Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive posted a couple times about my geckos, but one more question, a couple people said to force feed and others said not to, what should i do????

force-feeding should not be an option, period. it is only applicable to neonate snakes that will not eat any of the available food sources. established animals that have eaten regularly in the past should not be forcefed. i am not even 100% sure how to forcefeed a leo in the first place LOL.

the best course of action for a non-eating animal that is losing weight for unknown reasons is a trip to the vet. however, most of the problems that i see in non-eating animals have to do with husbandry. i would move the animals to individual shoebox size containers, with a single snug hidebox and a water bowl, with paper towel substrate. i run 3" heat tape to provide a basking spot of 90. most importantly, check your temps with a reliable thermometer, which is either a digital model or an IR temp gun. spring thermos and stick-on tape thermos are not accurate to the range you are looking for, but can be within 20 degrees. too much margin for error, in my opinion.

good luck.
-----
Erik Williams
Contact me
Chicago Herpetological Society

Force feeding is the last thing to do. It IS an option. The way to do is pinch their "cheeks" is what I guess you would call it and slightly tug on the bottom jaw. They will open the mouth for a brief period. Another way to do it is get an eyedropper and put some chicken baby food mixed with hydrolife or some other sort of electrolyte formula. Push the eyedropper into the mouth, not so hard that u are hurting him/her of course, but hard enough and far enough that he/she will drink the food formula.

Don't force feed...get help from a vet first and see if they can find out if there is anything wrong with the gecko. Believe me, a qualified reptile vet will probably know what to do. Force feeding is stressful on a gecko and will probably will make it refuse food even longer.