Stumped?

LEOPARD1

New member
Well most of the regulars have seen my battle with my LG to eat consistently on a regular basis.

I have left a dish of mealworms in overnight for a week. No other types of feeding and I am skeptical of her endeavors. She even barely eats when they are put directly in front of her. I have had luck with her being "curious" having mealworms in a "see through dish", thats it. She either is 1) dumb 2) highly visual or 2) just a finicky eater. After a week I took two wax worms dusted one with reptivite w/D3 and one dusted with Calcium without D3; she took them without hesitation

I orderd some Dubias from a good friend who; thank Allah! sells 300 3/4" nymphs for 15$. To try to get a better feeding responce. I have done this before with still very little success.

Any ideas?

Her Growth rate is fine compared to what the norm is except for weight but I simply cant feed her a BigMac infused with crucial vitamins when she snubs her nose at everything else. This is the second animal from this breeder that acts this way and I dont want to sell her because she is beautiful, even without solid genetic info she would probably be bred, I mean this all started as an experiment any way. If I were to breed I would take two healthy Geckos and regardless of having prior genetic info breed them and then keep records ( I am talking about Commmon Leopard Geckos). If it was good enough when genetically mingling was started its good enough now. Off that BandWagon. Any help with the feeding issue would be appreciated.


Her temps are within range, humidity within range. good hiding spots. Constant thermo regulation on her part. She does have a tendency to hide all the time other than when she makes a quick move from warm/dry to temperate colder and her humidity again is enough that it has produced no "problem sheds" and her health seems and has been shown to be "good".
 
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LEOPARD1

New member
I have 300 3/4" Dubia Nymphs in transit. If that doesn't help. I have talked to my mealworm person who will hook me up with a set up and ship them in it to me. Thanks Again, dont know what I would do without Yuh sometimes;-) My dear friend Kalimullah grew up in Afghanistan and Pakistan and would keep wild ones growing up he said they would eat ants, moths, and maybe I"ll go that route if nothing works. I also have to take into consideration this girl is probably 30th gen captive bred so I may not go to an extreme like ants, mealworms would be more familiar:-(
 
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hmarie186

New member
I was concerned they were primarily H2O.

Seeing as desert species often lack the ability to recognize standing water and that dehydration is not uncommon in reptiles, the high moisture content is actually a GOOD thing. :)

I'm glad you are not giving into temptation to just feed waxworms. She could hold our for them. Also, is she ovulating? [MENTION=51656]majahawt[/MENTION] had some issues with Eclair eating when was ovulating. I only have boys (thank god) so I don't know what behavior changes go along with female geckos around that time LOL!
 
I have had trouble in the past with getting one of mine to accept new feeder items. What has always worked for me is to take a pair of plastic tweezers/ tongs, poke a hole in or squeeze a little bit of guts out of the prey item, and place directly in front of the leopard gecko. You may even want to smear a little bit of bug juice on the lizard's lips. Typically, their instincts will take over and they can't help themselves after that.
 

LEOPARD1

New member
Oh! I have taken wax worm fat and brushed it on prey items and she still ignores them. Also I see no signs of ovulation. Pfft! From what I've read she will be prime to breed in a 2-3 months.
 
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hmarie186

New member
She's got nice weight. A week is likely nothing to her. She'll eat when she's hungry. I think the hardest thing about owning reptiles is getting over the fact they are not mammals who eat everyday or twice a day. It's such a weird concept for alot of people.
 

amsdadtodd

New member
I hope your dubia shipment will solve your problem. My guys are very visual feeders and readily hunt and eat live crickets, their staple diet. I give dusted mealworms once a week, the day after a non-feeding day, and they are quite unenthusiastic about them. They won't strike unless they happen to see one moving. Dubia's move much more than mealworms, so perhaps this is where you will see the difference.
As another poster wrote, a week is not really a long time for them. In fact, other reptiles such as my boa constrictors, can be overfed if they eat once a week.
Good luck!
Todd
 

LEOPARD1

New member
Yeah, its been three weeks and three mealworms. She has maintained weight but the defecation has stopped. I'm trying to just hold out. I concluded she isn't ovulateing and she is just driving me crazy. No reason for a vet visit, she's the picture of health. I guess its just going to be "sink or swim" with her. What gets me is, she has to be hungry.
 
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