doesn't, try getting some of that "Reptile Emergency Aid" from Petco/PetsMart and feed him with a syringe until he gets healthier.
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4.7.1 Leopard Geckos
2.1.0 Chihuahuas
2.1.0 Rottweiler Mix
1.0.0 Siamese Cat
1.0.0 Dwarf Hamsters

Josh
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If he's giving up after a few tries, then he probably doesn't have much of an appetite to begin with.

What type of substrate are you using? What are the temperatures?
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chickabowwow

3.2.3 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)

Yeah, that's what I was thinking also. Maybe it is heavily infested with parasites. Whatever you do, you need to get a fecal done.
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4.7.1 Leopard Geckos
2.1.0 Chihuahuas
2.1.0 Rottweiler Mix
1.0.0 Siamese Cat
1.0.0 Dwarf Hamsters

Josh
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The temperatures are around 26-30 degrees c, both day and night, so it's pretty hot. substrate is newspaper. he definitely notices the prey items, it's just that he has trouble catching them. i've heard that force feeding is very stressful; but should i start force feeding him now as a last resort? thanks for replying!

I'd say yes. If you can see it's spine, I think that this would be last last attempt at trying to bring it around. Also, you can take the tail end of the mealworm and gently open the side of the leo's mouth and put it in his mouth. It may eat it, and it may spit it out. If that doesn't work, take it to the vet, get a fecal sample and give to the vet, and try to use the syringe method.
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4.7.1 Leopard Geckos
2.1.0 Chihuahuas
2.1.0 Rottweiler Mix
1.0.0 Siamese Cat
1.0.0 Dwarf Hamsters

Josh
----------------------------------

when my geckos were sick they took food from a syringe with NO problems or stress (I am not sure how calm other are). They have a licking reflex if you gently touch the jaw line with a drop of mashed mealworms, then they usually get the idea. One of my geckos also can't hunt well, I pin a mealworm to the floor with my finger and let the end thrash around. It gets her excited and she eats 6 in a row.

I don't think it's a problem with skill or eyesight. It seems more like he's not that interested in eating. If he were, he would be trying a lot harder to catch those bugs and he also wouldn't give up so easily.

You should definitely take him to the vet to see if there are any underlying health issues. Even if you were to start syringe-feeding him, it might not eliminate the cause of the problem.
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chickabowwow

3.2.3 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)