Hello. Meet my new Gecko, Myo!

[DrKMcK]

I have a new pet in my house...Myo the Leopard Gecko. S/he is beautiful and only a baby. I bought Myo 6 days ago. S/he is still hiding and has screamed at me once...startled me but good! :shock: I am getting somewhat concerned because I don't think s/he's eaten since I brought him/her home. How can I make him/her eat? The little one is so young I am not sure if it's a boy or a girl yet, and I don't want to handle the baby to find out. It's stressed enough as it is. I currently have 3 crickets running around in there (with a piece of potato and a piece of apple for them to eat so they don't bother Myo). I also have a dish of mealworms with calcium in the tank too. What else can I do for Myo?

 

[hmarie186]

Sometimes it can take a few weeks for them to feel secure enough to eat. Even though you have food for the crickets, I would suggest taking off their back legs and confining them to a bowl. They may still aggravate the baby. Crickets are not the nicest. Also, the mealworms need to be removed every day or so to eat. They will lose nutritional value sitting in a bowl of calcium. Best to feed a high quality chicken layer mash like Albers or Purina Layena which are both fortified with vitamin A and calcium (which insects are poor sources of) among other things. Wheat bran and oats have a poor calcium : phosphorus level and with wheat bran you may end up with grain mites that can also infest the cage. They are harmless to geckos but are a pain to get rid of and usually the whole mealworm colony is wasted. Crickets can eat the layer crumbles as well.

Elizabeth Freer has an excellent care sheet if you want pointers on proper husbandry. I don't have the link right at this moment (typing on my phone).

Welcome to GU and make yourself at home.