When to Panic about eating

[New@Geckos]

Our family brought home a nice little Gecko a 3 days ago. It is a skinny little guy about a month old. He has 18"x18" Terrariam and the only heat source an UTH located in one corner. The heat ranges from 94* in one corner to 78* in the other corner. This little guy seems happy to hang out in all the different areas and has been expoloring a bit. He seems pretty comfortable, but has not eaten yet. His options have been wax worms and small crickets. He did once bite the wax worm but did not swallow it. He actaully seems scared of his food.

At the pet store they suggested we handle him each day after he gets home to get him comfortable being handled. He will crawl on my hand now and seem pretty happy about it, but I am thinking giving him time on his own until he eats is the best idea.

Thoughts?

 

[hmarie186]

Do not handle him for a few weeks. One month old is a tiny baby. Sometimes it can take a few weeks for them to get comfortable enough to eat. I also suggest ditching the waxworms. They are pure fat and no nutritional value. Other nutritious feeders are Dubia roaches, hornworms, silkworms, blue bottle fly larvae, black soldier fly larvae. Check out Elizabeth's care sheet, one of the best out there!

http://www.geckosunlimited.com/community/gecko-care-sheets/55211-leopard-gecko-caresheet-eublepharis-macularius-demo-video-4-jan-2013-update.html

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Offer him gutloaded mealworms for now. Do not start giving him roaches (if legal in your area) until he has accustomed eating mealworms yet or else you'll have diffuculty switching feeder diet. Provide a couple of hides as well so it can feel secure and reduce stress

 

[New@Geckos]

Right now I am feeding him the baby food on the nose trick. He seems to enjoy it and even licks it off my finger. He has plenty of hides (one hot, two cold, one wet).

Of course if I am feeding him baby food I am handling him, so I torn between leaving him alone and making sure he eats....

 

[New@Geckos]

He still not eating worms - pooping, shedding, very active but not live bugs... I think my temps are too low (86* in the warm hide) So I am going to try upping the temp

 

[Conched]

Try adding an overhead lamp with a Ceramic Heat Exchange bulb (CHE). The heat of you enclosure will determine the wattage. If the cage is 12-14" tall try a 65 watt.

Good luck.

 

[New@Geckos]

Heat is in the zone nicely now 89*-92* and cold 77*-80*. I have been hand feeding baby food and he licks a bit up but I think it time to leave him alone for a while.

Does not hand feeding for 4-5 days and just letting him hang out alone seem like a good idea? If so should I leave some worms there for him, or take them out and just introduce them every 2 days.

 

[New@Geckos]

Still having a few heat problems, but he now been two days off the baby food and zero handling. I have yet to see him eat but the last two day I woke up to find a missing meal worm in his bowl one morning I also found one of his dishes overturned so I know he was checking it out. I checked the terrarium and the missing worms have not shown up - hopefully they found their way into his tummy. He continues to look very healthy, poop every two days, drink water, be active.

A few questions:

1. Could he be a shy eater and just like to eat at night?
2. I know he is nocturnal so should I try to feed him in the middle of the night and see if I can witness him eating.
3. I have left out wax worms and meal worms - the meal worms are the only ones that went missing - should I assume anything from this?
4. I have once seem him attack a wax worm that dropped in for him, but he did not try and eat it - any ideas on what that means?
5. Is one worm enough for the tiny little guy?

 

[majahawt]

Still having a few heat problems, but he now been two days off the baby food and zero handling. I have yet to see him eat but the last two day I woke up to find a missing meal worm in his bowl one morning I also found one of his dishes overturned so I know he was checking it out. I checked the terrarium and the missing worms have not shown up - hopefully they found their way into his tummy. He continues to look very healthy, poop every two days, drink water, be active.

A few questions:

1. Could he be a shy eater and just like to eat at night?
2. I know he is nocturnal so should I try to feed him in the middle of the night and see if I can witness him eating.
3. I have left out wax worms and meal worms - the meal worms are the only ones that went missing - should I assume anything from this?
4. I have once seem him attack a wax worm that dropped in for him, but he did not try and eat it - any ideas on what that means?
5. Is one worm enough for the tiny little guy?

1. You just got him a few days ago so he's probably still settling in, and might not be too comfortable eating regularly yet. He is probably eating when he's "alone"
2. They're actually not nocturnal, but most active during dusk and dawn! So the best time for feeding would be sometime in the evening
3. Waxworms are a lot slower and clumsier than mealworms so if he tipped the dish and they all got out, that would be why. If he ate the mealworms, he probably doesn't like waxworms. One of mine doesn't either!
4. Same as above
5. Just offer lots of food, he might take a while before he eats well. Best thing to do is count how many worms you put in and then count them again in the morning to see how many he's eaten. Perhaps you need a heavier dish so he can't tip it?

