[thorrshamri]

I have noticed a lot of newcommers in the gecko world tend to ask the same questions over about the same issues over and over again, among which feeding schedules and methods.

Rule 1: overfeeding a gecko is as counterproductive as underfeeding them if you want to keep them in good shape and breed them. Ok, now, what exactly is the right amount of food and feeding frequency for any given species?

Rule 2: As regards the question in rule #1, you have to adapt to your geckos, and not the contrary. Each individual, provided it is in good shape, has its own preferences on types of food, frequency and quantity. As a rule of thumb, a gecko housed singly will feed more readily than if he/she is put at once with other cagemates. Along with quarantine, I would recommend housing your geckos individually until they reach full size. Caution: full size and the age of sexual maturity are not synonyms. Many geckos are able to breed at the age of 1 year or even younger, this does NOT mean they have stopped growing. As an example, Uroplatus often reach maturity at 10-12 months, but will not reach full size, nor product fertile eggs, long after that-around 2 years old or so.

Just look at what any given gecko can eat in half an hour: that is the right amount of food insects to give on every feeding.

Rule 3: fruit, honey, and any "veg" diet is definitely bringing less proteins to your geckos-what they need to grow and stay fit. It may sound as something obvious, but with a few exceptions (leachies), in any case, properly fed insects are richer in proteins. Try to eat melon, apples and salad and no meat. You will notice quite quickly that you are losing weight. So it goes with geckos too: it is not because their stomachs are full that their diet is balanced.

Rule 4: never give any food insect straight after buying them. Leave the insects with peeled fruit (oranges preferrably, for a better calcium ratio, but apples, carrots, and a variety of pesticide-free fruit and veg have to be used), provide also food insects with a good source of proteins- cat or dog pellets are perfect for that. Then, wait at least 24 hours so that the insects are properly "gut-loaded".

Rule 5: if your gecko is not eating for a few days, DON'T PANIC. No need to feed desert species too often, twice weekly for adults will do with most species. That is even worse to panic and take your freshly arrived gecko to a vet after 4-5 days without eating. It will just increase the stress on this animal. True anorexia on adult geckos happen after 2 weeks or so without any food intake.

Rule 6: leaving wandering insects in a gecko tank is NOT a good idea. It will stress your geckos, and possibly drive them to completely stop eating. Keep in mind that even in rainforests, insects on which geckos can feed (exclude from this most fast flying insects, bees, hornets, and so forth) are not so readily available as you would think. In the wild, geckos are far from eating eery day. Often, one big meal makes up for days of starvation. So, avoid to give too much insects at a time, and if you notice the presence of wandering insects within the next 12 hours, remove them from the tanks. Also, don't underestimate how some crickets can damage or even kill a very small species of gecko, or a juvenile: I find it better to feed more smaller prey items than large ones. For geckos up to 5-6 cm in length (2''), use fruitflies and pinhead crickets, nothing bigger than this. Black crickets are very aggressive, adults may cause serious wounds to an adult gecko. Other species of crickets are less aggressive, though they are also able to cause damage to your geckos. For this reason, it can be a great idea to leave a small dish of insect food (pellets, fruit..) inside your gecko tanks.

Rule 7: whenever possible, use crickets as a staple diet, and vary the prey items. Leopard geckos, tokays and AFTs will gladly swallow large locusts, other fast-moving species often ignore them. Roaches are chitinous, so hard to digest, apart from red runner roaches (B. lateralis). Mealworms and superworms are NOT to be used as a staple, regular diet. An occasional mealworm is okay though. Same with waxmoth larvae. Silkworms can be given as staple food for any species accepting them as food.

Rule 8: some hints may work for others and not for your animals. Feeding dishes, feeding with forceps may work for you, but not for your neighbor owning the same species. Nothing abnormal here. Just individual preferences.

Rule 9: avoid using supplements containing phosphore. The calcium/phosphore ratio of gecko food should be 2 or above. All food insects have a very poor Ca/P ratio, in most cases from 0.1 to 0.4. Adding phosphore on them will just keep this unbalanced ratio. Juveniles and breeding females of any species should be given calcium on every feeding, dusted on food insects. Some species have calcium storages- clearly visible "bags" under their neck, f.e. day geckos, leaf-tails, and other species. Too much calcium may cause kidney disfunctioning, which can be lethal.

Rule 10: vitamins should first come from the food given to food insects. if you offer your insects enough variety of pesticide-free fruit and veg, you almost do not need to add vitamins to your geckos diet. Vitamin D3 is an exception, but shall be given in SMALL amounts and infrequently: 400 IU is the proper dose for geckos, above this, you can intoxicate your geckos on the long term. More generally, too much vitamins cause overdoses and are even more harmful than not enough vitamins, keep this in mind!

