Constipated Gecko

[scarlett1784]

I have an almost 6 month old male that refuses to eat anything besides crickets. I have tried mealworms, silkworms, phoenix worms and wax worms (he seemed the most interested in these but still wouldn't go for them). As a result of the large amount of chitin in his system, he gets very constipated, sometimes taking as many as 5 days between bowel movement. I tried giving him some fresh mango as I know older AFTs will eat it, but no luck yet. Is there anything that I can do to get him to produce more frequent bowel movements?

 

[Imperial Geckos]

I have an almost 6 month old male that refuses to eat anything besides crickets. I have tried mealworms, silkworms, phoenix worms and wax worms (he seemed the most interested in these but still wouldn't go for them). As a result of the large amount of chitin in his system, he gets very constipated, sometimes taking as many as 5 days between bowel movement. I tried giving him some fresh mango as I know older AFTs will eat it, but no luck yet. Is there anything that I can do to get him to produce more frequent bowel movements?

If your fatty eats Crickets, then just feed him what it it wants. I think they do better on Crickets anyways, and I have fed Mealworms and Superworms before and always end back switching to Crickets.

The chitin has nothing to do with him not defecating. It sounds like a temperature problem? What are the temps inside the enclosure?

Hot side? Basking spot? Cool side?

 

[Carinata]

Alright. I see a few things wrong with your post. Fat-Tail Geckos don't eat mangos, so I won't get into that. As Alex stated, your temps seem to be the issue. What's your set up like? Pics? I feed all my AFTs Lateralis roaches, because I despise crickets, but if your gecko is eating crickets, feed it crickets. If he's constipated soak him in some lukewarm water for a half an hour. Make sure the water isn't so deep he'll drown.

 

[cherishedtiger]

My only thoughts on this is what substrate is he on, he could be impacted by ingesting substrate.
Crickets are fine, as my husband and I say variety is the spice of life, but mangos and AFT's dont go together. Crickets, worms, roaches think meat, not fruit.
Ok, thats my 2 cents

 

[scarlett1784]

I have him on reptile carpet so impaction is not an issue.
I have an under tank heater and keep the ambient temp on the hot side at about 88 and the cool side at around 77. Everything that I have read and everyone I have spoken to says that I have the correct temperature and lighting.
I was told by a reptile vet that older AFT's occasionally eat mango as they can encounter it in their natural habitat.

 

[Carinata]

Your set-up seems fine, unless you're not providing a humid hide. Whoever your vet is, clearly knows nothing about Fat-Tailed Geckos.....

 

[scarlett1784]

Yep he has a humidity hide. That makes me nervous, he's a general reptile vet that knows a lot about geckos but not specifically AFTs. He's the only reptile vet for about 40-50 miles. Is there a website or page that you think has really good care info? I have just been hearing so many different things from different sources.