Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have had this guy for about 3 months now, she is in a 20 gallon long tank with another female.

there enclosure is setup properly, a heat spot, a hide spot on the cool side of the tank, a humid hide, calicum dish, water bowl, all that stuff.

however, this female never seems to be gaining weight, i mean she must be eating something because i have had her this long already, i feed them mealworms and crickets every other day, they get crickets mainly because mealworms arent that great for them, the albino female in with this one has grown and gained weight big time, she is a very good feeder, i have never noticed her being aggressive at all to this one, they seem to be fine together.

do you think i should seperate them? this would mean buying like a 10 gallon and setting it up, but im willing to do that. or is there any way to get her to feed, anything that would stimulate her?

definitely separate them. It could be she's intimidated by the other female even if you dont see any aggession, or she could be sick. That is not a good looking tail. Either way, separate them.

I would also take her to a vet or at least get a fecal done on her right away. Expecially if her tail looked that thin when you got her. Do you remember what her tail looked like when you first got her? If it was already thinnish then its probably some sort of illness and not intimidation, but you still need to separate them so the sick one can get well without stress. Also so you can monitor her eating etc and know exactly how much she's eating if at all.

I guess you didnt know about quarantining a new gecko to be sure they are eating and healthy before putting it with your existing geckos.

i actually got these from a friend who could no longer care for them, and they had been housed together for a while. these are the first two leo's i've ever had i keep all Rhacodactylus, the only reason i got them is because he couldnt care for them anymore, i got the whole setup, and i added to it, i never saw any reason to quarantine them since they had always been together.

but i will seperate them and see how that goes. we dont have any good herp vets in this city, theres always poop in the cage, i clean it obviously, but she must be eating something it just may not be enough to gain weight.

also, her tail has been like this since i got her, i always figured she would start to beef up, i talked to a few people locally that said to "just keep an eye on her" so i did that for a while and now i decided to see what everyone recommended besides that.

any foods i should try?

any recommendations on a setup? can i just get like a rubbermaid sweaterbox type setup?

ok, I didnt' know they were already together. But you need to get her out of there now. A rubbermaid setup with paper towel is good, as long as its large enough, tall enough she cant get out, and you can heat it properly. Then you can monitor her eating and pooping. She could be eating like a pig and not gaining weight, or she could be not eating at all. I think you need to know which, because it will help you/us/vet figure out what is wrong.

Even a bad vet can do a fecal. Internal parasites are a common reason for a reptile to be eating and still losing weight or staying thin. It's a really good possibility here, and there's no point to trying to get her apetite back if she's got worms...

do you know what the vets usually charge for something like that?

once i get her into her own enclosure i will see if i can get her poop tested.

about how much should i attempt to feed her and how often?

also, if this one had worms wouldnt the other? the other one has gained weight like crazy, i mean shes really grown and she is very active and healthy looking, wouldnt the worms be effecting her as well after all this time?

just curious.

once i seperate her what do you suggest? should i give her a humid hide and a cool hide spot and all that? i want to make sure she gets the best possible.

also, if she does have worms, is it treatable?

Yah you're right, if the skinny one has worms or ANYTHING contagious, the other one's been exposed for sure by now, but she's not sick. It was real late last night when I posted. Still could be worms...

Different vets charge different prices, call and ask. Fecal is still a good first or second step but yeah maybe get her settled in her new enclosure first and see how she acts for a few days. And yes it needs all the trimmings, hides, heat gradient, dishes etc. She could be in there for a while, possible permanently. Then like you said, monitor eating and pooping. I'd offer her what you usually do foodwise, just feed them at the normal times and amounts but now in separate tanks. Then watch her. Watch if she's interested in the food or not, if she tries for the food but cant catch, or how many she eats, etc. Then we can go from there. We'd try different things next depending on what she does.

ps if my previous answers sounded grouchy it was just me typeing in my sleep there.

you didnt come off as being grouchy at all, im really thankful for all of your help.

i do plan on getting a fecal done, but do you think the possibility of anything bad has been ruled out since the other one is fine?

i will seperate her today, i need to head into town and pick up some stuff for the new cage and i will keep you posted.

> do you think the possibility of anything bad has been ruled out since the other one is fine?

I think its possible that the thin one has been stressed by the other one for a long time, and that plus worms could add up to her condition, while the other one may have worms but is handling it better because she's the top dog. Its just one possibility.

as soon as i seperate them i will clean the old tank so there is no confusion about whos poop it is, then i will get both of them tested and let you know.