Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone. ^^

I gave my little chubby female her first superworm last night, and she crunched it up pretty happily, along with a few mealworms too. About five minutes after eating though, she started acting strange: she would dip her chin to the ground and push it forward to scratch it, rub the sides of her face on her coconut hut, and open her mouth really wide and lick the sides of her face. I never saw these actions in a leo, and I'm wondering if she didn't like the superworm, or is this how leos begin to shed their skin, by trying to scrape off the old skin?

Thanks for helping. ^_^

I once had a frog that always did the same thing after eating crickets. I never really knew why he did it either, but I'm thinking maybe it was a little too big or something?

Hmmm...maybe...he seems to be acting normally thought today thank goodness...he's been eating and squirming around like normal. ^^ But I may not feed him another superworm for quite a while...or ever, it was pretty creepy to watch...for a bit I thought the superworm was trying to eat it's way out, even though it had been totally crushed!

That's what they do to push down the food. They have to yawn, stretch, turn their heads to the side, and then go lay down on a warm spot. You'll see them do it after eating a whole bunch of food or after eating something really big for them. Leos are very capable of taking on large prey items without any problem, but it's better not to feed them anything larger than their head. I've seen that cause temporary mild paralysis in some younger leos and then it can also cause them to regurgitate.
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chickabowwow

Ahh the superworm. Bigger is not always better! I had the same thing happen with my leos the 1st time i fed them superworms. The local vet told me it was the shell of the worms that was the problem.The shells of superworms are real tough compared to their normal diet of crickets and normal mealies. When they are taking down the superworms that shell could cause severe cuts in the geckos mouth and stomach. Could be the cause of some of the behavior your seeing. If possible stay away from superworms for your leos.

Really?...uggg...I had a suspicion that someone was gonna tell me that, and I wasn't looking forward to it. My poor leo...he seems okay now, he's been eating like a scaly piglet...if he did cut his tummy up, that can heal, right? Even with all the stomach acids in there? ;-;

If he's eating like a pig thats a great sign.If there was any major internal problems he would A. not eat at all or B. vomit everything he took down. My Geckos had a runny stool for a few days after, but that was the worst of it.( except the vet bill! lol )

Heh...well that's good news...she's my fave Leo of my rgoup, didn't want to think of her with a torn up tummy. ^^ Yeah, I'm just feeding her regular sized mealworms right now topped off with an occasional dusting...I think I'm gonna leave superworms off the menu...my other three guys eat them with no problem, but it's not worth expirimenting again. Thanks for all the help. ^_^