Leo pooping schedules, and how to get a leo to poop...

Hey everyone,

I've got a problem. My vet wants the freshest fecal sample I can get, and she won't accept a sample more than 8 hours old (she wants like no older than a few minutes). My leo usually goes every other night around midnight, and the vet opens at 7:30 AM.

So my two questions are: 1) What time do your leos poop most of the time? and 2) Are there any "tricks" to get a leo to poop for you? (I know if you bathe cornsnakes in warm water, more often then not, they'll poop. Wondering if there's a similar trick for leos).

-Dave

I know if my leo's get really scared they poop, or right after I clean their tanks. Or if you feed them alot and very often they might poop more frequently.

Just some random ideas...

all you have to do is taje the leo to the vet and squeeze it really hard and it will come out really easy...Of course Im kidding. Really I dont have any idea of how to make one poop, you micht try some damp moss in an container, mine all poop in there hides as soon as the moss is changed..Hope this works for ya...

Leaving a dish of mealworms or a few crix in her cage over night. If you see that she’s eaten them, give her a warm bath (93-95 deg.) in the morning. This will help your leo to defecate. If you can pull her out of the bath just before she poops it would be ideal, but even if she goes in the water your vet may be able to use it, depending upon what tests they do. Hope this helps.

I wanted to add that your vet may be able to supply sterile water to make this process more accurate, or even give her the warm soak in their office. Also, use a precise thermometer to get the water temp right, anything over 100 deg F.could be bad for your gecko

sweet, thanks for the tip (I knew a warm bath trick was out there somewhere).

The wierd thing is though, my leo seems to like to come out earlier by the day (comes out at 3 PM now), and hangs around till 11 pm, and then never comes out after till 3 PM the next day. This is great and all since he poops around when he just comes out, but I thought leos were nocturnal.

-Dave