Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Please help me someone! My albino gecko isn't eating...we've tried crickets, mealworms, and flies and nothing works! What should I do? Is there anything I can do? Is he sick? Should I take him to the vet?

Is this the same leopard gecko you posted about last week? If so, I was under the impression he had been eating dried crickets. If you've switched to live food (which you should) he may take a day or two to get used to the change, so don't panic.

From your other posts, it sounds as though you are not really up to speed on the care of this animal. If you haven't done so yet, get a care sheet (here's a good one Link) and there are dozens of others available if you search the web. From the photo you posted, your gecko looks quite young, so make sure that the crickets are appropriate size 3/8", that you have the temperature range correct for day and night time, and that you provide a hide box at each end of the tank. Leave him alone as much as possible for a while, and if you haven't done so yet, get a fresh fecal sample to the vet to check for parasites.

The time to find out all this stuff is before you get the gecko, and the worst place to get the info is pet store employees unless you personally know that they are reptile-savvy. That's not a put-down, it's just for future reference. Also, you may want to post in the Leopard Gecko forum, there's a lot more traffic there and years of leo experience to draw on. Good luck.

Chris

Yes this is the same gecko I posted last week and at that time he was eating fine. But now he won't eat anything live or dead. I am afraid that he may have eaten some sand and became impacted. Is this a possibility? I only had him in sand for maybe 3 days but now he has a repitle carpet pad in his cage. Thank you for you input I appreciate it very much. I did read up on gecko's and how to take of them but I guess I was blind when I went to the store and bought him because some of the things they said to me on how to take care of him. Since I work from home, I always check to make sure that the temperature is right in his tank.

Thank you again

From the photo you posted, it looked like you were feeding him from a bowl? If so, and if he was only on sand for 3 days, it seems fairly unlikely he would have ingested enough sand to cause impaction in that short a time, but I suppose it's possible, especially if he hasn't been getting calcium and began munching sand deliberately. Check his abdomen, look for a dark hard area, that could indicate impaction. When was the last time he pooped? Did it look normal (a dark firm tubular mass with a small yellowish-white dry portion at one end) and no partial or entire insects visible?

You didn't mention whether he has hiding places in his cage, these are extremely important to his well being, so get them if you haven't already (one dry, the other kept slightly moist to aid in shedding, which should happen about every two weeks for a juvi like yours.

I haven't kept leos very much, so I'm not really an expert, but in the photo he doesn't look all that healthy to me. I couldn't see his tail, but the rest looked pretty thin. I would again recommend that you post this on the Leopard Gecko forum, and suggest you get a reptile vet to do a fecal exam (should be about 20 bucks). Parasites are far more likely than impaction, and the earlier you treat them the better his chance of survival.

Best of luck,

Chris

Thank you very much for your advice. I have posted in the leopard gecko forum about my gecko. And I have schedualed an appointment for Phaedrus at the vet's office. So we shall see how he is doing and what is wrong.

Thanks so much again!!