Leo gecko won't eat on her own!!?

Question

Ok, I've had her since March and she will not eat. Everythink I've put in her tank just ends up dying there. I've been force feeding her (chicken baby food) and giving her water w/ a baby medicine dropper for the last couople weeks. I can not get her to eat nothing... tried wax worms, meal worms (they turn into beatles and she wont eat them either) and small crickets.She got real thin for awhile but after forcefeeding she looks alot better.I do notice she eats her peatmoss. The petstore told me to put it in her house & keep it moistend to help w/ shedding (should i take it out?). No rocks or gravel in tank, just carpet and couple houses, container of water and calcium powder. Got hotter bulb and heat pad going so i dont think temp is a problem. she's small i think, about 4-5 inches nose to tail, about 8 months old. do u think the worms are too big for her since they are kinda big? Any tips would be great since the local Petsmart people are not much help!!

Answer 1

keep doing what you r doing but keep trying

Answer 2

Yea petsmart ppl have never been much help to me so i have been forced to reaserch petcare on my own since they dont know anything. You leo sound slike she is in rough shape. If this began when you put the peatposs in i suggest you rmeove it and put in a moist hise with spagnum moss or instead just mist her daily with a sprayer. What are you using for a bedding? Hopefully its not sand right? Sand can cause impaction if ingested and can cause loss of appetite and eventually death ut since you are forcefeeding her i don't think that will happen. What size worms are you feeding her. I try to refrain from feeding any time of mealworm or superworm as the chitin in their shells is difficult to digest. Some worms don't even die and can chew through your lizards stomach. The prey shoudl be no longer than the length of the head and no wider than half the width of the head. I prefer to feed only soft bodied worms like waxworms,silkworms, and crickets. Are you gutloading food and dusting it with calcium supplements 3 times a week and dusting it with multivitamin 2 times week? If your really worried you can take her to the vet and they could find out whats wrong. It also might just be the season too!

P.s whats the temp in the tank? just curious?

Answer 3

don't let her eat peatmoss!

it is not going to give her the nutrition she needs, and if she gets into the habit of eating that you will never get her to eat real food.

also, NO babyfood! it's not going to help in digestion and it has too many gross preservatives, AND leos do NOT eat chicken in the wild, thus they may not be able to properly digest it.

i would suggest making a mealworm/cricket smoothie. mush them up, mix in a bit of water, some leo food and you are good to go. force feeding her that is way better than baby food!

Food type: Crickets are a good staple diet. For variety, silkworms and occasional waxworms (as these are high in fat) can be offered. Most leopard geckos will not eat pre-prepared dried foods such as can-o-crickets. Food items should be no longer than the width of the gecko's head.

Adding nutrients: Supplementation of livefood is necessary to better match the nutritional content of the natural diet of the leopard gecko. In order to improve the nutritional content, crickets should be:

Gutloaded- The crickets should be fed for at least 24 hours prior to use. A high quality flaked fish food is suitable (alternatively a nutritionally complete dry diet, see gutloading, can be used). Fruit/vegetables (e.g. carrot or apple) serve as a source of moisture (and additional vitamins) for the crickets. All cricket food should be changed daily to avoid mould growth.

Dusted- Immediately prior to use, add a pinch of vitamin/calcium powder to a sandwich bag and shake thecrickets in that to coat them with powder. Use calcium and vitamin powder (such as nutrobal) once or twice a week and calcium-only powder for all other feedings.

Amount: Babies/juveniles can be fed daily (consuming 5-20 crickets per feeding). Adults can be fed every other day (consuming from 2-10 crickets). Only add to the tank the amount of food that the gecko will eat.

http://www.thegeckospot.com/shortleocare...

take the peat moss out, put down paper towel as the substrate and start force feeding her real food so at least she'll get used to the taste. otherwise she is going to end up with some terrible bone disease and you won' tbe able to save her from there!