[thorrshamri]

Hint: prior to any visit to the vet, what should you do with a gecko refusing to eat?

#1- always have sealed, sterile jars at hand such as the ones used for urine or other biological samples in human medecine. Put a FRESH poop from your gecko inside it. Some parasites only survive for an hour or so in the open air. Then take that sample to the nearest vet or vet lab. A negative result (= no parasites found) does NOT mean it's ok. You have to repeat the process at least once, 2-3 weeks after the first sample. Many parasites follow complex life cycles and are not systematically present in every poo.

The equation "captive-bred animal= without parasites" is just WRONG. Insects are very often intermediate hosts to a variety of parasites; parasites are present almost for sure if the gecko poos are smelly (normal poos don't smell), watery, not of the usual dark brown color, and/or with traces of blood.

#2- before considering such a stressful process as assist feeding, try to offer your geckos which refuse to eat, crickets with their heads smashed, offer such prey items with small, non-edgy forceps, gently putting the prey right under the gecko nose, and very delicately putting it against the gecko mouth. And/or try another type of food insects, roaches are readily accepted by leaf-tails, locusts by leopard geckos and AFTs.

#3- DONT HANDLE YOUR GECKOS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE NOT GOOD FEEDERS; assist feeding should only be attempted with a vet opinion, and giving liquid food with a syringe, not handling the animal, is by far a better solution than forcing an insect into the gecko mouth. Liquid food such as those used for dogs or cats after a surgery are a great alternative, or you may try to smash insects, add some water so as to obtain a fluid paste. Just put a drop of this liquid food on the animal's snout and be patient, wait for the gecko to lick it. Of course, it is a short term alternative, supposed to trigger the normal predator reflexes again.

[Miz]

My Leo (~9 months old) will not hunt for food on his own...the only time he eats is if I'm holding a cricket with tweazers and shaking it in front of his face, or if I take off their jumping legs and put them in a little tea-light holder so they can't crawl out...then he'll go over and eat them out of the bowl...

He will chase after a cricket for about 2 secs, and then if it moves any further away he stops and runs back into his rock...I've tried feeding him in his carrier, but he gets stressed out when handled and wont eat then either...

Any suggestions? I don't mind ripping off the cricket legs for him....but I don't think I'd want to do it for the next 20 yrs or so :-/

Thanks

[thorrshamri]

I don't know where you live exactly, but in any case it is winter, and geckos are very sensitive to the duration of days and nights, and to the lower intensity of light at this time of the year, it does affect their food intake, even if you have not reduced the temps inside its enclosure.
Provided its tail is fat and plump, I would not worry too much. Have you reduced the temperatures and the duration of heating/lighting in its tank?
As I said above, you can try feeding your gecko with locusts, they usually prefer them to crickets.
If you see the problem lasts for 2-3 weeks then take a fresh fecal sample to your nearest reptile vet; same if your animal loses weight very quickly and/or emits loose, smelly poos.
In the wild, leopard geckos do brumate and stop feeding during the winter months for a few weeks, up to 2-3 months. This is why they have a fat storage in their tail

[Miz]

I have decreased the amount of daylight since we are in daylight savings here in California, USA. However, he did the same during the longer days as well, and he is actually more active now that it's cooler. I also have Panacur that I have treated him with twice since I got him last May.

He eats in his bowl, just not when they are running around

I will see if I can find locusts somewhere, I haven't been able to find a local supplier for those.

Thank you for the suggestions!

[thorrshamri]

The treatment you mention is against worms; was it proven your gecko had worms?
If so, I would recommend to deworm it again, 3 times with a 3 week time between each intake.
Pan**** is WAY TOO STRONG for geckos (see: Dr. vet. L. Schilliger, 2010). It is ok for big snakes and large monitor lizards, but it is one of the most toxic anti-worm treatment. It can damage or even block your gecko's kidneys in no time and may be life-threatening if you give a little too much of it. It contains Fenbendazole, a potent worm-killer, but what is toxic for worms is also toxic for geckos
I suggest you use a broad-spectrum treatment against worms ONLY if fecal samples show the presence of worm eggs or larvae (you don't usually see adult worms under the microscope).
I also suggest the use of milder yet efficient treatments. Here, I use a worming paste made for puppies and kittens:Oxibendazole 3 grams ; Niclosamide 24 gr/ 100 milliliters. You can obtain it without any prescription, at least in my country, from any vet clinic or chemist shop.