Female Leo armpit bubbles and somewhat odd behavior...

[leoluv17]

Hi everyone,

So, my female leo hasn't been eating any food (she even refused hornworms and waxworms), and she's been staying on the cool side of her enclosure. Whenever I pick her up she acts somewhat sluggish and feels kind of cold to the touch, and she doesn't ever seem to want to go on the warm side of her tub. Additionally, she recently developed some of those armpit swellings that from what I can gather are essentially fat/calcium deposits. Her hot side is actually pretty warm; last I checked, it was around 83 degrees Fahrenheit. She doesn't seem to be losing any weight, so I'm not very worried about her health right now, I just want to know what's going on and how I might be able to get it back I normal. Thank you.


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[kingkung]

how long have you had her? What is that temp for the cool side?

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[leoluv17]

I have had her for about 1 and a half years, and she hasn't done this for this long before. As for the cool side temp, it's more or less about 75-ish. But if she's cold, wouldn't she just move over to the warm end hide?


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[Neon Aurora]

May I ask what you are using as a heat source and what you are measuring your temps with?

It sounds to me like she is slowing down for the winter. Not necessarily because she is cold, but because it is part of her natural cycle. They won't always act the same way every winter. It just depends. As long as she is keeping weight and appears healthy, I wouldn't worry much. The reason I ask about your temps is because it can be a factor in how much she eats.

 

[leoluv17]

I'm using a zoo med heating pad (I don't know the wattage exactly) and a digital probe from zoo med I believe. As for the natural cycle concept, I thought about that, but I've bred her before, and she only mated around this time of year. I also heard somewhere that some individuals/lines have different cycles.


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[Neon Aurora]

83 isn't really warm enough for the warm side. It should be at around 90.

Again, individual geckos won't follow the same cycle necessarily every year. Correcting your temps may help. If I were you, I would just monitor her weight and keep offering food. Some of my females go off food seemingly at random. I have some that are much more finicky than others. If her stools are normal and she is maintaining weight reasonably, I wouldn't worry.