Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
I have a 4 1/2 month old Juvenille Leopard Gecko. I bought him/her about 2 weeks ago from Petsmart. The setup is a 10 gallon aquarium with a hood designed to hold both night & day heat bulbs, calcium & food dish, water dish, 2 hides (one with moist peat moss in it), a plastic plant, and some very fine repti-sand. My gecko was eating fine until a few days ago. Each time we put either crickets or mealworms in he would snatch them up right away. Right now he is not paying much attention to food and I noticed today that he is shedding on his head (running around rubbing against his hide trying to get the skin off). The gecko is very tame and has no problems with my holding or petting it.
So is the problem with eating resulting from his/her shedding? No changes have been made in what foods are fed or how. How long does shedding usually take? I have read posts that say geckos have not eaten for long periods of time. However this is my first gecko and I want to make sure I am doing everything right for my baby.
Btw the reason I am not using a under tank heater or strip heating is because I live in a desert. The warm side of the tank easily gets up into the high 90's during the day and the mid-80's at night so another heat source would be too much.
I don't think he is impacted because there is alot of poop in one side of the cage. However I am seriously thinking about taking out the sand and using paper towels.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Steph

Definately take the sand out if there is any doubt if it could have caused this or not. I'm wondering.. is the "moist" hide on the warm side? The hide isn't really supposed to be "moist" but rather humid. If it's not on the warm side, put it there. I'm wondering this because when leos shed, it usually comes off a one time and they sit in the humid hide to help loosen the skin. You may need to take the skin off yourself if it doesn't come off by itself in the very near future (go to this place to see how: http://leo-land.net/Sections-index-req-viewarticle-artid-39-page-1.html )

Going through a shed does hinder feeding some times, but the shed should be off fully within a day. You usually wont find any evidence of a shed since they eat the shed skin. Also, you don't want to leave a pile of poop in the corner. Clean that as quick as you can. Leaving poop in the cage isn't a good husbandry practice and can lead to disease.

Hope that helped
-----
-Jeff
Webmaster of:
Leo Land
Your One Stop Source for Everything Gecko!

Uro Land
The Ultimate Uromastyx Hangout!

well in my own expirience my 2 month old leo has shed twice since i have had her. the first time she shed her appetite decreased for two days prior and one day after the shed after taht she was back to normal. the second time she stoped eating all together about three days before the shed and then when she finished shedding she ate about two crickets ate two more the next day and then went back to her normal 10 crickets a day. and about your leo scratching her head, is she/he hanging out in the moist hide then coming out and scratching some skin off and then awhile later going back in. thats what isis does and i haven't seen any problems yet. so in my personal expirience thus far your leo sounds pretty normal.

Well as his moist hide is new he is avoiding it like the plague. lol He is hiding in his usual spot, a large wooden log I mentioned in another post. This morning he was coming out and rubbing his head on the side of the aquarium and on the top of the inner log trying to get the skin off. This probably went on for about 45-60 minutes then he settled down. We put him in the moist hide when we first put it in and he stayed for about 2 minutes then went for his log, that's where he feels secure. I've noticed it takes him a while to adjust to things before he slowly prowls over to it. lol

Steph

Hi,
I take the poop out as soon as I notice it. The humid hide is on the warm side of the tank, but we had another hide there before today with no peat moss. So right now he is in the other side of the tank under a wooden log that he loves, this thing has 3 entrance/exits and he spends most of his time under it, it is large enough to hide in even when he is fully grown. So I'm guessing it will just take some time for him to adjust to the moist hide & peat moss as I find he usually sticks to one side and checks out new objects rather timidly. I just noticed the shedding today, so I'm not sure how long he's been shedding.
As for the food, the lady at the petstore said to feed him twice daily. We were doing that plus putting the food in at night, so I'm wondering if he has been filling up at night without our noticing it, and therefore not hungry during the day. Not sure.
I think that with putting the new hide in and his shedding issues that he's been stressed today. So I'm going to wait a day or two before taking the sand out, but will definately get it out of there. I just want to give him a break before stressing him out even further.

Thanks for the advice,

Steph

Hmm, you say you leave food in at night? I take it you mean you let crickets roam? If so, this is a bad choice. Crickets will seek out just about anything that has moisture and will actually nibble on your gecko's mouth and toes. Those bites could possible get infected and cause further problems. Also, leaving crickets to roam could be stressing the gecko out. If you want to keep food in the cage, keep a few mealies in an escape proof bowl.
-----
-Jeff
Webmaster of:
Leo Land
Your One Stop Source for Everything Gecko!

Uro Land
The Ultimate Uromastyx Hangout!

Thanks for the info about the crickets! I didn't realize the little monsters could be biting at my gecko. They are coming out tonight. I have the Leopard Gecko Manual book which says that geckos can live long lives excusively on mealworms, which is what I'll feed from now on. I just ordered some 3 inch wide ceramic dishes from Petco so they shouldn't be able to escape from that.

Thanks again,
Steph

No problems. My leos live off of mealies and are doing great. You may experience some difficulty getting your leos to get mealies. If you do, just post a new thread here and I'll tell ya how to trick your leo into eating them
-----
-Jeff
Webmaster of:
Leo Land
Your One Stop Source for Everything Gecko!

Uro Land
The Ultimate Uromastyx Hangout!

I have a juve that won't eat mw.
-----

1.0 Leopard gecko from JL
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 Nearly Paternless Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.1 Tang Nearly Paternless (Peaches)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

I would take it off of the sand, and the only reason I'm saying that is because we just lost our oldest leo yesterday due to impaction from the sand. We didn't know any better when we started using it, but now we do. We have 11 other leos and they are no longer on sand. As for the not eating and the shedding, some of my leos don't want to eat when they are shedding and others do. Guess it just depends on the leo.

Sorry for you loss. But yea, sand is really a danger for a lot of leos. Although some use it for their leo's whole lives and have no problems. It just depends on if your leo is fed in a dish (or another cage) and has enough calcium to lick.
-----
-Jeff
Webmaster of:
Leo Land
Your One Stop Source for Everything Gecko!

Uro Land
The Ultimate Uromastyx Hangout!

My leo was fed in a dish, but I guess she lick the sand alot to. It's a sad way to learn your lesson, but we will never do it again. It's not worth taking the chance.

I was reading about your gecko and I'm sorry for your loss. I know in the short time I have had mine I've become quite attached to it and will all I can to ensure it has a long, healthy life. They are something else.

Steph

a great post someone posted...powergeckos i think....about how to react to noneating new geckos...i know that 2 weeks isn't that new...but u could try it...seems to be logical and many people have tried this and worked..here is the link...

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=440536,441058
-----
"you won't know success if you haven't failed..."-eric chen
1.1.1 Hi-Yellow Leopard Geckoes
0.0.2 Blizzards
0.1.0 Western (Plains) Hognose Snake
0.1 Boxer Dog

Yeah, take out the sand as soon as possible, he is only a juvinal and the chance of impaction is very high.

Also they eat their skin after shedding and wont eat during shedding or a day after because they are full. Mine wont eat until it has digested and pooped out her old skin.
-----
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!! Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!