Tokay Gecko not Feeding

[BeingTomGreen]

Heya Guys,

I recently purchased a Tokay Gecko (23/8/11), and she has yet to feed.

She is in a good sized terrarium, with plenty of hides and cover - see attached images, temp 73F - 80F humidity 87%.

However she is refusing to eat, either from tweezers or from me just chucking them in there - I have tried Wax Worms, Crickets and Locusts.

The shop I bought her from has told me she is wild caught, but don't know the date. She is fully mature.

Any ideas?

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

The first thing that you need to do is take it to a vet to be checked for parasites (both internal and external). Most wild caught tokays are loaded with them. Heat needs to be raised. More vertical hides...remember, these are arboreal animals and they don't spend much (if any) time on the ground unless they have nowhere else to hide.

 

[BeingTomGreen]

The first thing that you need to do is take it to a vet to be checked for parasites (both internal and external). Most wild caught tokays are loaded with them. Heat needs to be raised. More vertical hides...remember, these are arboreal animals and they don't spend much (if any) time on the ground unless they have nowhere else to hide.

Thanks, I was informed that the Tokay is free from Parasites, however that was the first think I though - she is booked in on Saturday.

I will dial up the heat a touch - what should I be aiming for?

There is a nice hide behind the fern, but she ignores it, and spends the days in the ground hide and the nights on the glass. Whats the best way to provide vertical hiding space? I currently have a half log (the same as the ground one), turned sideways behind the fern?

 

[hemingway155]

Welcome to the hobby, Tom. Once you get her acclimated, I think you'll find that tokays are super rewarding display animals. On your two most recent questions:

1) For temps, you will do best if the geckos have some ability to self-select. That may be tough given the small size of your cage, but I find that some of mine like to bask a bit, and a low-wattage light is a good way to create a hotter zone in the top of the cage. My specifics, which seem to keep mine happy - my reptile room is an ambient 80 degrees (F) in the day, and drops to 70 at night. My tokays all have lights over their cages that bring the top of the cage to about 87 degrees and create a top-down gradient.

2) For vertical hides, I use corkbark flats, curls, and tubes, as well as bamboo. The bamboo is a halfway recent addition for me, but I love it and so do my tokays. I also know a lot of people use propped-up pieces of slate tile, but I haven't tried that one yet.

A couple other thoughts that you might consider:
- Once she has some more hides to feel secure, stop messing with her. I notice that mine, especially new imports, take a long time to settle back down after being messed with and that can put them off food.

- Maybe she's dehydrated. That has always seemed like the bigger issue with imports to me, once you get parasites taken care of. I know dehydration can cause anorexia, so I would be misting a lot and making sure that she has chances to drink.

Hope it helps. I'm a relative newbie as well (got my first tokays last January), but the people here are very helpful. One thing you may have to worry about -- tokays are a bit like potato chips and I found myself with 6 before I knew it.

Kris

 

[raymo]

Dear all,

I have same problem right now, my tokay seems to have hepatic disease (We did ultrasound exam and found some small white spots...),my tokay(male,8-9 yrs) need to take some antibiotics and drugs of liver.Because it lost weight this week obviously, I would like to feed on some commercial dust food(like Crested Gecko Diet MRP). Need more suggestion, thanks.

 

[cricket4u]

Dear all,

I have same problem right now, my tokay seems to have hepatic disease (We did ultrasound exam and found some small white spots...),my tokay(male,8-9 yrs) need to take some antibiotics and drugs of liver.Because it lost weight this week obviously, I would like to feed on some commercial dust food(like Crested Gecko Diet MRP). Need more suggestion, thanks.

It's a very delicate condition that needs diligent care from the vet. The vet must recommend a certain diet for your tokay in order to have a chance of being successful.

 

[thehotchik1000]

You should be aiming for the highest point being about 90.f. All
Of my tanks are set up with a top down thermal gradient. As mentioned before they enjoy basking at the top and will move around the cage. My bottom point is 80.f. No heat is necessary at night these guys do well with night drops.
Clutter up the walls with vines, plants, arboreal hides etc. they'll stick to the walls or PVC piping to hide in. The cork bark rounds do really well as arboreal hides as well. Make sure that fecal comes back clean. What are you trying to Feed? Toks do well on either crix or roaches... They are movement orientated animals so if it doesn't move alot they won't want it. They will enjoy a little cgd if it happens to be on your finger but as for them eating it out of a bowl I've tried plenty of times with mine and they don't want anything to do with it. It's best to stick to gutloaded crickets or roaches.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

 

[raymo]

You should be aiming for the highest point being about 90.f. All
Of my tanks are set up with a top down thermal gradient. As mentioned before they enjoy basking at the top and will move around the cage. My bottom point is 80.f. No heat is necessary at night these guys do well with night drops.
Clutter up the walls with vines, plants, arboreal hides etc. they'll stick to the walls or PVC piping to hide in. The cork bark rounds do really well as arboreal hides as well. Make sure that fecal comes back clean. What are you trying to Feed? Toks do well on either crix or roaches... They are movement orientated animals so if it doesn't move alot they won't want it. They will enjoy a little cgd if it happens to be on your finger but as for them eating it out of a bowl I've tried plenty of times with mine and they don't want anything to do with it. It's best to stick to gutloaded crickets or roaches.


