Rescued Fat tails :(

[stephluvsgeckos]

I was given these fat tails by someone who was not taking very good care of them. The larger one is a male and seems to be full grown. The smaller skinnier one is a female (I think) and looks to be a juvenile. Neither of them are wanting to eat. The big one has an OK body weight but the smaller one looks emaciated and I wish she would eat. Do you think I should try assist feeding? By the way, they are both wild caught and I'm not sure how long the guy had them before I took them. Should I try feeding wax worms to the smaller one since she's so skinny? Thanks for any help. On a more positive note, The bottom photo is of my new amel female. Her name is Aphrodite

Female

Male

Female amel "Aphrodite"

 

[Brian]

Waxworms can be addicitive, but if it will take them there's the weight benefit.

If you just place a cricket or something in the mouth some of them will eat it if they want, but others spit it out. With that female it's probably worth a shot at this point.

 

[stephluvsgeckos]

Just an update, I read what Brian said about just placing a cricket in the mouth and I tried it with the larger one and it worked! He ate about 6 large crix. I would get near his mouth with the forceps and he would open his mouth and I would put the cricket in his mouth and he would chomp down on them just like he had caught them himself. Any ideas why he doesnt try to catch them? Also the little one ate one cricket on her own! I tried to get her to eat more but she did not want to Ill probably try again tonight.

 

[Brian]

Keep them hydrated and feed nightly as much as they will eat without leaving crickets in to eat fecal matter over night. Remove feces as soon as you notice them.

Do not force over feed because it might cause regurgitation. For instance if yuo notice your female only eats one cricket a night don't force two, however I bet if she starts to recover she may go up to at least 2-3.

I like to take a cricket, hold it by the back legs and dangle it above a hide. This is how I keep trios and actually make sure everyone gets enough to eat. It's time intensive though. I feed my Goniurosaurus this way too. Just watch yuor fingers because I've noticed the big males have quite a chomp. :mrgreen:

You may notice the tail increasing in fat before the hip bones noticablely dissapear for some reason. Not sure why they do that exactly.

Even though they are wc I wouldn't even worry about parasites until they are better as long as you keep them clean.

 

[stephluvsgeckos]

Ok I have another update. My latest attempt at feeding did not go nearly as well as the first time. I was able to get the larger one to eat one cricket and the small female would not eat any this time I have been promptly cleaning up any feces though so I guess I'll just keep trying.