[Dombrosm]

Ok guys,
I have a juvenille tokay gecko, which i dont think is eating that well. I try to keep the humidity between 70-90%, and i have a heat lamp on during the day to keep temps high, and i switch to a nightlight bulb which is made to simulate natural moonlight. I have had the gecko for about 2 months now, and i am just getting concerned. Also, it wont touch mealworms or waxworms, ive tried both. She does eat occassionaly, but its not enough to be sustaining. Maybe this is just me being over concerned, Ive never kept this species before. I was thinking that there is a chance this is normal that they dont have a voracious appetite.

Edit:
I will try to post some pictuers of the cage and the gecko, when i get my laptop back. It needed repairs
Also, she is in a 20 gallon tall, and has plenty of hiding spots, i was thinking to add some branches because I barely ever see her climb or on the glass

[audio]

it's normal for some people's tokays to not eat worms, i dont know why but some just won't eat worms. definitely add branches. i'm not sure if it would hurt it but i don't think the humidity needs to go up to 90. i usually keep mine around 60-75 percent. i dont know if that would be a problem or not though.

do you handle it a lot? what temp do you keep it at during the day? how old is it?
young tokays will eat 4-5 crix every other day, maybe every 3rd day. if it's an adult it should be eating twice that.

[BlakeDeffenbaugh]

How much do you try to feed her a time and how many are gone the next day? I keep all mine around 50% humidity or lower and never have problems but 50-75 is good. Temps should be in the high 80-mid 90s during the day with a 10-15 degree temp drop at night if you want to give them a drop. Most tokays are killers and will eat anything that goes in front of them. I've never fed mine worms because alot wont take them. As long as its not losing weight and is still active there isnt much to worry about.

[Dombrosm]

thank you for the help. I should have been more specific about the humidity. It is constantly at about 70%, but i do my best to make sure its never lower than that. As far as its age, its about 3-5 months old(my best guess). I have been trying to handle my tokay for about 30 minutes a day, so that it gets used to me and will be handlable in the future. I thought this may have been a stressor, but i was not sure. It doesnt really ever bark or bite at me any more. As far as feeding goes, i feed it about 6 crickets every other day, but they usually stockpile after a bit, because she doesnt eat enough to deplete the crickets before new ones get put in. Because of that, i usually delay feeding till all the previous crickets are gone. I thought her lack of eating could have been a vitamin deficiency, but i am not sure. I dust every other feeding though. It doesnt seem to be loosing weight, but it is skinny(some loose skin), but it was like that from the moment i bought it. The pet store i purchased her from kept her with other species which could have been a stressor as well. Again to be more specific, she does eat, but nearly at the pace i think is suitable for her. Sorry for the book!, but I appreciate everyones help.

[audio]

i would guess stress, i did the exact same thing, handling it everyday and had the same problem with eating.

hold off handling entirely for a few months or until it's eating well everyday for quite awhile. tokays get stressed really easy. you can go back to handling much later and it's handling progress should come back quicker than it was gained

[BlakeDeffenbaugh]

Ok first stop handling it for a little while. Let it get adjusted and comfortable in the new cage. Sometimes if they dont at least bark its because they are pretty stressed to begin with. Then I would go to dusting every feeding and maybe move the feedings to every 3 days and see how it acts with food then. I dust with Herptivite and Rep-cal in the pink label with a mix of 3 parts Rep-cal to 1 part Herptivite , seems to be a great mix.

[Dombrosm]

you guys are amazing thank you so much. I thought the handling might have been a factor, so I wont mess with her at all and hopefully the situation gets better. I dont expect that it will change over night though, so when i see some positive change ill let y'all know!

['stoph]

New arrivals won't eat much first 2-3 weeks.
Wouldn't recommend handling too much
for dusting I use reptivite & Herpcare(Calcium & Vitamin D3)
Humidity is 50% and I boost it to 70% during weekends.
This seems to make them shed during weekends when I'm around.
A high humidity isn't always good for cage and live plants - bigger chance for mold,rot,infections,...

If you look at the average annual humidity of their "natural" habitats:
India: 70%
Indonesia : 70%
Florida: 60%

Never understood why some books/caresheets say 70-90%.

[BlakeDeffenbaugh]

He says hes had it a few months now. I agree with the humidity thing, they do come from a wet area but anything above 60-70% humidity is pretty much because its raining. Thats why I keep mine around 50-60%. I've seen some that say you dont need heat on them before. . . .

[Riverside Reptiles]

You may also want to take a fecal sample into the vet and have it checked for parasites.