Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
I got a Standings day gecko on 11/21/04 and it won't eat. I've tried everything. Mealworms, small crickets, baby food- papaya & spinach, Mango, bananas, dog food, avacado...
I am a Licensed Veterinary Technician in a small animal, wildlife, exotics hospital. I've tried metronidazol, & been force feeding. But sometimes th real reptile people have better ideas
Thanks.

What temps are you keeping him/her? Are you using UV bulbs of any kind (i.e. mercury vapor)? Has it been losing weight? Sometimes Day geckos are very shy and won't eat while you are watching, it may be snacking while you are away. Do you keep the crickets confined to a feeding dish so you can keep count? (pinch their back legs to prevent jumping out). Same goes with the fruit...do you notice any missing after a day away? Day geckos are somewhat social, maybe a friend (another standings of the opposite sex)will excite them a bit.

Was it wild caught or captive born? Did you treat them with Flagyl becuase the fecal sample showed some positive results for a biotic infection of some kind?

Answers to these questions will help us help you a bit more, thanks......

Temp is 80-85 day, 70 @ night. He drinks the water off the walls when I mist the tank 2-3X a day. He ever eats anything. Believe me. I have Repti-sun 5.0 UVB lamp, and 100W day & 100W night bulb. The fecal sample was negative for all parasites. Metronidazol stimulates appetite in exotics, reptiles & birds.

There are plenty of plants, fake trees, vines on the glass, caves... there is both rept bark & sphegnum moss in the tank.

However last night after I wrote my post, He drank a slurry of Peach/Banana baby food w/ warm water, so I threw a party

I understand what metronidazole is for. It stimulates the appetite by correcting an imbalance in the digestive tract flora. I am not a believer in shotgunning meds, it's better to know what the problem is and then treat...IMHO.

When you say "he never eats anything, believe me", how do you know??? It's better if you show us how you know so there isn't any guess work involved. By using the method I described earlier you will know without any doubt if he is eating or not. Thus possibly eliminating any anxieties you have about his health.

Don't mean to sound a bit sharp (text is very bad at showing proper emotions) because I am in no way angry. But when people post questions and look for advice it is much more productive if all the unknowns are layed out on the table.

Glad to see he sampled the fruits....always a good sign.

One of the reasons he might not be eating some of the stuff you're giving him is because some of the stuff is not part of their diet. No dog food or veggies! These guys are insectivores and fruit eaters. Crickets, mealworms, an occasional wax worm now and then. Baby food they like is apricot, peach, apples, etc. No spinach or avocados. Give them sweet stuff. Bananas and strawberries I stay away from because they have alot of, I think it's phosphorus, which inhibits calcium abosrption.

They can be shy eaters at first too.
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Lisa

1.0.0 P.m. grandis (Linus)
3.3.1 P. standingi (too many to name!)