Concerned about leo I'm "gecko sitting"

[LadyShinron]

I'm looking after a co-workers 1 year old, 15 gram, almost 6 inch long leopard gecko. She has lived on sand her whole life *insert eyeroll* and she gets fed 3 to 4 mealworms 3 to 4 times a week. *insert angry face* I'm unsure of her supplements but she said she does dust her meal worms. She is very active & appears healthy.

-Thursday - 15 grams. I fed her 10 meal worms, 2 wax worms & even after those she still seemed hungry but I didn't want to overfeed her.
- Friday - 16 grams. Fed her 8 meal worms, 1 wax worm & again, she still seemed hungry because she would "go" for anything that came across her face & when she strikes her food its like she's never seen food before!
-Saturday - 17 grams, HAS NOT POOPED SINCE I'VE HAD HER!

I'm looking for any advice on what to do & how I should go about feeding her. I don't want to overfeed her if she is impacted from living on sand...
She is very active & adventurous and like I mentioned, appears healthy but I'm just very concerned.

*I feed her in a box, not in her tank on the sand*

Thank you!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi ~

You're correct that this leo could weigh more & eat more often! Here are several important issues.

(click to enlarge)​

1. Place a couple drops of olive oil or vegetable oil on her snout to help her poop.
2. Slate makes an ideal substrate, because slate readily absorbs heat!
3. Does she have a bowl of fresh water 24/7?
4. How long are you "gecko sitting" this leo? Young leos require supplements about 3x per week.
5. How are the mealworms kept? Mealworms need a good bedding (food) 24/7.

Aliza (GU's acpart) uses this already ground Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload (1-775-359-1085) for her mealworm/superworm bedding as well as for her insect and worm food.

• Click: Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload

 

[LadyShinron]

Hi ~

You're correct that this leo could weigh more & eat more often! Here are several important issues.

View attachment 49674
(click to enlarge)​

1. Place a couple drops of olive oil or vegetable oil on her snout to help her poop.
2. Slate makes an ideal substrate, because slate readily absorbs heat!
3. Does she have a bowl of fresh water 24/7?
4. How long are you "gecko sitting" this leo? Young leos require supplements about 3x per week.
5. How are the mealworms kept? Mealworms need a good bedding (food) 24/7.

Aliza (GU's acpart) uses this already ground Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload (1-775-359-1085) for her mealworm/superworm bedding as well as for her insect and worm food.

• Click: Professional Reptiles' Pro Gutload

Thank you for the info about the vegetable oil! I have my leo on slate & have been trying to convince her to make the change also. Yes, she has 24/7 water. I will have her until this coming Friday. The meal worms are just from the pet store in the container & "bedding" they come with.

Would you advise me to continue trying to feed her daily or every other day and how much? I'm just concerned since she has not pooped to over feed her but hopefully the oil will help with that.

On the topic of her, would you happen to have any idea of her morph?

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Thank you for the info about the vegetable oil! I have my leo on slate & have been trying to convince her to make the change also. Yes, she has 24/7 water. I will have her until this coming Friday. The meal worms are just from the pet store in the container & "bedding" they come with.

Would you advise me to continue trying to feed her daily or every other day and how much? I'm just concerned since she has not pooped to over feed her but hopefully the oil will help with that.

On the topic of her, would you happen to have any idea of her morph?

You're welcome! Also try ~86*F 10-15 minute soaks in the sink + massaging this leo's belly in a throat-to-vent fashion. Those things may also stimulate pooping.

Find out what the pet store (mealworm breeder) uses for mealworm bedding. Mealworms' bedding usually needs changing out to a more nutritious bedding after purchase. Mealworms are what they eat. This transfers to the leo. Mealworms are tougher to digest than some other feeders like crickets, because of their exoskeletons.

Bugs & Worms for Geckos

(click to enlarge)​

Based upon her weight & what you say, gradually increase her mealworm numbers every day. IF she's had too many the day before, she may not eat the next day.

Sorry -- I don't know her "morph". To say for certain her parents' lineage needs to be known. Otherwise it's just a guess.

 

[acpart]

I have found that to a pet owner "morph" means to them, what the gecko looks like visually. To a breeder, "morph" means to them the genetic makeup of the gecko. So, if you want to know what you would call the way the gecko looks, it's an albino (no black pigment) stripe (markings run from shoulder to tail, instead of from side to side). It has a regenerated tail. I would recommend against feeding it waxworms since some geckos tend to ignore more nutritious food in favor of the waxworms.

Aliza

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please re-read my post #4. I edited it after you may have read it.

PS: I hope that you'll share your concerns with your co-worker. This leo IS significantly under normal size for a year old leopard gecko. I hope she's still growing.

 

[LadyShinron]

You're welcome! Also try ~86*F 10-15 minute soaks in the sink + massaging this leo's belly in a throat-to-vent fashion. Those things may also stimulate pooping.

Find out what the pet store (mealworm breeder) uses for mealworm bedding. Mealworms' bedding usually needs changing out to a more nutritious bedding after purchase. Mealworms are what they eat. This transfers to the leo. Mealworms are tougher to digest than some other feeders like crickets, because of their exoskeletons.

Bugs & Worms for Geckos
View attachment 49675
(click to enlarge)​

Based upon her weight & what you say, gradually increase her mealworm numbers every day. IF she's had too many the day before, she may not eat the next day.

Sorry -- I don't know her "morph". To say for certain her parents' lineage needs to be known. Otherwise it's just a guess.

I breed dubia roaches for my leo, the only reason I've been continuing to feed her meal worms is because that is what her owner feeds her, but I think starting today (at least while she's in my care) I'm going to get her on dubias. Ok, that is good to hear about the feeding, that is pretty much what we've kind of been doing so I will continue on with that.
POOP UPDATE, she did a very small poop last night (saturday night) but even so, I feel like she should poop more after all that she has eaten the past 3 days. I'll include a picture, it looks normal to me other than being small. I'm going to give her some vegetable oil tonight and hopefully she can get more relief.
Also, I'm going to try to see if I can get a good picture of her belly to see if we can tell if it looks like there's any impaction.

 

[LadyShinron]

I have found that to a pet owner "morph" means to them, what the gecko looks like visually. To a breeder, "morph" means to them the genetic makeup of the gecko. So, if you want to know what you would call the way the gecko looks, it's an albino (no black pigment) stripe (markings run from shoulder to tail, instead of from side to side). It has a regenerated tail. I would recommend against feeding it waxworms since some geckos tend to ignore more nutritious food in favor of the waxworms.

Aliza

Ah yes, you are so right on that, I'm looking to find out more based on looks rather than lineage. (I'm pretty sure she got her from a pet store.) Thank you so much for the input. I looked up a striped albino and I totally agree! Thank you!