Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a baby leopard gecko from a local reptile shop last Tuesday, and when I purchased it, (not sure whether it is male or female), her tail was horribly thin, as was she herself. Since that Tuesday she has only eaten 2 waxworms (on the Wednesday afterwards) and about 5 crickets, 2 the Friday, and 3 on the Sunday.

However, she still remains very VERY thin. I am going to look into contacting a vet asap, although I doubt that there will be any local vets specializing in reptiles. The person whom sold the lizard to me did not tell me to not handle the lizard for the first week of purchase, so after reading forums I have realized that I shouldn't have been handling the lizard at all, and this handling may have caused stress to the lizard causing her not to eat.

Also, I did find that the temperature was much too low, (somewhere in the low 80's) and I have increased the temperature to 90 on one side, with a much lower gradient on the other side of the tank, only tonight. I am hoping this will encourage it to eat, as it is much more active already, after increasing the heat.

This is a picture of the lizard when I first purchased it, and does anyone know what morph she is please?

If anyone has any suggestions about how I can fatten her up or anything, it would be very appreciated.

Thank you muchly!

I would feed mealworms. I would leave a dish in her tank so she can have food whenever she wants it. I would also call your local vet and ask if they can refer you to a herp vet. That leo is soooo skinny. When you posted before I responded to you. I was just showing you so you could compare. Here is the picture again of my now week old leo that hatched after only 45 days of incubation. Take a look at her tail and compare to your and you'll see just how skinny. This picture was taken about 4 days after she hatched. I am by no means coming down on you so please don't think that. But you really need to get that little one to a vet asap.

I agree. Try some pedialyte also. Here's a recipe:

1 quart of water
2-4 teaspoons of sugar (or 1-2 teaspoons of fructose)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Also that baby is a nice looking (besides being skinny) normal.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email
AIM SN: PeachyGex

"A herper's life is never dull" - ME

Definately call a local vet and ask them to refer you to an exotic specialist, it may be a bit of a drive, but it will be worth it, and it may save your leos life.

Continue feeding him all he will eat, do not handle him, and keep him toasty and warm. Provide several hiding spaces for a sense of security.

While you are waiting for a refferal to an exotic vet you can still bring a fecal to any vet, all fecals are read the same way and any vet should be able to tell you if your leo has any of the common parasites, which i would definately guess he does have.
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0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
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