#gecko not eating 6 days after bringing her home

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

spice acorn
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So I am new to leopard geckos and any reptiles, a strange first pet at the age of 23 but hey ho. Anyway ,

Details on her living enclosure so far.
It's a 3foot tank which has a heat bulb and I think appropriate housing etc (photos attached so you can tell me)
On the first day, I didn't do anything and let her stay by herself and get used to it.
Second day I put a few crickets in her enclosure however she has not touched them at all.
Third day I left her alone
Fourth day I refilled her water
Fifth day I got her some meal worms but she has not touched those too. I'm about to take them out of her enclosure as she hasn't touched them in a day ( I put them in a pot in the evening)

20230611_014354.jpg rn_image_picker_lib_temp_26cbe5c7-d4bd-436f-843b-49c67c87fcbb.jpg
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Oh I should mention. She's 8months old according to the breeder i got her from

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And the video I attached was the first day I got her just to have a base look of her to see how her health is

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Oh I am located in the UK too btw (climate and what not)

hardy lily
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Hi, what kind of substrate are you using? Also take a look at the guide :) !guide

elder ferryBOT
formal current
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She is fine about not eating. Since she's still very new, she is stressed and stressed reptiles may not eat. Just keep offering her food every 2-3 days nqa

spice acorn
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When I got my enclosure, they gave me this substrate saying it was good for their leopard gecko

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@hardy lily

ltcQ3j3M.jpg
formal current
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!substrate

elder ferryBOT
formal current
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The substrate isn't suitable for Leopard geckos unfortunately

spice acorn
formal current
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Replace it with paper towel

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They should be on quarantine anyways

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Prepare yourself with a wall of text

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!quarantine

elder ferryBOT
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Whenever bringing a new animal into your home, you should quarantine it. The main difference between a quarantine setup and a normal set up is substrate. A paper towel substrate should be used. This allows for the tank to be easily cleaned and for you to monitor poops easier. A quarantine setup should be just as cluttered as a normal setup. Quarantine should last for 60-90 days to ensure the animal is heathy before moving it to a setup with loose substrate. Additionally, when first bringing the animal home and when moving tanks or making large changes, handling should be avoided for two weeks. Reptiles do not get enjoyment out of handling, they tolerate it. Not handling for two weeks will avoid adding stress to an already stressful time. Their entire world has changed which takes an adjustment period.

spice acorn
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Would changing the substrate be considered a large change?

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I am wondering if after the quarantine period, if I change to a loose substrate, I wonder if it will be stressed out?

formal current
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Yes. But it is a necessary change to do. With improper substrate you risk impaction. You need to change it to paper towel and keep that for 2-3 months nqa

formal current
spice acorn
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Okay let's hope I have paper towels to change the substrate to

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And then where can I temporarily store my lil gecko while I change it out all

formal current
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You can sacrifice a Tupperware container or if you have a taller Bin you can put them in there with a hide nqa

spice acorn
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Do they need a hide while I quickly change out the substrat

formal current
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Nah

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If it's a quick change no

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It can just be a tad Lil less stressful but it's not needed no

spice acorn
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Okay thank you so so much

formal current
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Np

spice acorn
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She seems somewhat happier with the paper towrls

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She was even drinking

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I won't try give her food today but I'll give her meal worms tmmr morning and take out the remainder in the evening when I get back from work, @formal current you think that is a decent approach?

formal current
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Remainder? Did you only have enough paper towel for a certain part or?

spice acorn
formal current
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Ohh

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Yea you can be we typically suggest to watch them eat nqa

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Especially when new

peak flint
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Could take up to 2 weeks for them to eat btw nqa

spice acorn
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At what point should I be worried?

