Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so here's the deal. i got him on sunday. that night he did not eat anything. monday i drove for about an hour and a half in my car to my appartment. i had the heat up in the car the whole way and before i even put him in the car cause it was really cold outside. i quickly set up his tank in my appartment and got all the lights turned on and stuff. what i have in his tank is a water bowl, a humid hide on the warm side and a hide on the cold side. for lighting and heat i have a sun glo light for the day a red light for all the time and an under tank heater for the day. usually it gets up to about 80 to 85 degrees during the day and about 70 at night. the substrate i use is paper towles. He is extreemly afraid of everything. if i even walk into the room with his tank he goes in his hide box if he is close to it or half inside. if he is far away from the box he just sits there and dosent move. he hasnt eaten since i got him. he is about 4 inches im guessing. a cricket walked right in front of his face and he didnt even move and it even walked right over him. please help me is there anything im doing wrong. oh yea i had another gecko in there before him that i had for a month and the same thing was happeneing im pretty sure the other one was impacted because i had sand in there. please help me i am very worried.

It is pretty normal for a new arrival to be stressed for a while. Keep a clear glass bowl of mealies available at all times. Make sure you keep a set amount like 10, that way you can easily tell if he has eaten any at all. Get a fecal to the vet to check for parasites. That should be standard for every new arrival. Do not leave the crix in the cage if he does not eat them after an hour take them out. Wait 2-3 days and offer again. If more than a week passes and he still does not eat you can try tearing the butt end off a mealie and smearing it on his lips, or touching a little turkey baby food to his lip, which he will then lick off. Try to stay out of the cage and leave him alone as much as possible for the first week. Putting a small piece of folded up paper towel in the area he poops allows you to get in and out quickly and with little distubance for cleaning. Just pick up the soiled P.T. and put in a new one. That way you do not have to change the whole cage for a while. Best of luck with your new baby.
-----
Cheryl

I was going to suggest the same thing as Cheryl Good thing I read the reply or else I would have posted the same thing.

Leos, especially babies, that head to new homes can become quite stressed. Everything is different - the view, the sounds, the person caring for them. They'll come around soon enough. The same thing applies to a lot of other lizards, especially when they're young. My beardie took almost a week before starting to eat and be handled. My crested gecko didn't care though, I got him as a juvie and he's fine - just jittery all the time

I know it's nerve-wrecking since you just got your leo (that's how i was with my 1st leo) - I'd watch mine all the time to see if it'd eat a cricket. Mine preferred mealworms anyway, so it was easier for her to get used to me. You'll be fine ANd good luck!
-----
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Cookie Monster)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

He ate. i guess i was just overreacting because of what happened to my last gecko. i was scared the same thing would happen. anyway thanks for all the help.

np
-----
Cheryl