Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 5 month old female leo doesnt eat very much. she does eat , but not alot. if i put 2 mealworms in there, she'll eat one, and thenthe other one ends up dying because it is in there for so long. im new to leos. her tail is really getting skinny too.

Hmm try a different food, maybe just picky, try some crickets.

Do you gut load your insects? You should.

could you tell me what you feed your leos and how much at a time? I would really appreciate it.

Honestly I dont have any, I do lots of research before purchase...

Depending on the age, they should only eat around 5 crickets max so I hear, so yours definitly sounds underfed....

It is possible it is still in winter dormantcy, some leos do it even with proper temperatures it seems. So it might eat less, of course this is a problem if it is looking thin.

There are some supplements pet stores sell for feeders, try giving them those, they have nutritious supplements for the pets. There are some recipes on the chameleon forum for gutloading, try those, but they require some strange ingredients.

Also remember to coat your feeders in calcium supplements (very important for leos)

Might also want to take it to a vet and get an exam, could have parasites.

A healthy growing gecko will often eat 8-12 appropriately sized prey animals per day, 5 is probably not enough. Growing geckos should MIO be fed as much food as they will eat, they won't get obese because the food will go into growth.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

First check your temps- are they 88-90°F on the warm side, with belly heat available from a UTH, and a moist and a cool hide over a warm spot? If not, you need to correct that. Many low appetite problem are temperature problems, either not warm enough or lack of belly heat (e.g. using a lamp only). Many people find when they adjust their temps or add a UTH if it was missing that the animal's appetite returns to normal and starts to thrive.

What substrate is the animal on? If it is granular, you need to consider the possibility of impaction, which can cause a gecko to slow or stop eating.

What do the stools look like?

Lastly, it could have worms or some other parasite. If you correct temps and there is no improvement, or if stool have been absent for awhile or loose, you need to take to a vet, and the sooner the better.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos