Adult leopard gecko feeding (possible issues)?

**GROOVY1975`** · 08-09-2019, 08:49 AM

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Morning all, I have an adult leopard gecko, he was given to me by someone who could no longer care for him. I am a long time lover of lizards and have had numerous geckos (giant day mainly), but this is my first adult leopard gecko. He only seems to eat when I hand feed him by dropping the meal worms right in front of his face. I leave 1 worm in the tank so it roams around and he can eat when he is hungry. Overnight I noticed the worm was still there after 3 days (I usually feed him every 3 days a few worms until he stops eating). My question is, is this normal, how often should he eat, and why does he only eat when I hand drop it and move it right in front of his eyes? Is it possible eyesight issues or am I feeding him wrong meal worms, or whats going on? I love the little guy so I dont want to harm him but I am confused. To recap, he only seems to eat when I drop it right in front of him then help him by gently pushing the worms under his mouth. He seemed hungry as he ate a few but there was a worm in there all along that he didnt touch UNTIL I moved it to his mouth, then he gobbled it and licked his lips.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

**Marillion** · 08-09-2019, 01:42 PM

Welcome to the forum! It could very well be possible that he has eyesight issues. A vet visit may not be a bad idea to check it out as well as any other underlying issues based on how well (or not) he was taken care or. Or he may not be all that fond of mealworms. He may be hungry enough after 3 days to eat them but not hungry enough to pursue them. New environments for Leopard Geckos can also make them shy and they may not have an appetite again until they get used to their environment.

Speaking of environments, they do have specific requirements with regards to temperature and hides required that can also affect their appetites. Check out the link in my signature for some excellent care sheets specific to Leopard Geckos. Not having an ideal setup for them can also affect their appetite and willingness to eat. Please let us know what the enclosure size is you are keeping him in and what the temperatures are like in the different zones. A picture would be helpful, both of your enclosure and your gecko. You'll get better suggestions that way.

One more thing I should mention. Feeding exclusively meal worms to a leopard gecko is far from ideal. Meal worms are not the healthiest or most nutritious feeder insect and while they can be used to supplement a diet based more on Crickets, Dubia Roaches, Horn Worms, Silk Worms etc. All of the previous mentioned insects are better choices for a more nutritional diet. I use meal worms myself but I wouldn't want to only feed that to my gecko. A varied diet with the feeder insects being fed properly themselves is the best choice for long term health.

**acpart** · 08-09-2019, 05:24 PM

In addition to what the poster above said, some of these leos are awfully lazy. Try the suggestions already given and if you want try crickets, dubias or super worms. These move more and may be more attractive to a leopard gecko. You can also see if the gecko's irises contract when you move it closer to the light so at least you'll know that it's reacting to light.

Aliza

**GROOVY1975`** · 08-09-2019, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by Marillion

Welcome to the forum! It could very well be possible that he has eyesight issues. A vet visit may not be a bad idea to check it out as well as any other underlying issues based on how well (or not) he was taken care or. Or he may not be all that fond of mealworms. He may be hungry enough after 3 days to eat them but not hungry enough to pursue them. New environments for Leopard Geckos can also make them shy and they may not have an appetite again until they get used to their environment.

Speaking of environments, they do have specific requirements with regards to temperature and hides required that can also affect their appetites. Check out the link in my signature for some excellent care sheets specific to Leopard Geckos. Not having an ideal setup for them can also affect their appetite and willingness to eat. Please let us know what the enclosure size is you are keeping him in and what the temperatures are like in the different zones. A picture would be helpful, both of your enclosure and your gecko. You'll get better suggestions that way.

One more thing I should mention. Feeding exclusively meal worms to a leopard gecko is far from ideal. Meal worms are not the healthiest or most nutritious feeder insect and while they can be used to supplement a diet based more on Crickets, Dubia Roaches, Horn Worms, Silk Worms etc. All of the previous mentioned insects are better choices for a more nutritional diet. I use meal worms myself but I wouldn't want to only feed that to my gecko. A varied diet with the feeder insects being fed properly themselves is the best choice for long term health.

Thanks for the reply! Very much appreciated, everything you say makes perfect sense. The previous owner also warned me about the hand fed issue and said its been since day 1 with him. He was always lazy BUT to me, that didnt sound right (and it was coming from a younger person so I took it with a grain of salt). I asked the pet store, and on here, I havent taken him to a true vet yet because he is big, healthy, and is full of life when he is playing, just extremely lazy with food. He prefers to have the food dropped in front of his face then he eats it, but my fear was, going blind and he couldn't see or smell the worms on the ground already waiting to be eaten. It just seemed odd that he would eat them when I drop them in front of his head then push them a little towards his face, then he gobbles them, these are the same ones that have been roaming around for a day or so (probably 3 days). I figured if he didnt eat them, he either wasnt hungry or couldnt see them but then he gobbled a few when I hand fed him. I was just worried he wasnt eating but I just picked him up and brought him to the pet store and the vet there said he looks extremely healthy (but this wasnt a true vet visit, just a pet store vet glancing at him).

I was only feeding him mealworms, I was told the wax worms are bad for him and thought about crickets but wasnt sure what to do. What is the "preferred" food for these leopard geckos? And yes, to answer your other questions, I have a heat light, temp, and humidity monitor. The heat light goes on at 6AM, off at 9PM, and is located on the opposite side of the tank (30 gallon), with a covering directly under it so he could warm if needed, but cool underneath, if needed. On the opposite side, I have a larger enclosure that he is almost always under and basically lives in. This way he has the option for hot/cool, with the humidity monitored, heat monitored, heat light, and water dish in the middle of tank. I try to read tons of material to best treat him but its hard to know whats right and wrong when its a lizard. All of my other lizards have lived long, healthy lives, but this is my first leopard gecko. My other geckos never had this temperament with eating so I was being overly cautious.

**GROOVY1975`** · 08-09-2019, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by acpart

In addition to what the poster above said, some of these leos are awfully lazy. Try the suggestions already given and if you want try crickets, dubias or super worms. These move more and may be more attractive to a leopard gecko. You can also see if the gecko's irises contract when you move it closer to the light so at least you'll know that it's reacting to light.

Aliza

Thank you for the reply, good point about the lights, he definitely reacts to light, I will try a more active type worm or cricket to grab his attention.

**Marillion** · 08-09-2019, 06:42 PM

Thanks for the info. Here is an excerpt from Elizabeth's Leopard Gecko care information detailing temps:

"Temperatures - A temperature gradient from warm to cool maintains your leo's health. Here's a temperature guide for all leopard geckos as measured with the probe of a digital thermometer or a temp gun (and controlled by a thermostat set at 91*F/32.8*C):
Warm end ground temperature: 88-92 F (31.1-33.3 C) inside a leo's warm dry hide and his moist hide too!
Cool end ground temperature: 70ish-75 F (21.1-23.9 C) Usually the cool end ground temperature matches the room temperature where the enclosure sits.
no greater than 82ish F (27.8ish C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (23.9 C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the heat mat/UTH on 24/7. If you wish, during the night turn off overhead lighting/heating (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures drop lower than 67ish*F (19.4*C).
(1) Under Tank Heat mat (UTH)
Your Under Tank Heat mat should be 1/2 the enclosure's floor. Place one dry hide and the moist hide right on top of the heat mat.
10 gallon (20 x 10 x 12 inches high): Use Zoo Med's 6 x 8 inch or possibly Zoo Med's 8 x 12 inch UTH.
15 gallon (24 x 12.5 x 12.5 inches high): Use Ultratherm's 11 x 11 inch heat mat.
20 gallon LONG (30 x 12 x 12 inches high): Use Ultratherm's 11 x 17 inch heat mat.
40 gallon BREEDER (36 x 18 x 17 inches high): Use two Ultratherm 8 x 17 heat mats or install 39 feet of heat cables over 1/2 the enclosure. The first 6 feet of heat cables are actually not heated."

With regards to wax worms...my policy is not to use them. They are not nutritionally sound (kind of like the Krispy Kreme donuts of the insect world) and can cause Leopard Geckos to refuse other food if they get used to them. Good insect choices would be Dubia Roaches (if you are in the USA and can keep them, here in Canada they are illegal) or Crickets, mostly because they have a larger digestive tract and can be "gut loaded" with good stuff so that can in turn benefit your gecko when he eats it. Silk Worms and Horn Worms are also good choices. Most people feed Dubia Roaches and Crickets as a mainstay and then supplement with Mealworms/Superworms/Silkworms/Hornworms for variety and a balanced diet. We wouldn't be very healthy either if we always ate the same thing.

The more reading you can do about Leopard Geckos to educate yourself to their requirements the better I would say. So it's awesome that you are trying to do more research on it and even the fact that you joined up here and are asking questions is great! It sounds like you have a great sized enclosure! However, I would put the water dish on the cool side, opposite side of the heat lamp. What kind of heat lamp/light are you using?

Often I find mine tends to be a bit lazy with food too. Occasionally he will pursue a cricket or worm but not too often. We often have to nudge his food close to him also! I don't like to leave his food in his enclosure if he does not eat it at a feeding session within 15-20mins. Particularly Crickets as they could nibble on him or his eyes if they get overly hungry/thirsty!

**GROOVY1975`** · 08-14-2019, 07:04 AM

Originally Posted by Marillion

Thanks for the info. Here is an excerpt from Elizabeth's Leopard Gecko care information detailing temps:

"Temperatures - A temperature gradient from warm to cool maintains your leo's health. Here's a temperature guide for all leopard geckos as measured with the probe of a digital thermometer or a temp gun (and controlled by a thermostat set at 91*F/32.8*C):
Warm end ground temperature: 88-92 F (31.1-33.3 C) inside a leo's warm dry hide and his moist hide too!
Cool end ground temperature: 70ish-75 F (21.1-23.9 C) Usually the cool end ground temperature matches the room temperature where the enclosure sits.
no greater than 82ish F (27.8ish C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (23.9 C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the heat mat/UTH on 24/7. If you wish, during the night turn off overhead lighting/heating (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures drop lower than 67ish*F (19.4*C).
(1) Under Tank Heat mat (UTH)
Your Under Tank Heat mat should be 1/2 the enclosure's floor. Place one dry hide and the moist hide right on top of the heat mat.
10 gallon (20 x 10 x 12 inches high): Use Zoo Med's 6 x 8 inch or possibly Zoo Med's 8 x 12 inch UTH.
15 gallon (24 x 12.5 x 12.5 inches high): Use Ultratherm's 11 x 11 inch heat mat.
20 gallon LONG (30 x 12 x 12 inches high): Use Ultratherm's 11 x 17 inch heat mat.
40 gallon BREEDER (36 x 18 x 17 inches high): Use two Ultratherm 8 x 17 heat mats or install 39 feet of heat cables over 1/2 the enclosure. The first 6 feet of heat cables are actually not heated."

With regards to wax worms...my policy is not to use them. They are not nutritionally sound (kind of like the Krispy Kreme donuts of the insect world) and can cause Leopard Geckos to refuse other food if they get used to them. Good insect choices would be Dubia Roaches (if you are in the USA and can keep them, here in Canada they are illegal) or Crickets, mostly because they have a larger digestive tract and can be "gut loaded" with good stuff so that can in turn benefit your gecko when he eats it. Silk Worms and Horn Worms are also good choices. Most people feed Dubia Roaches and Crickets as a mainstay and then supplement with Mealworms/Superworms/Silkworms/Hornworms for variety and a balanced diet. We wouldn't be very healthy either if we always ate the same thing.

The more reading you can do about Leopard Geckos to educate yourself to their requirements the better I would say. So it's awesome that you are trying to do more research on it and even the fact that you joined up here and are asking questions is great! It sounds like you have a great sized enclosure! However, I would put the water dish on the cool side, opposite side of the heat lamp. What kind of heat lamp/light are you using?

Often I find mine tends to be a bit lazy with food too. Occasionally he will pursue a cricket or worm but not too often. We often have to nudge his food close to him also! I don't like to leave his food in his enclosure if he does not eat it at a feeding session within 15-20mins. Particularly Crickets as they could nibble on him or his eyes if they get overly hungry/thirsty!

Thank you for the awesome detailed information! I will be making a few changes, but one thing I DID 100% confirm was it is just him being lazy. I did a few tests with him while playing, and if the food was there but on the other side of the tank, forget it, he could care less, however if I move Marvin (gecko) while playing with him and he has to PASS the food on the way back to his little hideout, he gobbles them and is happy. I also try not to leave food in there ever, unless hes eating them but every so often I will leave a worm in there just in case. I check the food every few hour to make sure it didnt die nor is bothering Marvin. I am going to switch to crickets but only feed them as he needs them (so they dont bother him) that was the main reason I didnt like crickets, for the bothering factor. In the past, many crickets have bothered my lizards so I switched to worms a long time ago (and the girl that gave him to me also only used worms so I didnt want to change to much at once).

One thing I am a little worried about is the carpet she chose (previous owner). I do see him pecking the worms but grabbing the carpet (which seems to annoy him) - that could be me over reading into it though. I am trying to read and learn as much as possible but I cannot figure out whats safer, sand or carpet. Any ideas would help, and thanks in advance!

**Marillion** · 08-14-2019, 10:53 AM

Carpet is definitely safer than sand...but I use tile myself to eliminate any chance of impaction issues as well as ease of cleanliness.

**GROOVY1975`** · 08-14-2019, 11:13 AM

I like the tile idea, any tile would do (slate) or do I need a special type? I am going to run out today and replace the carpet, its definitely causing Marvin a few issues with eating. Plus the carpet is not clean as I would like it so I fear germs for him.

**Marillion** · 08-14-2019, 11:29 AM

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Slate can work, and many use it. However I opted for textured ceramic tile due to slate being somewhat porous and the possibility of any bacteria harboring potential and also so that our gecko can grip on it easier than the smoother variety.