Feeding Problems

I've been having some issues feeding a couple of my Leos. The first is a male Tremper Tang Albino, the other is a female Tremper. The male seems more interested in me than he does food. I'll see him eat a mealworm from his dish occasionally but lately that is about it. He ate a roach and a waxworm two days ago. This concerns me because up until a week or so ago he was eating very enthusiastically. It all seemed to change once I received a rack I was waiting on and transplanted him into it. What confuses me about that is he is now in a bigger enclosure than previously, and I am better able to control the temperature than i was before.

As for the female, I have only had her two days now, so part of me thinks her problem is just stress. However, tonight I did observe her eating a bunch of her calcium. Also, she struck half-heartedly at a roach, but after missing simply gave up, even though the roach was still in sight and moving. She is also housed in the rack system.

I keep the thermostat (a ranco) set to 89.

I have tried feeding them both roaches, crickets, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms.

They get roughly 14 hours of daylight.

Any thoughts?

Aaron,
My two Giant trempers are not good eaters. They somehow still gain weight but they just aren't as interested in food as the others. Some albinos also have problems catching food when it is light out due to the sensitivity of their eyes.

Would you suggest feeding them at night then? Or do you just put the feeders in, and let them stay in the cage, then check later to remove any of the uneaten ones?

I must say I am experiencing a similar issue. I have a male Tremper whom I just moved into a new tank (once I realized he was a male) and a female Patternless. Both of which seem to be far more interested in me than they are in their food. They both seem to disregard waxies, mealies, and even super worms (which were what the patternless was pigging out on for some time). I did just recently separate them (about a week ago), might this be part of the reason?

Right now there are some other reasons leos may go off food. Many males are more interested in breeding than feeding. I think that the close proximity to females, even if they're not in the same cage will trigger this. I've got a few males who do this, as long as they are not suffering major weight loss, I'd just wait it out. You can also try some different food items, feeders he doesn't usually get, to try and get him going.

During this time of year many females are ovulating. Most females will continue feeding , but it is not uncommon to have a female leo go off feed while she's ovulating.

-Alice

Wow, thanks a lot. Didn't really consider those possibilities. Would you think their weights are decent for their age? They are each approx. 8 mos old. The male is about 55g and the female is right around 42g. It is more the female's weight I am a bit concerned with. Do I have reason to be?

They're weights sound fine, and as long as they're not experiencing dramatic weight loss or producing abnormal / runny stools, I wouldn't be worried. Since your female is only at 42 grams, even if you do decide she's ovulating, I would hold off on breeding her until she gets a little older and heavier.
-Alice

It's interesting seeing all these people with geckos not eating this time of year!
I think that generally speaking that this is the time of year that the sun is setting earlier and coming up later, the days are not only shorter but much colder in much of the Nation. Add to that in Aaron's case he just upset his Geckos whole world, well at least temporarily. And then add in that the Breeding season is basically starting now....your bound to have some problems. I think the best thing to do is to watch them carefully and if possible record there weights. But I will say Aaron that you are not alone there seems to be many people out there right now that have some geckos that are not eating normally at this time....including one or two of mine! Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the comments. The male Tang Albino has been eating the past couple of days...still can't figure out the femail though.

Flip the female over, if you see two whitish / pinkish masses a little bellow mid body, she's probably ovulating.
-Alice