Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

i wonder if you could help me please? my baby leopard gecko wont eat, can you please advise me on how to get it to eat?

I bought a baby Leapard gecko two and a half weeks ago , it was bright and alert and had a nice fat tail. I was advised to use calci sand and to make sure there were 10 crickets in the tank each day. In the first week it only ate 1 cricket and 1 wax worm,and none at all in the second week ,is this normal? since then i have taken the calci sand out as it seemed very chalky and put kitchen roll on the bottom of the tank. I have made sure that the temperature is constant at 82 I have got two hides in the tank and a heat pad on one side and a red basking lamp,there is also a small shallow water bowl. Is this the correct setup or can you advise alternatives?

Are the above eating patterns normal for a baby leopard gecko? Should there be less crickets in the tank?

any advice you could offer would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Lesley

I think letting the crix run around all the time would stress it out.

First of all, it's good that you've changed the calci-sand to paper towel. If the baby ingest any of it, its going to be impacted. You should allow a temperature gradient in your tank, warm side approx 90F and cool side 80-82F is fine; they need the belly heat for proper digestion. The humid hide should be on the warm side; its better to include a calcium dish in the tank as well. I agree with bradh89, don't let a constant of 10 crickets running in the tank, they will stress out the baby.

Try not to handle/look at the baby too much, babies are shy, they can be stressed very easily. How does the faeces look? I personally like to get a fecal exam done as soon as I acquire a new animal, so any hidden parasitic problem can be fixed asap.

Actually, you've had it on calci-sand for 2 weeks already, there is a chance that its already impacted. Are there any bowel movements? If not, I would suggest a visit to vet.

There have been movements, quite soft.

How would we tell if he is impacted?

I think you should take a sample to the vet, while you can still get a fecal sample. Because if its not eating, its going to be difficult to obtain a sample later on.

Here is a link to Dr gecko.com on anorexia:
www.drgecko.com/anorexia.htm

Thanks for the advice. He has shed his skin and seems to have started eating now so i think we are ok.

Have had a good read of the Dr Gecko site and it looks really good.

Thanks again.

Lesley