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I know female tails aren't as plump but at what point should I be like. She's not healthy

boreal wolf
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nqa if she has dropped 10% of her body weight

so weigh her weekly on a kitchen scale

spice acorn
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I'll do that tomorrow morning then, hopefully she won't be too upset with me picking her up catcry

regal warren
# spice acorn At what point should I be worried?

nqa, as i am sure you've heard, she will still be getting used to her surroundings. it was the same with my leo. i got her about a month ago, and for the first 3 weeks she refused all food. i left some feeders in her tank, but she didn't go for them. it was only about a week ago that mine really started eating. they are VERY picky eaters - mine will only eat locusts and maybe the occasional mealworm. before she ate, she was very nervous and unsure of where she was. she figured out that there was a water bowl, but didn't find the bowl of mealworms, so i decided to try something else. she lost a fair amount of fat in her tail, but was still active. so i would not be too worried, it is very normal for them to go off food, even for weeks at a time.

spice acorn
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this is reassuring to hear, in regard to the locuses, How long should I keep in there for? Like how long before I should just take them out and accept they wont eat that feeding?

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I don't want to not offer food at all, but it would be ncie to know how long before its best ot remove it and not stress out the leo

regal warren
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well it was a strange process with mine. if you dont mind me asking, has she shown any interest at all in the food, like licking it or seeming curious in it?

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or doe she completely ignore anything that moves?

spice acorn
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she ignores it

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kinda avoids it a bit too

regal warren
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well, my process included desensitizing her to the insects. initially mine seemed to ignore the insects, then she showed some interest in them, but then ignored them again. to desensitize her, i basically took out anything that moves in her tank for 24 hours. it is very possible that your leo doesn't recognize that you are offering her food. she might just see it as something that moves, not as something she can eat. this worked extremely well for my leo. after that 24 hours she started eating for the first time.

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i'm not entirely sure what clicked in my leo's brain once i re-introduced the insects into her tank, but she very quickly started eating.

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what kinds of insects have you tried with her?

spice acorn
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So when i got her the seller told me that they have been eating on locusts so i got some of them

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but after a week I got worried so I tried giving her mealworms

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but she didnt take on that either

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so now I put her some locusts and will check alter to take them out

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or maybe leave them in I don't know :/

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I did see her drinking today which i felt was good tho

regal warren
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exactly the same with my leo. she was fed on locusts but i tried mealworms, which she didn't take. it's good that she is drinking though, it took mine a while too. she's just getting used to her surroundings, so don't get too worried. if you are up for experimenting, i would recommend removing all insects from her tank for 24 hours, and putting them back at the exact same time the next day. it may work, but it may not. don't panic if it takes longer for her to eat, it took mine 3 weeks before she started. they can go surprisingly long without food, so it is really a matter of patience.

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the main thing is not to panic, and just to give it time love_frog

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also good call with replacing the substrate. i found that mine actually started eating after i replaced her substrate (i'm not sure why). paper towel will definitely reduce the risk of her swallowing anything if she does decide to finally hunt the locusts.

spice acorn
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I trusted the people from weho i got the tank from as they had leopard geckos too

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but I guess the substrate i had at the time was just bad for my gecko

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I also am not sure how big the locusts should be, when i got her the seller said she will eat large, but looking at her, shes seems a little small for that :/

regal warren
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the locusts should ideally be no bigger than the space between her eyes. when you buy locusts, you will usually see that on the label it will say "4th/3rd/2nd hoppers" (etc.) for my leo (6 month old) i use 3rd hoppers, and they usually come up nice and small. anything larger than a 4th hopper isn't really suitable for a leo of any age, as they may have trouble swallowing and digesting them. i would recommend starting off with 3rd hoppers - provided that they aren't enormous.

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have you noticed any swelling in her lower abdomen at all, or has she laid eggs recently?

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in terms of locust size, i would recommend anything around the size of the right hand side picture. the one on the left is far too big for mine to swallow. you just want basically the smallest locusts you can find.

Screenshot_2023-06-14_224053.png
spice acorn
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thanks for letting me know, this is super helpful but shes still a small kiddo

regal warren
spice acorn
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and I just finished work so I will go home and see hows shes doing

regal warren
# spice acorn should I do 24hrs or longer though?

personally, i did it for exactly 24 hours. the first time it didn’t work, but when i repeated it a couple days later it seemed to work. there’s a possibility it won’t work, but it’s worth a try

spice acorn
regal warren
spice acorn
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Youve been a huge help

regal warren
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glad to be of help love_frog

spice acorn
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Is 23 too high?

