Underweight?

KamaKamaChameleon!

KamaKamaChameleon!

Avid Member
So my baby leopard gecko whom I estimated at 4 months is 12 grams is that underweight? I estimated so it might be a little off
 
Last edited:
I’m new to leos and I got my two as adults. I don’t think your little one looks too thin. I don’t know what age they develop the chub to their tail, but it is usually a good indicator if an adult is underweight or unhealthy.
I’m going to guess that you should be feeding your little one daily. I feed a variety...mealworms, waxworms, bsfl, silkworms, superworms and occasionally a discoid roach. I don’t feed crickets as my leos are too slow to catch them. I gutload all feeders with fresh fruits, veggies, bug burger or whatever is more specific to the type of feeder. My male can be a picky eater. Some days he’ll only eat if I offer the feeder with tongs. I dust at all feedings with Repashy calcium plus (has a Leo on the label) and do provide uvb. Maybe try adding a few waxworms to his diet. I keep mine in grain and oatmeal with honey mixed in for hydration.
Also is always a good idea to have a fecal done to make sure there’s no parasites.
Hope this helps.
13D358EF-6D7D-40F2-9521-082A0D7C7F2D.jpeg
 
Definitely looks like an underweight Petco/Petsmart Leo.
20190317_181320.jpg

Spots was about 6months old there. Notice his juicy tail. That's where they store fat. Leo's will drop their tails only under severe distress for this very reason. Get some wax worms and dubias in it Stat.
 
Okay so she looks fine to me. When they are young their tails are a bit thinner, and fill out as they get older.

For feeding, feed her small gut loaded crickets (small roaches would be even better). Give her as many as she will eat. I personally hand feed so I can count how many they eat. If you dont want to touch the crickets, use tongs ( the blunt edge ones, not the ones that come to a point) I would stay away from mealworms, they aren't very nutritious and I have personally had bad experiences with them (impaction) in my reptiles.

Your supplement schedule looks fine to me, just don't leave the reptivite in the cage, leave in the plain calcium.

What substrate do you use?

Some people see It nessecary to put light on their cage. I personally dont, but as long as your gecko doesn't seem sensitive to the light you should be fine. I dont use any lights on my leopard gecko cages. The natural light in the room seems to be enough to tell them the difference from day and night.
 
CamoChameleonsHuman said:
Definitely looks like an underweight Petco/Petsmart Leo.
View attachment 256263
Spots was about 6months old there. Notice his juicy tail. That's where they store fat. Leo's will drop their tails only under severe distress for this very reason. Get some wax worms and dubias in it Stat.
Click to expand...

Adorable Leo! :love: :love: Where did you get him?

The only problem with trying to fatten up a Leo with waxworms is they can get hooked on them and refuse other, more healthy, food. When galaxy, my Petco girl, went on hunger strike due to ovulation, I gave her 1 waxworm per day to help fatten her up. She fattened up nicely but then it took me a month to get her to eat crickets again.
 
Ares05 said:
Adorable Leo! :love: :love: Where did you get him?

The only problem with trying to fatten up a Leo with waxworms is they can get hooked on them and refuse other, more healthy, food. When galaxy, my Petco girl, went on hunger strike due to ovulation, I gave her 1 waxworm per day to help fatten her up. She fattened up nicely but then it took me a month to get her to eat crickets again.
Click to expand...
Local reptile shop here in Pueblo, CO. He's my step son's.
 
Thank yall for everything you're helping a lot!

CamoChameleonsHuman said:
Definitely looks like an underweight Petco/Petsmart Leo.
View attachment 256263
Spots was about 6months old there. Notice his juicy tail. That's where they store fat. Leo's will drop their tails only under severe distress for this very reason. Get some wax worms and dubias in it Stat.
Click to expand...
not a petsmart/petco gecko. Comes from a pet store (a local one) and takes really great care of their leopard geckos. I've heard that some leos might store some fat in different places in their body. I've also seen when their babies they have thinner tail proportions than adults. I have some waxworms in her diet but I don't use them a lot because I don't want her to get hooked on them. I will try roaches but they just creep me out.
 
Ares05 said:
Okay so she looks fine to me. When they are young their tails are a bit thinner, and fill out as they get older.

For feeding, feed her small gut loaded crickets (small roaches would be even better). Give her as many as she will eat. I personally hand feed so I can count how many they eat. If you dont want to touch the crickets, use tongs ( the blunt edge ones, not the ones that come to a point) I would stay away from mealworms, they aren't very nutritious and I have personally had bad experiences with them (impaction) in my reptiles.

Your supplement schedule looks fine to me, just don't leave the reptivite in the cage, leave in the plain calcium.

What substrate do you use?

Some people see It nessecary to put light on their cage. I personally dont, but as long as your gecko doesn't seem sensitive to the light you should be fine. I dont use any lights on my leopard gecko cages. The natural light in the room seems to be enough to tell them the difference from day and night.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately she is kinda shy and won't eat until I've stepped away, working on improving that. I use eco earth which, was considering reptile carpet but I heard their claws can get stuck in the threads and things.
 
KamaKamaChameleon! said:
Unfortunately she is kinda shy and won't eat until I've stepped away, working on improving that. I use eco earth which, was considering reptile carpet but I heard their claws can get stuck in the threads and things.
Click to expand...
I use the same no issues. They come potty trained. Usually poop in the same place or area daily. I use no lights at all either. Just an undertank pad heater. He's in a 40gallon tall (what I had around). My dude is seriously addicted to dubias. I have him so well trained now that he tells me whe. He's hungry rather than me having to guess. Feeding dubias only now he eats like 10 at a time and then he's good for like a week. Granted he's over a year old now.
 
KamaKamaChameleon! said:
I use eco earth which, was considering reptile carpet but I heard their claws can get stuck in the threads and things.
Click to expand...
I’ve been using just paper towels, but after catching my guy having ‘dug’ underneath, I’m currently working on a bioactive tank for him. Hoping to have it done in the next week. Doesn’t seem as difficult as is for chameleons as no drainage required. If it works out well, will make a bioactive one for my girl.
 
I have tried eco earth but for some reason I have never had luck with it.. my girls always get constipated. I just use paper towels, it's easier in my opinion anyways.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Evo30k
underweight?
Replies
6
Views
582
Beman
Beman
Peppered
Reputable sources of care info for leopard geckos?
Replies
7
Views
131
Peppered
Peppered
chameleonowner32
Less kept species check in.
Replies
6
Views
382
Lindasjackson
L
GrannyK
We’re adopting a leopard gecko!
Replies
10
Views
509
Ghostbirb
Ghostbirb
Jessandsprinkes
Am I under feeding?
Replies
15
Views
1K
Gingero
Gingero
Back
Top Bottom