Baby Leo Not Eating

[FoxDog]

I have had a baby leo for about two months now. It took it a few days to adjust to its home, but then began to eat fine. After about a week or two it suddenly stopped eating. Its tail has gotten very small and i would say it has only ate about 2 mealworms in the past 3/4 weeks. I tried switching to crickets, still would not eat.It just started shedding, but has not been in shed the entire 3 weeks (only about the past few days) It used to eat both mealworms and crickets. it is about 4 inches and i have it housed with two other leos (both about 6 inches) I can not afford a vet visit at the moment

What do you think is wrong and is there anything I can do to help my leo???

 

[Geckologist.tj]

Hi there. First of all, most instances of a leopard gecko refusing to eat are caused by improper husbandry. There is a lot of bad information out there on how one should care for a loepard gecko. With that in mind, please view this care sheet- http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-demo-video-4-jan-2013-update.html#post302242

Having said that, I feel that a very likely cause is that the gecko is being housed with other leos, especially leos that are bigger. Leopard geckos are not meant to be communal animals. In the wild, they avoid each other except to breed. They have no need for any companionship, nor do they have the mental abilty to facilitate a bond of any kind. With that in mind, the only reason to house them together is for the convenience of the owner or to allow them to reproduce. If you want to house females together, that is definitely your choice and I believe that there are good leopard gecko owners out there who do so, but you have to do so responsibly. That means that if you see signs of bullying they must be seperated immediately. Signs of bullying are : biting, tail waving, bite marks on a leo, weight loss, lack of interest in food, one leopard gecko always being confined to a particular hide and I'm sure there are more that I didn't think of right off the top of my head. In short, leos are better off housed seperately. I am not trying to beat you up or anything, just trying to convey the urgency of the situation. I'm sure you want what is best for your little friends as we all do.

 

[FoxDog]

Thank you for the reply!!

Just got another tank for my baby Leo. I am putting him into the new house tomorrow. I will keep updated on how he does.

 

[FoxDog]

Thank you for the reply!!

Just got another tank for my baby Leo. I am putting him into the new house tomorrow. I will keep updated on how he does.

Was able to get a tank from friend and had some extra tile/scenery to put in with it! Hope fully he will do better soon.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

:yahoo: on upgrading to a larger enclosure!

It is very important to troubleshoot the reasons for the eating difficulties. Please read post #66 Leos Not Eating immediately following the Leo Caresheet linked right below in my signature and then get back with us.

It will also be most helpful for you to complete this Health/Wellness Questionnaire.

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...68527-helping-your-sick-gecko-read-first.html

PS: Best to keep the warm dry hide and the warm moist hide BOTH on the warm end of this tank. Add a 3rd hide: a cool DRY hide.

 

[Geckologist.tj]

Good work! Did you check out the care sheet I linked before? Just want to make sure you have good information to base your husbandry on. Also, look into getting a couple of these for warm and cool hides. Amazon.com: Exo Terra Reptile Cave, Medium: Pet Supplies

You can't beat the price and leo's love 'em. You'll want to to find a way to make your humid hide block out light too. You can wrap in brown paper or something if you wish. It will help your leo feel secure.

 

[FoxDog]

I am planning to buy those hides actually! All of mine are being used in my other Geckos tank, and i currently do to not have the funds for more hides :/ but i get paid next week so i will for sure get those!!

Yes i read the link. Very imformative. Thank you for posting that for me!!! I will for sure block out my wet hide. Thank you for the help!!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

FoxDog ~

From an earlier thread I notice that this baby leo had been housed with larger leos. Competition for food may have been the reason why this baby leo has not been eating/thriving?

11-12-2013, 03:32 PM #5 FoxDog ~

I am using a 20 gallon tank for 3 leopard geckos (I just got a baby a few nights ago) although I plan on upgrading to a 30 gallon shortly. Temperatures seem to be well, cold side is room temp, and my hot side is about 85 degrees. I am using a red light right now but and going a purchase an under the tank soon.

Have you increased the temps too? Ceramic Heat Emitting bulbs (CHEs) and UTHs are recommended.

Temperatures for all leos regardless of size:
88-93 F (31-34 C) ground temp at warm end inside the warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the UTH on 24/7. Can turn off overhead heating at night unless the ambient room temperatures are particularly cool.

Let us know how things go for this little guy.

 

[FoxDog]

I have adjusted the temps to make it more suitable, as of now i am using Red Lights for heat (75w), the tiles seem to hold heat pretty well, but i plan on purchasing UTH soon.

The baby leo was not eating even after being moved into it's own home, but I took it to the vet Friday. They believed it may have been worms (I got it from Petco) a friend of mine purchased 2 bearded dragons from Petco and one ended up having worms :/ The vet gave me medication (Use once, then repeat in two weeks) and also have me wet cat food to feed from a syringe until it feeds again. I also purchased Zilla Jump Start. it's a Calroic supplement and appetite stimulant. It is made for reptiles that are off food.

I feed the leo the cat food and some of the Jump start yesterday. It squirmed, but took the food alright. Today i went to try to feed it crickets and it ate 2 of them!!!!! :yahoo: I hope it's appetite will start to increase in time.

I also purchased a read hide (not a cheez-it box lol) and upgraded my wet hide with my other two leos, so i tossed the older one in with my baby. As soon as i put the wet hide in he scurried to check it out and go inside!! Here is how it looks in there now:




I am so happy to have my leo in a better enviroment and knowing that it is eating now

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I have adjusted the temps to make it more suitable, as of now i am using Red Lights for heat (75w), the tiles seem to hold heat pretty well, but i plan on purchasing UTH soon.

The baby leo was not eating even after being moved into it's own home, but I took it to the vet Friday. They believed it may have been worms (I got it from Petco) a friend of mine purchased 2 bearded dragons from Petco and one ended up having worms :/ The vet gave me medication (Use once, then repeat in two weeks) and also have me wet cat food to feed from a syringe until it feeds again. I also purchased Zilla Jump Start. it's a Calroic supplement and appetite stimulant. It is made for reptiles that are off food.

I feed the leo the cat food and some of the Jump start yesterday. It squirmed, but took the food alright. Today i went to try to feed it crickets and it ate 2 of them!!!!! :yahoo: I hope it's appetite will start to increase in time.

I also purchased a read hide (not a cheez-it box lol) and upgraded my wet hide with my other two leos, so i tossed the older one in with my baby. As soon as i put the wet hide in he scurried to check it out and go inside!! Here is how it looks in there now:

View attachment 27476


I am so happy to have my leo in a better enviroment and knowing that it is eating now

Many thanks for your update! Is that one of those 3 in 1 Repti-Shelters in the left corner of your picture?

1. Good news. :banana: Always try feeding free range crickets first, before syringe feeding.
2. How about purchasing Oxbow's Carnivore Care or Fluker's Repti-Boost online instead of feeding wet cat food? My Petco does carry the Repti-Boost.
3. Good that your adjusted your enclosure temps and plan to get an UTH soon.
4. Skip the Zilla Jump Start. Check out the contents. NOT nutritious at all.
5. Hope that you are providing all 3 leopard geckos with a proper warm ends and cool ends.

 

[FoxDog]

Yes it is a 3 in 1. I use it as a wet hide for my geckos. Today my baby refused to eat so i syringed fed it. it actually seemed to take it pretty well, didnt fight back too much. I will check out that Carnivore Care and Repti-Boost right now!!