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Like what.people think of thos tempretjres

spice acorn
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@regal warren Maybe you know?

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23 looks too hiugh for the nigh

regal warren
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23 actually looks a bit low for the night. what kind of thermostat are you using?

spice acorn
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:O? I turn it off for the night

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because I heard people jsut turn itg off for the night and it can go as low as 18 for the leopard geckos

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but I guyess i miss read?

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cuz it currently sitting at 30

regal warren
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it’s really a matter of preference. personally, i slightly turn it down at night so it sits at about 27-28°. 30 seems like a good temperature, although it could actually do with being slightly higher (maybe around 32-33). if your temperature is too low then your leo could struggle to fully digest food.

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do you know what type of thermostat you are using? this can be useful to keep your temperatures nice and steady

spice acorn
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as in floor or bulb? or the actual make?

regal warren
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the heat mat. there are usually three different types: dimming, pulse proportional, and mat stat.

spice acorn
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so I am not using a heat mat, I am using a heat bulb

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also

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let me check the thing

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pulse one

regal warren
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ok good, pulse thermostats are a very good one to use.

spice acorn
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thats the exact one

regal warren
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leos can live happily with a heat bulb, although heat mats do provide much more lasting heat. does your tank have a slot for a heat mat?

spice acorn
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it doesnt have a slot

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but I am sure I cuold just place it on the ground no?

regal warren
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you could, but you would have to cover it with something to avoid your leo sitting on it and potentially burning her skin

spice acorn
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I assume substrate would not be enoughj

regal warren
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it could be, but it depends on the substrate and how thick of a layer you put over it

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substrates like sand mixtures retain heat very well, but as i’m sure you know sand isn’t a recommended substrate because of the risk of leo’s swallowing it

spice acorn
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Ill stick with my bulb for now then

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I want her to get used to her envirotnment and at elast start eating

regal warren
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yeah, i would say don’t change anything until she starts eating, because a change in environment can stress them out even more

spice acorn
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I hope she eats today ;-;

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I will go get some smaller locusts on break form work so in the evning I can try feed her

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btw, with your food detox, did you place the locusts in, if she didnt eat them in an hour, you took them out for 24 hours and tried the next day?

regal warren
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when i did it, i took them out in the evening so she was left with them overnight. i counted the number of locusts that i put in, and counted them again the next morning. if she didn’t eat them i took them out and left it for about a day. then the next day i repeated it again.

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i removed anything like leaves that locusts could hide behind, because then i can see all of them and know whether she had eaten any

spice acorn
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ah so you did the following

  1. put x locusts in in the evening (count them)
  2. next morning, remove the un eated (count them)
  3. wait till the next days evening,
  4. try again
regal warren
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just so i:

  1. put about 3 locusts in at about 10pm or so (the time is up to you)
  2. waited overnight.
  3. counted the number of locusts in there.
  4. if she hadn’t eaten any, remove them.
  5. wait till tomorrow evening, and place another 3 in.
  6. repeat (count the next morning)
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step 5 is in the case that it didn’t work

spice acorn
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um, lets say she eats 1

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would you take out hte remainer 2 or leave tghem in?

regal warren
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i would leave them in there, because that shows that she is starting to recognise that they are food, and so she is just adjusting to hunting

spice acorn
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okok

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man, this is such a huge help

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;-;

regal warren
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it was slow with my leo. she only ate one to start with, then as i left them they started disappearing

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it is very experimental, so don’t be worried if she doesn’t eat any first time. remember they can go for weeks without eating (for example my leo)

spice acorn
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yeah I try to remind myself that, but ti still woprries me when I don tsee her eat

regal warren
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the key tip is don’t worry. i was getting more worried by the day when mine didn’t eat. i talked to several, reptile experts and they all told me the same things: she’s just adjusting, she doesn’t know her way around her tank fully, and she is nervous because she has had a massive change in environment

spice acorn
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;-; thank you