Reptile & Amphibian Forums

To start with, I have a fat-tail and a leopard gecko living harmoniously in a twenty-gallon tank. I bought them off Craig’s list about a week ago. I gave them a day to settle in before I fed them. I bought them together; they came in the same cage. The dumb nut I bought them from thought they were both leopards. Anyway, I fed them the next day … I put in four crickets. My mom insisted that we bought dead ones until we figured out how many they eat in a week. The crickets were too big so I cut them in half so they were a more manageable size for them. My fat tail ate one-half of a cricket and my leo ate a whole one. I know they are supposed to eat every two days or so but it has been a week now and they have not even touched them. I have attempted to feed them twice during the week but there were no takers. I am currently staying a few days at my friend’s house. Would the transport here stress them out? Was it a wise to move them twice in less than a week? Could I not be giving them something they need? They are daytime temp stays in the lower 80’s and they are nighttime temp is in the upper 70’s. I do not have one of those thingies to tell me what the humidity is because I have not been to the store yet. I am really worried about my babies. If there is anyone who can help, please do so. I have only had them a week and I love them as if I have had them since they were babies!

You said.."To start with, I have a fat-tail and a leopard gecko living harmoniously in a twenty-gallon tank"...what sex are they? While it might be possible that they are really living harmoniously together its also quite likely that there is stress that you can't see going on between them.

You said..."My mom insisted that we bought dead ones until we figured out how many they eat in a week. The crickets were too big so I cut them in half so they were a more manageable size for them. My fat tail ate one-half of a cricket and my leo ate a whole one"...generally they won't eat dead crickets and unless the crickets were killed just before feeding them to the geckos, they would be too dry IMHO. If they are too dry they may cause constipation or worse (impaction).

Also, you need to gutload the insects and dust them before feeding them to the geckos with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous in the insects that are used as feeders.

They should also be dusted twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A and twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder.

There is alot you need to do. First off.. you need at least a dozen crickets in there so they notice the activity and there feeding response kicks in. They do not like dead crickets, and cutting them in half will get you nowhere.

I use to have a large breeding colony of fatties and they can be VERY finicky feeders. If it was me i would seperate the two of them. Fattails are more picky and need there temp and cage to be set up properly before they feel comfortable.

At very least give them a few days, make sure the cage temperature is correct (remembering fat tails like it darker). and give them a couple dozen crickets in a few days.

Best of luck,

Nick
C.B. Boids
Gecko Cages