Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well ive had my leo for about 4 days and she hasnt eaten much at all . i heard that young leos(shes about 4-5.1/2 inches long)eat like almost evryday. but all shes eaten while ive had her is about maybe 1 or 2 locusts(which are about inch long with some going over and under this).my assumptions on this problem are,well the locusts are jumpy and fast and seem to stay near the top of the tank so maybe she cant catch them or maybe there too big for her? also is there a chance that she is still stressed from being put in a new enviroment.

please could anyone help me as i am very worried and its my 1st reptile pet so i have no experience to solve this myself.

thanks a whole lot in advance for any advice or help.

It is likely that your leo is just stressed out by the transition from one place to another. People generally say it takes around seven days for a new reptile to settle in, so this is most likely the case.

Another reason your gecko may not be eating is because the temperatures are too low. You need around 89F - 92F substrate temps, not air temps and these should be measured accurately using a digital thermometer with probe or a temp gun, not a stick on stip thermometer.

The general rule is that a feeder should be as long as the width of your leos head but no longer than the length of the leos head. With larger locusts, there are barbs on the back legs that can harm the leos mouth, if these are present just cut or pull the back legs off the locust.

You can also buy feeding tongs and place or dangle the locust in front of your leo, to get it's attention. One of mine would lose interest in a cricket if it left it's field of vision so I used to have to 'chase' the crickets toward the leo.

I wouldn't worry too much as the leo is probably just settling in. Only bother it for feeding, spot cleaning and water changes and it should settle in ok.

thanks a whole lot ria your becoming quite a hero for me