baby trouble...please help.

[thom_fish]

well my little baby is nearly a week old now and i am concerned. he has shed once (which i am guess is good cause it means he has grown) but he didnt shed properly and there is still skin around his head and tail...

but my main concern is that i havent seen him eat a thing. his tail has decreased in size and i really havent seen him eat a thing. i put him in a container with food but he was disinterested and just seemed to be stressed about being in a glass container. i dont know how to get him to eat. currently i have him in a set up which is quite small with about a dozen small crickets and i am hoping he just eats one! but can anyone please help me? advice?

 

[ByRandom]

Maybe the number of crickets in his enclousre is what is stressing him out. Did you pluck the back legs of off them? Sometimes my adult levis can't even get their crickets because they jump all around them. As for the shed, gently try to pull it off. If that doesn't work, use a Q-tip with some water, or soak him for about 10 minutes in a small container of warm water to loosen the shed.

 

[Jeanne]

Are you keeping a humid hide in his enclosure? The baby needs some kind of humid area to help him shed his skin. This may also be why he isn't eating, he may be uncomfortable with the stuck shed skin, and too stressed to eat.

Also, how big are the crickets? Anything you feed a Gecko should be half the width of their head and no longer than their head.

Can you tell us how he is housed? A picture would be great too.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Your baby levis should be housed on ultra-fine sand (ReptiSand or Jurassic sand) with a cool, moist side and the dry, warm side at around 88 degrees. Keep it's hide somewhere in between the warm, dry side and the cool, moist side. N. levis will not eat out of bowls, and most are not interested in mealworms unless you hand feed them. Also, they can really get stressed out if there are too any crickets in their enclosure... just a couple at a time is all that's needed.

 

[Jeanne]

Ok, I feel like a Moron, I thought this was the Leo forum.....Sorry Everyone! Wrong advice on my part!

 

[lil_katiedan]

Hehe, Jeanne we still love you .

Anyways, like everyone said, make sure you have a moist hide, it will help to prevent a lot of shedding problems. We spray our adults everynight and throw about 3 crickets in. My advice is to make sure it has plenty of places to hide and count the number of crickets you put in, chances are it's eating when you're not looking. Levis are usually pretty shy and will rarely eat in front of people. Good Luck!

 

[bittner_344]

there is to many crickets in there, i feed my babies 3-4 every night, or every other night, i think thats whats stressing him out.
hope this helps
-brett

 

[thom_fish]

hello,
thanks for the feedback guys.

i am working on a picture as we speak but i cant find my cable.

well i dont know if it is too many crickets as i only put heaps in last night as i went to bed in the hope he would eat one. even when i only had about 3 or 4 in he wasnt intersted.

as for the shedding...i wasnt here when he hatched an i am certain that it was a bad shed because the guys who looked after him in the first few days had the hidind spot too dry. hopefully he will clean up after the next shed.

i really am unsure of what to do... picture soon i hope

 

[thom_fish]

hey everyone.

well good news. i believe that my little friend is on the mend. i have been putting crickets in his little enclosure and the next day there is only one left which means i believe he is eating...touch wood.

thanks for everyones advice. again sorry for the delay in reply i was away again...you know i never thought i travelled much but when you have babies that need your care you soon see how much you are away...so where was the problem borne? my theory...

as they were born when i was away and the responisibliy unfairly fell on my boyfriend to look after the baby in the first few days i think the set up he put the baby in wasnt right. also i think maybe it was handled too much in those first few days...i came back and changed the babies set up and i think it all just freaked the little one out a bit...but now s/he is settled hopefully it will all go well...

is it natural for the babies to not eat much in their first week of life?