Help! my baby leopard gecko wont eat!!!?

Question

ive had it for about a month and the only thing its eaten is 3 mealworms by force feed. i put some crickets in and it hasnt eaten that either. i went to the petstore i got it at and the geckos there are now bigger than it! PLeAse HELP!!! and yes it did have sand in the cage but then i took it out

Answer 1

Ok, good that you took the sand out but he could still be impacted.  Daily warm water soaks may help.  You may need a vet visit at this time.  Temperature also plays a huge part in appetite.  They can also have intestinal parasites.   Here is my care sheet:

Minimum size tank for one leopard gecko is 10 gallons, but an adult will benefit from a 20 gallon or larger.  

A heat mat (under tank heater or UTH) needs to be attached under one end of the tank.  Leos warm up through belly heat, not heat from a lamp above (which is not recommended or needed).  The mat should be plugged into a thermostat (made for this) or a dimmer switch in order to adjust the temperature.  UTH mats often get over 100F, which is too hot.  A good temperature is 88-91F.  Use a digital probe thermometer to measure the basking temp.  These are sold as indoor/outdoor thermometers in most garden departments.  Set it to “outdoor” and place the probe on the inside bottom surface of the tank over the UTH mat end. You cannot use stick on or dial thermometers, as these only measure air temps and not basking temps.  They can be off by more than 20F!  Leos do not need UVB lighting.

Do NOT use sand or other loose substrate in the bottom of the tank!  Leos often eat this and can become fatally impacted in their intestines.  It is not natural for them to live in and be forced to eat in a small sand-filled environment which can harbor bacteria and parasites.



Provide a small dish of calcium powder which the gecko will l**k as needed.  A small bowl of water is also necessary.  

Leos need 3 hide boxes.  One should be placed over the warm end of the tank, one on the cool end, and the third should be a humid hide.  This is very important to help prevent shedding problems.  It can be as simple as a margarine container with a hole cut in the side (leave the lid on).  Fold a couple of paper towels in the bottom and keep them misted with water.  Your Leo will go into this as needed.  Keep the humid hide on the warm end of the tank.  Shedding problems include shed skin left on toes.  If this happens, the dead skin will constrict the blood flow, often leading to loss of toes.  

Feeding a variety of insects is always best.  In the wild they will many different types of insects.  Good choices include crickets, superworms, phoenix worms, silkworms, hornworms and occasionally wax worms (high in fat).  Mealworms may also be used for leopard geckos.  All insects must be properly “gutloaded” before being used as food.  This means providing correct food and water or moisture for them.  

For more info on care, health, and feeding of Leopard Geckos please check out http://www.drgecko.com/index.html.  It is my favorite web site and is very complete!  Also good is http://www.thegeckospot.com/shortleocare...

Answer 2

I recently had this same trouble (not impacting, but a healthy adult gecko which suddenly refused to eat).

When my geckos go off feed for any reason for a duration of more than two days; I get them to the vet immediately.

Is this animal still drinking water?  Is it skeletal in appearance (tail/legs are stick thin, and hip bones showing)?

As well as the suggestions your last poster made; I would advise also putting an UVB light on your gecko.  Though it does tend to hide during the day, still, as it moves around, it will get vitamins/benefit from exposure to the light.

If it has not been eating, it's most likely in a depleted condition.  If it IS impacted, from being on sand, you will need a vet to provide you with a liquid diet/food which it can ingest and pass.  The vet will also most likely give your gecko a saline injection, to help hydrate it while you feed it the liquid diet.  Antibiotics may be prescribed, as well.

Geckos 'go down' very quickly, and if your gecko has no fat reserves in its tail, it is in serious trouble.

These adorable creatures can live 20 yr. and older.  He's dependent on you to provide him with the care he needs.

I strongly recommend that you take him to a vet immediately.

It's good practice to have any new animal you obtain checked by your vet at the time of purchase, especially if it came from a pet store.

I hope you get him healthy soon, and I hope this has been of help.

Answer 3

You may need to take him to a vet.  There's really nothing you can do if he's impacted.  He would need to be treated by a vet.  So PLEASE read the rest of Kimbee's post and fix your temps if needed (get a digital thermometer to measure how warm your warm side is).  Then start giving him warm baths every day to keep him hydrated.

Also, have you tried to feed him anything other than mealworms??  That may be your issue.  Try using crickets.  They move more, and your gecko may not like mealworms.  Then make sure your warm-side temps are 88-92 degrees measured with a DIGITAL thermometer (these are only about $10 at Walmart).  Less than that will decrease appetite... more will stress him out.