 

[New@Geckos]

1. You just got him a few days ago so he's probably still settling in, and might not be too comfortable eating regularly yet. He is probably eating when he's "alone"
2. They're actually not nocturnal, but most active during dusk and dawn! So the best time for feeding would be sometime in the evening
3. Waxworms are a lot slower and clumsier than mealworms so if he tipped the dish and they all got out, that would be why. If he ate the mealworms, he probably doesn't like waxworms. One of mine doesn't either!
4. Same as above
5. Just offer lots of food, he might take a while before he eats well. Best thing to do is count how many worms you put in and then count them again in the morning to see how many he's eaten. Perhaps you need a heavier dish so he can't tip it?

Thansk for the advice. I have actually had him 16 days now so that why I am getting worried that I have never seen him eat (though worms go missing in the night). As for the dish he does have a heavy dish, but the worms seem to be able to get out of it, so i put in the littel cup that I bought some worms in. I was actaully very happy to see it tip over in the night as it meant he was poking his head in it.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Right now I am feeding him the baby food on the nose trick. He seems to enjoy it and even licks it off my finger. He has plenty of hides (one hot, two cold, one wet).

Of course if I am feeding him baby food I am handling him, so I torn between leaving him alone and making sure he eats....

Place both the warm DRY hide and the moist hide on the warm/hot end.

Heat is in the zone nicely now 89*-92* and cold 77*-80*. I have been hand feeding baby food and he licks a bit up but I think it time to leave him alone for a while.

Does not hand feeding for 4-5 days and just letting him hang out alone seem like a good idea? If so should I leave some worms there for him, or take them out and just introduce them every 2 days.

Have you tried mealworm larvae? I would place the worms in a dish in the evening and check on them in the morning to see whether he's eaten some. (Sometimes the worms escape.)

I'd also ditch any waxworms.

What type thermometer are you using?

 

[New@Geckos]

I have not tried Larvae but will give it a shot.

right now it been 72 hours and 3 meal worms "gone". He is still a shy little guy and tends to not do much when some one is watching him and then be very active when he is alone .

 

[New@Geckos]

Sorry I just looked up Mealworm Larvae and it is..... a mealworm. So yes I have been feeding him these and he has liked them.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Do you have 2 hides in the warm corner: a MOIST hide and a DRY hide?

What size is your UTH as compared to the 18 x 18 inch ground area?

Have you a digital thermometer with a probe or a temperature gun? Either is necessary for measuring ground temperatures.

 

[New@Geckos]

I the heat pad cover 1/3 of the area. I have digital thermometer with and thermostat on the way. The wet hid is on the edge of the warm area - it runs about 86*, but I have room to move to it the warm are. I also have a fairly full set with lots of heads and multiple levels. My little gecko seems to enjoy working his way up the higher levels and lower levels.

Good news also another mealworm went missing today.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I the heat pad cover 1/3 of the area. I have digital thermometer with and thermostat on the way. The wet hid is on the edge of the warm area - it runs about 86*, but I have room to move to it the warm are. I also have a fairly full set with lots of heads and multiple levels. My little gecko seems to enjoy working his way up the higher levels and lower levels.

Good news also another mealworm went missing today.

:cheer: about the MIA mealworm. Hope your leo is gobbling them up!

Nice that your UTH covers 1/3 of the floor area and that a digital with probe and thermostat will arrive soon.

Multiple levels really increase your leo's playground. How about a picture of your set up?

 

[New@Geckos]

Good News! I saw my little Leo gobble up a meal worm today! I dropped it in front of him and Leo can sight of him and tried to grab him once or twice before he got hold of him and swallowed him up. I am thrilled as now that I have seen him eat, I confident the missing worms went in his belly.

So now I ask... is he eating enough? I am confident he is eating about one average size worm per day. My Leo is still a very little (under 6") but he only seems to have the appetite for one worm. Is that enough for now?

Also he has been spending lots of time in his wet hide, he just about a week ago, so I don't think he is shedding again.

 

[jinete]

My little guy spends almost ALL of his time in the humid hide. I don't think it is a big deal. Doesn't seem to be anything to worry about.

 

[New@Geckos]

Just to close the loop. My little Leo is eating much better now. He ate 3 meal worms in one session today, so I think we are in great shape going forward now that he is settled.

 

[New@Geckos]

Leo ate another 3 worms today ( total of 6 in a day). I won't update anymore but thought I would include the happy ending. When I searched for help getting my new gecko to eat, there were lots of threads about it, but very few closed the loop and outlined if everything worked out or not.