Leo having trouble eating?

[Crum]

Hello! I have a 5 and a half year old leopard gecko named Dustin. I'm fairly certain he's a she, but he's still a he to me if anyone can tell from my pics let me know haha
Anyway, last year I haven't been able to care for him since I was away for college. Before college I wasn't the best caretaker if I'm honest, only really fed him mealworms and crickets when I felt like it. My mom has been taking care of him while I'm away. Now it's summer so I am home. He eats every Tuesday and Friday. My mom only ever bought him small crickets, 12 at a time. Dusted, usually as well. Is that too much? I want to give him large ones but you can only buy 12 at a time and I can't keep them.
Does he seem like he is eating well?
I worry because whenever he eats, he either misses or drops the cricket. Like he just bites it, waits a few seconds, then drops it. It takes a few try's to actually get it in his mouth. It doesn't matter if it's a cricket, mealworm, waxwork, dusted or not. He always does it every time. His mouth has always looked healthy to me, so I don't think it's mouth rot.. he's had this eating problem before. But it seems like it's worse now I don't know. He ends up killing half the crickets or ripping all their legs off and not eating them because they're dead. Why is he doing that? Is he just..not very smart? Lol
I mean he seems fine honestly. I just haven't found much on this issue and am wondering what's going on. Here's some pics of him now. https://imgur.com/a/A06v5
Thanks for any help or advice!

 

[PoppyDear]

Hey there!

I wonder if you are dealing with Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), especially considering his back leg in one of the photos. I have a few questions that can help the members here more acurately identify a problem.

•How many hides do you have/what is your general tank setup?
•What brand of calcium and multivitamins do you suppliment with?
•Do you gutload your insects?
•Does he have a rubbery jaw or limbs?
•Can you please post a video of him walking?

The reason I suspect MBD or some sort of definciancy is because of his odd back leg and possibly lacking the strength to bite the insects and hold them. If he is making an effort to eat and no able to hold something in his mouth there is probably issues. I wanted to ask why you cannot keep the crickets? They are easy to keep in a Kritter Keeper and feed, feeding is essential to gutload the bugs. What goes into the insects goes into the gecko.

The crickets seem a little small, which is fine but that means you have to feed more and they may be harder for him to catch. 12 may be enough, but it may not be, I would purchase more and see how many he eats in 15 minutes to let him get his fill.

Hope this helped!

 

[Crum]

He has always been in a 10 gallon with reptile carpet, heat mat and one hide. I've had 2 in before but he never really used it. His hide has multiple levels so I think he just goes to different levels I don't know.
He's currently on Repashy calcium plus
I don't gutload, I buy them directly from a local shop. I think they do tho. Not totally sure honestly, I'll ask tomorrow when I get more.
I guess I'm not sure what you mean by his limbs being rubbery? But they don't seem soft or anything. It's hard when I push on his legs and head I guess. He has sturdy footing and can climb around me easily.
Here's a gif/video of him walking on my bed today. I think the picture was just at a weird angle. Lol
https://giphy.com/gifs/l0Iyk0qRUmVcBLFbq

My mom doesn't want me keeping crickets. Last time I did, most of them kept escaping XD if I am able to take him to school this year I will start keeping my own.

Thanks for the help!

 

[PoppyDear]

Thanks for a response!

Your gecko needs more hides, the minimum for one gecko is 3. A warm DRY hide, a cool DRY hide and a MOIST warm hide. You can make more hides simply out of opaque margarine containers with a hole cut in them, make sure to have no sharp edges. The multilevel hide, while nice to look at, does not provide a place for your gecko to hide itself.


If you can find the space, a 20 gallon tank would do wonders for a better temperature gradient. Look for a dollar per gallon sale at Petco. Does he have a thermostat?
Here's a temperature guide for all leopard geckos as measured with the probe of a digital thermometer (and controlled by a thermostat):
•88-92 F (31.1-33.3 C) ground temperature right underneath a leo's warm dry hide
•no greater than 82ish F (27.8ish C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
•no greater than 75 F (23.9 C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the cool end


Your calcium brand is good, in your situation, feeding him twice a week, I would dust half the insects Tuesday and half the next feeding to prevent an over dose. Pure calcium (The NOW brand in health stores is suitable) would also be a great addition to his suppliment schedule. I might even suggest feeding one more time a week with some variety besides crickets.

His walk looks alright but his right back leg seems off to me, I definately would advise some pure calcium.

Crickets from stores are usually gut loaded with jell blocks and cricket chow. Not necessarily the best diet. Maybe you could buy a cricket keeper with the tubes, they will help stop escapees and you can gutload them better. Again, what goes into your insects goes into your gecko. Maybe try explaining how important proper gut loading is to your mom. My parents aren't keen on crickets, nor am I, we switched to Dubia Roaches. Very nutritious, easy to breed and don't escape.

