NOT A CHAM. A LEOPARD GECKO. PLS HELP.

[Jmedrano]

I recently rescued a malnourished, weak leopard gecko thought to be a picky eater. This is her 4th day with me the first day she ate one cricket the second day ate and hunted three and yesterday she ate nothing and just drank half her dish of water and today absolutely nothing that I’ve seen. She stays on her warm side mostly she’s pooped twice and roams around every now and then but mostly stays in her hide. I understand she can be stressed from the abrupt move but she’s already malnourished so .... not sure what to do here.

PLS LET ME KNOW OF ANY QUESTIONS!! I’ve offered crickets, mealworms and even wax worms! But she’s only touched the crickets I want to help this gal out.

 

[ERKleRose]

I would try one of the leopard gecko forums for better help, along with taking her to an experienced leo vet

 

[Mendez]

I've never owned a leopard gecko, but I know a few things. There are better forums where you can get help from leopard gecko owners who are extremely experienced such as we are with chameleons.

First off, you do know that they are nocturnal right? They can and will eat during the day if you wake them up, but if a nocturnal animal is having trouble eating, you may want to feed early in the morning or late at night when they are active.

Second, if she is only eating crickets, then let the girl eat crickets. They are not unhealthy feeders so I'd let her eat as many as she wants.

Third, what supplements are you using: calcium, calcium plus D3, multivitamins?

 

[reignthafirst]

@Jmedrano
I have a leopard gecko and for long time he would eat anything but after a couple months he started to get picky and he would only want crickets and like @Mendez said crickets are a great feeder because they have a lot of protein and fat and if she ever stops eating one way to end the hunger strike is to try feeding hornworms

 

[reignthafirst]

if you have any questions you can ask me if you want but i hope the info helps

 

[Jmedrano]

if you have any questions you can ask me if you want but i hope the info helps

Hi!! Thank u so much and I offer crickets! When she’s walking outside her hide at around 4-5 am and again from about 6/7:30 pm I offer and she’ll run from the crickets. It’ll pass over her foot and she’ll jus turn around. And if I persist she simply goes back into her hide Bc I pushed her and prolly made her uncomfy with feeders. My only concern is she takes well to crickets usually or has been and she refuses to touch any type of worm at all

 

[Jmedrano]

I've never owned a leopard gecko, but I know a few things. There are better forums where you can get help from leopard gecko owners who are extremely experienced such as we are with chameleons.

First off, you do know that they are nocturnal right? They can and will eat during the day if you wake them up, but if a nocturnal animal is having trouble eating, you may want to feed early in the morning or late at night when they are active.

Second, if she is only eating crickets, then let the girl eat crickets. They are not unhealthy feeders so I'd let her eat as many as she wants.

Third, what supplements are you using: calcium, calcium plus D3, multivitamins?

Hi thank u! so maybe some names of good forums?
Also yes as mentioned before I do wait until she’s active and learned her usual times and if she’s out i see opportunity. Today though she’s very lethargic almost she walks for a but then stops and closes her eyes. I can tell she’s simply weak. I’ve feed crickets from tongs, let one loose, in a bowl she just won’t take to it. Abs again she just absolutely REFUSES any type of worm. Previous owners said she jus does not like worms.
Im using calcium with D3 and multivitamins. I saw it was a good idea to put some in her cage pure so I did she hasn’t touched it just trampled it to be honest. Yesterday I thought she wasn’t eating because she was maybe still full from three crickets and that day she drank a lot of water but then today I haven’t seen her drink or eat anything at all.

