Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry everyone, but I need to vent. I purchased my first Leopard gecko about 5-6 weeks ago. Everything was going great, the gecko was eating crickets and mealworms like crazy, good appetite, etc. Then his/her appetite started decreasing and I found out that sand was potentially harmful for juvenille geckos, so I took that up and put down paper towels. His/her appetite continued to decrease to the point that it wouldn't eat. So we began feeding it baby food to keep it hydrated/healthy, and took it to the vet. It is not impacted as there are droppings in the corner of the tank almost every morining. The vet has it on antibiotics but says that overall the gecko looks good. He said to increase the temps in the tank, which I did by adding an under the tank heater. This side of the tank WAS the side the gecko hung out on UNTIL adding the uth, so now I am getting a rheostat to see if the temps are too high. It has both a humid and dry hide, cool and warm sides, food & calcium bowl, water dish, a humidity gauge, 2 thermometers with another one on the way for the bottom of the tank. Everything inside of thie tank seems perfect, even the gecko. But it won't eat mealworms or crickets, so we tried a waxworm. It goobles down the waxworms but won't touch the other food. I know that waxworms are not very healthy and are not addictive so I don't want to go crazy with them. I've also heard people say, give it time, it will eat eventually. Well without the hand feeding this gecko would have gone without food for weeks now. I am so very frustrated because this gecko just will NOT eat the mealworms or crickets, so either I continue handfeeding which could go on indefinately, or feed waxworms which will end up ruining my gecko's health in the long run. I see posts that says how easy Leopard Geckos are to care for, yet my experience has been filled with stress and worry over mine. I love this little Gecko and want to see it healthy and eating well, but it just isn't happening.

Steph

I dont know if this could help you, but if it was my gecko, i would do the same. I would handfeed as long as it need. waxworm may not be the best, but its sure better than nothing. I once had a water dragon that goes from bad to worse in a matter of days and i sure know how you feel.

For your gecko, is it possible that something stress the hell out of him ? Or do you have him check for parasite ?
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Mizar 21
1.0 Collared lizard (Ganymede)
1.0 Leopard Gecko (Gethsemani)
1.0 Nerodia Fasciata (Serpentard)
1.2 Cats

im having the exact same prob with my leo she wont eat nething the only thing she will is waxies im have no clue what to do she is on pappertowels i switched her today i really dont no what to do bout it her staple is mealies and acasionally some crix but they r jus so messy and hard to keep alive i wish i could help u out but im in the same boat...bryan

Sorry to hear about the misfortune your having right now, but by the sounds of it, the gecko is still healthy just wont eat, so if you get everything straightened out now, it will slowly start to get better.
First, temps. Temps are very important for digestion and appetite, and if I forget to turn my lights on, my geckos sometimes wont eat that day because they're cold. You should have one side of the tank at 90 and the other side at about 80. Dont worry if you see you gecko at the cold side sometimes, they'll go back and forth to cool/warm up. Sometimes if you leo is always on the warm side, its because its not warm enough so it has to stay on the warm side constantly. You got the heat pad, but a rheostat is important, low/medium usually works, but the surface temp should be around 90 aswell.
Try as many different foods that you can find. Silkies, Butterworms, waxworms, crickets, mealworms all that stuff.
Another posibility is that its stressed. What I recomend you do is get those temps just right, put a bowl of food in there, and just leave it alone for a couple days. This helps with my male who doesnt like being touched or picked up and gets stressed easy. Good luck
Mac

How old is she? I had just gotten a new girl a couple of months ago, and she wouldn't eat much of anything...maybe a cricket here, and a couple of mealworms there (hand fed like yours). I was so worried, cause my other 2 are voracious eaters. They just love to eat. Well, anyways come to find out, she was pregnant when I bought her. Now, that she has laid her eggs, she eats more...but still not as much as the others. I would just keep doing what you're doing. As long as she's alert and active, and having good BM's, I wouldn't worry too much.

Take Care,
Rebecca