As for the cause of him tearing apart his insects, if it isn't spongy bones, then maybe he is bored with his food especially if he has only been fed these for a long length of time. Try some more variety, mealworms, hornworms (Dust the hornworms lightly in calcium), superworms, etc.

Good luck!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Crum ~

A warm welcome to Geckos Unlimited! I hope you enjoy your time here and that GU meets your needs.

Everyone spots different things.

• How does it feel when you gently press on Dustin's mouth or feel his lower jaw? Firm or a little squishy?
• In your video I see a slight bowing out of Dustin's left back lower leg. Do you see this?
• What supplement was he on prior to Repashy's Calcium Plus?

Some improvements:

• Increase light dusting with Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins to 3 feedings per week. That will make his bones stronger and may make eating easier for him.
• Consider a 20 gallon long enclosure (30 x 12 x 12 inches). Dustin will thrive in it! Within the last 2 years I've heard of 2 leos who are 30+ years old!
• Minimum container size for Dustin's crickets: XL Kritter Keeper or equivalent ventilated plastic bin.
• Crickets require constant sources of food and water and excellent ventilation. I feed my crickets finely ground Zoo Med's Natural Adult Bearded Dragon Food. Layer 2-3 egg flats, place a paper towel on the top. Dampen the paper towel 1x per day under the faucet. Wring out before replacing.

Sexing Leopard Geckos Leopard geckos become sexable at about 6 months old. Males can be distinguished from females by a distinct v-shaped row of pores and by bulges right under the vent.

• Click: Sexing Leopard Geckos

 

[Crum]

I would like to get him a bigger tank once I move out for the semester. Again with my mom being way too strict about everything... I know someone with a 40 gallon I'm interested in, may split it and get another leo or something. Or a 20 long.
I will also probably start keeping my crickets in a few week, going on a long vacation soon.
Not sure about his jaw. He's just trying to eat my finger so it's tough lol
I guess I don't know about his leg. It looks the same as the other one to me when I look at him.
Before repashy, he was using what the store dusted their cricket with. I don't know what they used.
Anyway, here's a video of him eating, dropping it like I was talking about.
https://youtu.be/WwjAvkT8Y94

 

[PoppyDear]

To me, it looks like he is having trouble biting, holding onto and getting the insect in his mouth to swallow. The only thing I can think of is a lack calcium and slightly weak bone. Make sure you follow Elizabeth's suppliment guide and you need to start gutloading insects. He is likely loosing out on a ton of nutrition with those crickets. I do know how parents can be, but gut loading is very important.

A big tank will be beneficial but I would go against splitting it because you will have to quaratine a gecko in a seperate tank, preferably in a seperate room, meaning you will already need another setup for the 90 day quaratine. You can go with a 40 gal (That's great!) but I wouldn't split it.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I would like to get him a bigger tank once I move out for the semester. Again with my mom being way too strict about everything... I know someone with a 40 gallon I'm interested in, may split it and get another leo or something. Or a 20 long.
I will also probably start keeping my crickets in a few week, going on a long vacation soon.
Not sure about his jaw. He's just trying to eat my finger so it's tough lol
I guess I don't know about his leg. It looks the same as the other one to me when I look at him.
Before repashy, he was using what the store dusted their cricket with. I don't know what they used.
Anyway, here's a video of him eating, dropping it like I was talking about.
https://youtu.be/WwjAvkT8Y94

Thanks for this info and your video. They are really helpful.

How much does Dustin weigh?

Can you feed him 3x per week and lightly dust his crickets with Repashy's Calcium Plus multivitamins every time? Dustin looks like he could use more multivitamins. Repashy's Calcium Plus has been designed to be used more frequently than the supplements I use.

Crickets need a constant food source. The food that is in their guts transfers to your gecko. What crickets are fed in the pet store lasts MAYBE 24 hours before it's pooped out. If you're not feeding the crickets after you bring them home, their nutrition is really lacking.

Did you try sexing him with the link I shared?

 

[Crum]

I will give him a few dusted mealworms on Sunday or something as well now. Once I start keeping crickets I'll switch to crickets.
As for the crickets, I always give them to him as soon as I get home.
Also I have not tried sexing him, however I have in the past and I was pretty sure he was a girl. Don't see any dots on his belly and he doesn't have a buldge or anything under his tail. He's also relatively small (in length)

Not sure how to weigh him, I don't have a scale. If I can get ahold of one I'll try but yeah...

Thank you all tho

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I will give him a few dusted mealworms on Sunday or something as well now. Once I start keeping crickets I'll switch to crickets.
As for the crickets, I always give them to him as soon as I get home.
Also I have not tried sexing him, however I have in the past and I was pretty sure he was a girl. Don't see any dots on his belly and he doesn't have a buldge or anything under his tail. He's also relatively small (in length)

Not sure how to weigh him, I don't have a scale. If I can get ahold of one I'll try but yeah...

Thank you all tho

You're welcome.

3x per week Repashy Calcium Plus light dusting is much better.

Sounds like Dustin is female.