can leapord geckos digest carrots

[dolphin_ac]

Last night I was feeding my gecko mealworms, and placed some small pieces of peeled carrots in the dish for the mealworms. My leopard gecko has bad aim during hunting, and ended up eating a carrot piece instead. It was funny because he stopped chewing when he realized it wasn't a mealworm, then polished it off anyway. Should I be concerned? He seemed active this morning.

 

[Completeleopard]

It should be OK just check that he poops OK and doesn't become impacted, was it a big piece of carrot?

 

[dolphin_ac]

No, it was shaved off a carrot, and 1/3 the size of a mealworm.

 

[Completeleopard]

That should be OK, if he doesn't poop try increasing his temp on the substrate this will help him digest. The maximum it can be is 93 Fahrenheit

 

[Meaningoflife42]

A small piece will probably be okay, just keep a close eye on it.

 

[Pirarucu]

He doesn't have the necessary digestive system to digest plant material such as cellulose, so definitely keep an eye on it. As long as his temperatures are high enough and he is well hydrated, it should pass with no problems. Most animals accidentally ingest plant material in while hunting, in monitors it's not uncommon to find little bits of plant matter in their stomachs that they accidentally swallowed while grabbing prey.

 

[dolphin_ac]

update: Gizmit pooed last night! :yahoo:

 

[Completeleopard]

Great news! Glad all is OK. When feeding your gecko it is recommended to feed them all they can eat within a fifteen to twenty minute time period, if you did this you wouldn't have to keep carrot in with them thus taking away the risk of your gecko eating the carrot.