• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Is something him?

G

gracemynote

New member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
41
Location
Kirksville
I don't know if you all remember me talking about Rex, my fat-tailed gecko in last summer. He was having problems on his belly with shedding in the pore area and he also had that cut-scab at the end of his tail. I used cortaid to fix that and he's been all better since then. However, I've noticed a different problem. He hasn't been eating much as he used to. He's about 9-10 years old. I don't think he's sick or anything, he acts just as normal. I let him out on a regular basis to crawl around my bed. I also gave him an extra heater because there is no heat in my house. Usually the cage stays pretty warm cause the heating pad is underneath the entire cage. When I put a bunch of crickets in his cage, he usually doesn't eat them right away like he used to. Also, there have been the same 3 crickets in there and it's at least been a week and a half since I put a dozen and a half in his cage. Do you think something could be wrong with him? Do geckos stop eating as much when they get older? He looks pretty normal sized, not skinny or anything. He also likes to crawl around on my bed, so he's pretty active. Any ideas?
 
Ok, I'm not a fat-tailed Gecko owner...yet! I only have my little Leopard Gecko but it could be hes getting older? Seasonal? Or I noticed in your post you said you had the heat mat under the entire cage. Reptiles are supposed to be able to Thermoregulate, so only put it under half the tank and see if that helps. Water dish on the cool end. :)
 
I was thinking about that.. the entire heating pad. Does that hurt him to be heated up constantly? i unplugged the small one, so that now the big one covers 3/4 of the cage. I just worry about him getting too cold when I'm out of the house during the day - its getting cold.
 
Hurt him...that depends. Like I said I only have Gexie and don't know much about fat tails but just like Gex they have ranges. Gex is (I don't have this memorized) high end 90's cool end 70's. A Reptile heat mat can get up to 115 to 120 I think without the Thermostat to control it, which is way to hot. What did you mean by no heat in your house?? All of my babies are in my bedroom at the back of the house. I keep the house at 70, I've put plastic on all my windows for winter and I have a space heater that does really good for a small apartment. Your the fat tail owner though so go back to the drawing boards (care sheets) and see what you can do. Heating can be a pain to figure out but you can do it. I just had to and Phew!! There are lights and wattages to play with and heat mats. Just make sure you have a Thermostat and a Thermometer. Thermometers are a huge key. I bought one at Lowe's called Acu Rite for $13.00. It is digital with a probe and humidity gauge. If you have anymore questions just ask and we will try to help! :)
 
If he doesn't eat for to long there are things you can buy. Marcia's slurry mix and I just bought a Flukers Emergency kit for my Anole.
 
Just keep an eye on the temps, the thermostat will do that for you though. It is better for them to be able to find different temps around the cage though. It helps in metabolic processes. Also, as a safety procaution it is a good idea not to leave crix in the cage overnight. As Kristin said though it is probably either age or seasonal. Are you sure that it hasn't been doing this most winters? Have there been any changes in its environment?
 
Hey there, Yeah I think it was too hot. It would often dry the waterbowl up after a few days. I haven't been doing it very long - maybe less than 2 months. I hope I didn't hurt him any... :( but I will make sure to only have one turned on from now on. What is weird, is that my thermostat measures 80 degrees.... and that's it. I was under the impression it had to be warmer than that. So that's why I put two in there.
 
To Chris,
Since I'm in college, and now i'm not in the dorms, this is the first year that I have had him during the winter since being young. I don't think my parents watched that closely. The weather here is crazy. On Monday it was seriously 70 degrees and now its freezing with ice and snow. Maybe that's why he's not eating as much. Cause he's all out of whack. Either that or because he was too hot? Do you know if that causes any damage?
 
No I would say the worst damage that has been done is that his 'internal clock' has been messed up, but that will be fixed within 48 hours or so. I understand about being in college, I just started myself, but I am at community college and kind of panicing about how I'm going to find houseing once I transfer that will allow me to keep my snakes with me.

Just set the thermostat to the temps you need according to care guidelines for the species (it will tell you on caresheets that you can search for on google what the hot side, cool side, and ambient temps should be, just try to regulate it somewhere around that) then put a cheap thermometer in the cage and switch it to a new spot in the cage each day until you've got a good idea of what the temp is throughout the cage and the temps are right. Sorry, I am in a rush, I hope that made sense!
 
Back
Top