Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[GeckoLass]

Hi everyone
I bought a little lavender boy of 4 months old (so i was told) about a month or so ago for the first couple of week he was brilliant always ate what was put in front of him (black crickets). but now he isn't eating much at all i have tried feeding him with tweezers and tried micro worms, but no luck:(He is very small and skinny basically has no fat reserve in his tail.
Does anybody have any tips on how to get him to eat ?

I also have a male of 2 years and he refuses to eat crickets just mealies vet advised me to starve him for a week as he was healthy enough and he should eat the crickets , she said he had just got lazy but still no luck.
Is it something I'm doing wrong I'm at my wits end please help.
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Altogether i have a zoo of 45 scaley's and slimey's
and 6 furries
And i LOVE em all

[stubeanz]

sorry to hear that try feeding them on waxworms they are good for plumping up ill or skinny reptiles this will put some weight on him and then he may start feeding on crickets or mealworms again.
just be warned that geckos can get addicted to the taste of them and so may take a while to move them back onto crickets when his put the weight back on.
hope this helps
stu

[GeckoLass]

thanks Stu i tried this morning but just kept turning his head away but i will persevere i need to get him eating he is lethargic
many thanks for your help Stu
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Altogether i have a zoo of 45 scaley's and slimey's
and 6 furries
And i LOVE em all

[Exalted Gecko]

Dony bother with wax worms, most geckos will eat them even if they wont eat proper food, your just kidding yourself if he does eat them.

What I would do is look for an underlying cause rather than trying different foods.

Without really knowing your set-up I would suggest you consider the following:

Temps, is the hot end where he's eating 90F? And what are you using to measure these temps? I can't recommend a proper digital thermometer with a probe enough for temp checking. He may simply be not getting enough heat to digest his food and so has gone off it.

I would also consider that you could have offered to much food by mistake, geckos are funny things and can go off food simply because to much is running around when they are full.

So if I were you I would get an accurate reading of your temps, get them sorted if they aren't 90F and not offer food for a week. Then offer one cricket or whatever he usually would eat. Leave disturbances to a minimum and stick to the week. If he doesnt show interest straight away, remove the food and wait another week.
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Kind Regards,

Chris

[GeckoLass]

The temp and the heated end is reading 91F and the cool end is reading 78F i use a dial thermometer and a digital prob thermometer like the ones for food he has plenty of hides and a moist hide i keep the humidity in his moist hide at 80%
At night the temp at hot end is 86F and at the cool end its 75F
_________________
Altogether i have a zoo of 45 scaley's and slimey's
and 6 furries
And i LOVE em all

[Exalted Gecko]

Well thats good at least you can rule out the temps, so I would assume that the older leo is simply slowing down with regards to appetite, I would try the suggested week long food strike technique on him.

I would be concerned about the younger one though if the temps are the same in both vivs. I would stop offering food for a week, and in the meantime get yourself a vets appointment with a certified reptile vet, so that if at the end of the week the younger leo is still ignoring food, you are set to go to the vets without a delay and can explain that you've likely ruled out him just being off his food a bit.

Sorry to sound like I'm treating you as a beginner but I would avoid handling at the moment if you aren't already.
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Kind Regards,

Chris

[han_ban]

There is nothing wrong with a Leo just feeding on mealworms! I have 9 Leos, some will eat crickets, some wont. They are fussy just like us humans. If he doesn't want crickets, then let him eat mealworms! Or you could try some locusts, something a bit different! They get bored with the same food just as we do.

With regards to the baby, there is a mixture i know of that has been used with great success! Buy yourself some meaty baby food, one that has NO rice or onion in it!! Mix into it some calcium powder, some avipro plus and a little critical care formula. Then try dabbing little bits onto her nose to see if she will lick it off. A week or two of feeding this mixture everyday, should help her on her way. I know it worked for me!
If she doesn't seem interested, then try a fruity baby food rather than a meaty one. Again with no rice in it!

And good luck
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Han x

[han_ban]

[serpent]

That is not the point he is trying to make.

Would you give a baby nothing but sweets ?

Waxworms can be addictive and can hard to wean geckos off of.
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People laugh at me because I am different
I laugh at them because they are all the same.

[han_ban]

I am fully aware that waxworms can be addictive. We had a Leo that was addicted to waxworms, and it was actually not that difficult to wean her off them.
My point is that if this baby Leo is as skinny as GeckoLass says, then she needs some food inside her! Waxworms are perfect for putting weight back on. It would be better for her to be addicted to waxworms, than to starve to death!! If she is already very skinny, then i doubt she has weeks left to be starved even further.

EDIT: Just scrolled through the forum and found a very recent picture of the said Leo. His tail is stick thin and he desperately needs some food inside him. Would you not agree that it would be better for him to be addicted to waxworms, than to starve to death?
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Han x