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I need help with my leo gecko!

R

RiverFunkRon

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OK, so I read up a lot about leopard geckos before buying him (i think it's a him). I now realize I didn't read enough. First problem is that I bought him at Petco...as I've heard that's not a good place to get lizards. Anyhow, his name is Jorge. Jorge didn't eat the first couple days after I got him. Then he started to eat fine. I thought I was only supposed to give him a couple mealworms everyday. So, I only gave him 1-3 each night. I now know that I should have let him eat as many as he wanted. Anyhow. I have small plastic tank that is approximately 6 inches deep, 1 foot wide and two feet long. I use paper towels as substrate. I have two hides. One is a coconut shell that i put some wet moss inside. The other is a piece of wood that I found outside and washed. I have a small water bowl, but I've never seen Jorge drink from it. I change the water daily. I use a 75watt balast with a daytime bulb and nightime bulb. It stays about 88 in the day and about 78-80 at night.

OK, so 7 days ago he quit eating suddenly. It was after I cleaned his cage. I then took him to my parent's house while I was out of town. He may not have had a good 12 hour day/night schedule there. He's back home now and his 12 hour day/night schedule is back. I had been feeding meal worms. He doesn't seem interested at all. HE pooped a little yesterday, so I don't think he's impacted. I tried crickets today. No luck. His tail has stayed about the same size. It' about as big around as a pencil. I have tried everything to get him to eat. Any suggestions? SHould I take him back to petco?
 
Aaron,

It sounds like you're off to a pretty good start as far as being informed on how to take care of your purchase. I'm sorry he is not doing well. You can try putting him in something smaller, like a deli cup, when you feed him the crickets. Are you dusting the crickets with any supplements? If not you may want to try that too. (ie. Reptical). If he doesn't eat for a couple of days it won't hurt him, but keep feeding him, this way if he changes his mind it will be there.

Good Luck,

Anna Strate
HomeGrownHerps
www.homegrownherps.com
 
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ok, the above pictures are of my set-up and then 3 pics of jorge in a bowl this morning as I tried to feed him a dusted cricket and a dusted mealworm...no luck. Last night I made a concoction out of reptical, zoo-med's leopard gecko food (which is a lot of dead flies and stuff), and water. I liquified it as much as I could and dropped it on Jorge's nose. He licked it up, but I doubt he can live on just that.
 
It's been 7-8 days. I have been leaving mealworms in a dish for him, but as far as I can tell none of them have been eaten. I hope you are right and that he's just not hungry. I've only had him about a month, but up until he stopped eating he would eat very willingly. As soon as I put mealworms in his cage he would attack them and eat them. Now he acts like he's scared of them or just uninterested.
 
He has shed a little, but not all at once...it came off is little bits. THat was about a week ago. Right now it doesn't look like he is shedding anymore. I am going to buy an undertank heater today. I also put out some reptocal in a dish for him to try. I made sure the moss in humid hide was wet.
 
I would try taking the moss out it may be too humid, Leopard geckos are desert animals. With the under tank heater, make sure it is only under part of the tank, so he can get off it if he wants.
 
If you only found pieces of shed, he probably ate that, which is a good thing.
I would just make sure he has clean water and continue to offer him some food. Did you advise the pet store of the problem? Just so they know what's going on.
 
Yeah, I told them about it. I got another gecko to keep him company. This one is healthy and pretty big. Jorge seems to appreciate the company. Jorge still isn't eating. I've tried taking him out into a separate container and no luck. I have been spraying him daily to make sure he's getting the water he needs.
 
OK... first of all, your gecko DOES need a humid hide. While it is true that leopard geckos can be considered "desert animals", they do not come from an arid desert filled with sand. They come from a more rock/sand/dirt desert area, and normally spend their days in a burrow of some sort or in mountain crevices that are quite humid. They come out at night when it is cooler to hunt.

Aaron, does your heat lamp heat up the entire enclosure, or just part of it? A leo of that size and age should be eating pretty much daily, and 9 days without eating means there is something wrong.
 
Also, adding another gecko was not the best idea, especially if it is larger than Jorge. I would recommend separating them as soon as possible. If Jorge is sick, he will spread whatever parasites, virus or infection he has to your new gecko. This is why it is recommended that you quarantine any new arrivals for at least 30 days before adding them to your existing colony or with another single gecko. If there is much of a size difference, it is a bad idea to put them together no matter what.
 
KelliH said:
OK... first of all, your gecko DOES need a humid hide. While it is true that leopard geckos can be considered "desert animals", they do not come from an arid desert filled with sand. They come from a more rock/sand/dirt desert area, and normally spend their days in a burrow of some sort or in mountain crevices that are quite humid. They come out at night when it is cooler to hunt.

Aaron, does your heat lamp heat up the entire enclosure, or just part of it? A leo of that size and age should be eating pretty much daily, and 9 days without eating means there is something wrong.
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Actually, A humid hide is not necessary all the time. It helps to have one available when they are shedding. We have been breeding leopard geckos for about 9-10 years, and we only use a humid hide box when they are shedding and laying eggs ( this could be because we live in Florida). You can also provide humidity by misting their cage each day or so.

Fresh water is not needed every day, offer them fresh water in a bowl once a week ( leave it in for 24 hours then remove it) You can also offer him water by spaying it on the side of the tank, they will lick the water droplets off if they need it.

Can I ask what book you have that you acquired your info from?

In the photo you provided of your gecko, he does not appear to be very healthy. His tail is much to thin. I suggest a trip to the vet.
Your gecko should be eating every 3-4 days, not eating for periods longer 5-6 days could mean problems, most likely parasites. Is your gecko Captive Hatched or Imported? Coming from PetCo I would imagine Imported Wild Caught. And by the looks of it ...probably not treated for parasites.
I also suggest it be quarantined if you have other reptiles.

Also remember that 2 males can not be kept together as they will fight.

Always keep in mind that, what works for one hobbyist - does not always work for another. Watch your animal closely to learn its behavior, from this you will soon find out what it's likes and dislikes are.
 
I've got a few successful breeding seasons under my belt as well, and I know that including a humid hide in the gecko's enclosure is not gonna cause it to stop eating. I'm not even remotely interested in having a leopard gecko husbandry debate here though, so I'll bow out of this thread and let Jim and Anna carry on with their advice. Good luck Aaron.
 
Aaron,

If you get any advice from this post please realize as Jim said
"Always keep in mind that, what works for one hobbyist - does not always work for another. Watch your animal closely to learn its behavior, from this you will soon find out what it's likes and dislikes are."

In regards to the humidity, the only reason I suggested this may be a cause was because I do not believe the pet store would have had the animal set up this way and he may not be used to it.
 
KelliH said:
I've got a few successful breeding seasons under my belt as well, and I know that including a humid hide in the gecko's enclosure is not gonna cause it to stop eating. I'm not even remotely interested in having a leopard gecko husbandry debate here though, so I'll bow out of this thread and let Jim and Anna carry on with their advice. Good luck Aaron.
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Aaron .....feel free to drop us an email if you need further assistance, and we will try to help if we can.

It's a shame that the people who really need assistance, will suffer for the actions of some of the members on this site.
 
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