Check out what's new on my website... Homegrown Scales

Sorry I didn't describe this situation clearly...I kept my Tokay over 5 years(he's got adult size when I took him from pet store) and I realize that they like movements orientated animals and Temp settings.He tried to fling the head to let crickets out every time even I put crickets(already cut head)close to throat,my tokay flinged it out when I left.
He is willing to drink some water from syringes so I hope I can get some suggestion about offering commercial gecko food (for insectivores) to keep its weight and energy.

My vet didn't suggest any alternative food source.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

Raymo,
There is no commercial insectivorous powdered diet available at this time that I know of. Hills A/D mixed 50/50 with pediatric fluids is the standard carnivore recovery diet and is intended for syringe feeding. Speak with your vet for other solutions based on special dietary needs of your reptile.

If weight is still acceptable blending gutloaded then dusted insects would be a route I might consider.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[raymo]

Raymo,
There is no commercial insectivorous powdered diet available at this time that I know of. Hills A/D mixed 50/50 with pediatric fluids is the standard carnivore recovery diet and is intended for syringe feeding. Speak with your vet for other solutions based on special dietary needs of your reptile.

If weight is still acceptable blending gutloaded then dusted insects would be a route I might consider.

Maurice Pudlo

Thank you.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Raymo,
There is no commercial insectivorous powdered diet available at this time that I know of. Hills A/D mixed 50/50 with pediatric fluids is the standard carnivore recovery diet and is intended for syringe feeding. Speak with your vet for other solutions based on special dietary needs of your reptile.

If weight is still acceptable blending gutloaded then dusted insects would be a route I might consider.

Maurice Pudlo

Maurice is correct that crested gecko diet is not an "insectivore diet". However, there are actually some zoo quality semi-moist insectivore diets available on the internet. Do a google search for "insectivore diet". Although they're semi-moist, they could certainly be mixed with water to turn them into a slurry. I'd imagine that they would be much better to use in the long run than something super rich like A/D. I've had great success raising Jeweled lacertas on a combo of Exotic Nutrition's "Insectivore Fare" and whole live prey items.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

The Hills A/D based recovery diet is not a long term solution, it is a recovery diet and nothing more.

Long term feeding might do better on the mazuri insectivore gel, something I have used with my monitors.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I've just never been a fan of the Hills products for various reasons. And personally I'd rather use something made specifically for insectivores than something made for carnivores. And in a case like Ramo's where liver problems are a concern, I wouldn't think that such a rich diet as A/D would be appropriate. Lot's of vets will recommend A/D for 2 reasons, firstly because that's what they're often trained to use as a go to emergency diet for any malnourished animal and they don't know any better, and secondly because they make a fortune selling it.

 

[cricket4u]

Dear all,

I have same problem right now, my tokay seems to have hepatic disease (We did ultrasound exam and found some small white spots...),my tokay(male,8-9 yrs) need to take some antibiotics and drugs of liver.Because it lost weight this week obviously, I would like to feed on some commercial dust food(like Crested Gecko Diet MRP). Need more suggestion, thanks.

Did the vet do blood chemistry to check liver enzymes? The problem is the white spots can be fat, cyst or even inflammation due to a virus or infection. make sure parasites are ruled out as well. Anyhow mention these 2 products that both have some good in them, depending on the situation.

Insectivore Gel

l/d® Feline Hepatic Health - Canned

 

[billewicz]

Hello Tom,

Yes, more vertical hides are essential, and please get the daytime temps up to at least 90 during the day or it will not eat. The current weather in Indonesia, where your Tokay probably came from is a low of 76 degrees and a high between 90 and 95 degrees with rain and thunderstorms for days on end. ( i.e., lots of misting.)

I use an under the tank heat pad for enclosures set up in the house where the relatively low room ambient temps are keeping the glass too cold for your Tokay. A larger enclosure would allow for gradient heat zones. I zone from front to back but the idea is the same, give them a choice. Remember that summertime temps push 100+ in the tropics so, really hot, humid, vertical hides and good ventilation are key to a happy Tokay.

Good Luck!!!

Michael's Tokay Hoard @ www.billewicz.com