 

[reignthafirst]

if she ever stops eating and this is the last thing to do, which is force feeding with a syringe

 

[Jmedrano]

if she ever stops eating and this is the last thing to do, which is force feeding with a syringe

Yes I’ve come across this especially Bc it’s her second day without food. Would you happen to know the easiest most effective way or recipe because there are tons. So many

 

[reignthafirst]

Getting Your Leopard Gecko To Eat - Golden Gate Geckos Slurry - YouTube
Repashy Grub Pie Review! - YouTube
her is a good video for syringe feeding, but one thing to remember is it could just be stress so just wait maybe about 2 to 3 days or as long as you can then try

 

[reignthafirst]

also one more thing, if you can try to bring it into the vet for a poop test to see if it has any parasites, i really hope this helps and if you have any questions you can ask me if you want

 

[kinyonga]

I've kept Leo's for over 19 years....had the original pair for that many years.

If all it will eat is crickets make sure you feed the crickets well and feed her crickets...at least until it wil take something else.

Here's a good site for you to read...not to scare you but it might have crypto....
https://azeah.com/lizards/cryptosporidiosis

 

[MissSkittles]

This past year I rescued a little boy in similar condition, although not quite so thin. I was fortunate that he ate whatever I offered...wax worms, silkworms, bsfl, mealworms and roaches. He has a bit of a jaw malformation from mbd, so has some trouble eating and is too slow for crickets. Whatever you can get this little sweetheart to eat, give it to her and offer daily. Do make sure to feed at the appropriate time of day. Usually evening when they’ve just awoken is a good time. Make sure you’re using a good supplement too. I use Repashy Calcium Plus...the one with a leo on the label. You also want to make sure her heat is correct...I aim for around 90*.
Unfortunately, I think it’s a seasonal thing as none of my leos are eating much in the past few weeks. Last year I did have a problem with my female being ill and not eating and I made a slurry of bsfl with a bit of water and fed it with a syringe. With lots of patience and coaxing, she licked the drops. (making that slurry is perhaps the grossest thing I’ve ever done) Perhaps add a bsfl and wax worm for a slurry.
I’ve found the gecko forum isn’t terribly active and not much help.
Here’s my Kirby...the pic that prompted me to adopt him. Wt 35 Gm

Here’s my sweet and handsome little guy now. Wt 59 Gm

 

[reignthafirst]

ya i agree, my leopard gecko stop eating much after winter started and i found it is is mostly because of the change in temperatures

 

[MissSkittles]

I forgot to add...you’ll want to make sure the crickets are the right size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes is too big. I’d go with small to small/medium crickets.

 

[ERKleRose]

I forgot to add...you’ll want to make sure the crickets are the right size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes is too big. I’d go with small to small/medium crickets.

Make sure all feeders are properly gutloaded, too!

 

[ERKleRose]

Also, not sure how much help this’ll be, but Leopard Gecko on YouTube has great content, as well

 

[Jmedrano]

also one more thing, if you can try to bring it into the vet for a poop test to see if it has any parasites, i really hope this helps and if you have any questions you can ask me if you want

Thank u so much and yes I recognize she’s stressed and she’ll come out to drink water then jus hide again as fast as she can. And I was seeing it’s a seasonal deal as I realized although it’s Texas it’s still quite colder than usual. Today is her third day without any food at all.. I think I’ll opt for syringe feeding sooner than later. She’s not in the worst condition but she’s not in the best I’m having trouble locating a vet that’s able to do this for me but I’m definitely trying

 

[Jmedrano]

I forgot to add...you’ll want to make sure the crickets are the right size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes is too big. I’d go with small to small/medium crickets.

I have medium crickets for her but they lean more towards small! She took well to them her second day but after that not at all

 

[Jmedrano]

I've kept Leo's for over 19 years....had the original pair for that many years.

If all it will eat is crickets make sure you feed the crickets well and feed her crickets...at least until it wil take something else.

Here's a good site for you to read...not to scare you but it might have crypto....
https://azeah.com/lizards/cryptosporidiosis

Thank you so much for the article I came across some of that info but that goes into full depth. All she’s ever touched is crickets but pervious owners couldn’t keep up with her and the need for crickets all the time so she got really small really fast. I decided to rescue her since I knew she needed help and she took the crickets first couple of days and now she simply won’t