LeopardGeckoBreederFan
New member
What does everyone think of it? I'm a bit unsure of his advice to people force feeding their geckos when they first get the geckos. Everyone else seems to say the opposite is needed. Thoughts?
Ron Tremper's new 2012 book
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LeopardGeckoBreederFan
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It was on troubleshooting common complaints. This one was "my gecko won't eat." He covered it twice, once briefly at the beginning and another time towards the middle of the book. It made a little more sense the second time but I'm still not sure if that's considered right by the majority of breeders/hobbyists. The first time he just jumps directly into how to force feed (or assist feed as he says) and so I thought he was suggesting that if they don't eat at first then assist feed them from day 1. But the second time he covered it he said:
"You can safely allow up to five days of fasting before considering the possibility of assist feeding. Many geckos just need one or two assist feedings to jump start the feeding response."
He says this does not overly stress the gecko, which I'm not entirely sure about. What do you think about it? I never have force fed my babies as I thought it was bad for them, but I never had that bad of a situation that would call for force feeding.
"You can safely allow up to five days of fasting before considering the possibility of assist feeding. Many geckos just need one or two assist feedings to jump start the feeding response."
He says this does not overly stress the gecko, which I'm not entirely sure about. What do you think about it? I never have force fed my babies as I thought it was bad for them, but I never had that bad of a situation that would call for force feeding.
cricket4u
New member
Well, it's obvious to me that he is aware that a leopard gecko going going off food for more than a few days is not normal or healthy. The problem is he is skipping one important detail, the reason why. Think about how his leos are housed. They're in small sterlite bins with so many limitations and improper photoperiod. They will suffer episodes of stress and potential health problems after a few years. He may be aware of this, however, it's a business.
It is not a good idea to force feed or shove insects in their mouth. There is a reason why they are not eating. It is a way of protecting their bodies when the conditions are not adequate. We are to search for the reason and make the necessary corrections. An exception would be after treatment due to illness or emaciation as directed by a veterinarian.
It is not a good idea to force feed or shove insects in their mouth. There is a reason why they are not eating. It is a way of protecting their bodies when the conditions are not adequate. We are to search for the reason and make the necessary corrections. An exception would be after treatment due to illness or emaciation as directed by a veterinarian.
LeopardGeckoBreederFan
New member
Yes, this does make sense. With how many geckos he has to take care of it would make sense that his geckos would have lots of bouts of stress.