Gecko Not Eating

[Jolenels]

We have a leapord gecko named Dora. She is about two years old. In the past two months she has basically stopped eating. We have her on repticarpet, no sand, but I took her to the only vet in town who would look at a gecko to see if she was impacted and he said he could see no reason why she wouldn't be eating. Then I thought maybe she was bored of the meal worms so I bought crickets. She couldn't catch them for the life of her, so I gimped them :S....totally ripped off a leg to slow them down....and she still couldn't catch them. I have no other bug outside of wax worms (and I have been trying to get some to try but the only place in my city that carries them has been sold out for quite some time every time I go) that I can purchase. It's crickets and meal worms and that's it. Her tail has gotten a little skinnier, not dangerously so, but noticeably so. She has slate in her terrarium as well and a heating lamp and an UTH because her tank is fairly large.

Is it normal for her to not eat? This has never happened before, is it because of the cold maybe? I put meal worms in and pull them back out constantly. I need to clean her tank because some of them keep getting under the repticarpet. She will occasionally lunge at one, bite him, then open her mouth and let it fall out.

 

[Penelope24]

Lulu is going to be 1 year in May but she too has stopped eating. She
Stopped eating in December for about weeks and then ate a couple days. Then stopped completely since then. But she has gone through two sheds and has eaten that. She drinks water. She does urinate. She started at 82 grams and has lost about 6 grams but still looks good. She seems very alert. I have read that it's not so much the weather but rather the time change and shorter days. She is my first and this is our first winter. Just looking to ride it out with her. Hope this helps.

 

[Jolenels]

I think she is still drinking, though she loses most of her water to evaporation. She is still pooping but WAY less then before. I don't think she has shed. Usually we can tell before she does, and she takes her own sweet time eating it. She used to shed tons, like once a month at least. Now it's been around two months since I saw her last shed. She usually misses some of her skin when she eats it and I haven't found any of that either so that's another reason I don't think she is shedding. We did move her in to the basement in summer because she went in to a bigger terrarium. However, she has several heat sources, plus we keep a portable heater by her tank and I check the temperature regularly to make sure it doesn't get too cold. She has also gotten aggressive, every time I pass the tank she starts lunging like she is hungry but she won't eat what I give her.

 

[Butiki]

Simple tips for off-feeding geckos:

Check your temps, increasing it a couple of degrees more if needed.
Avoid/limit stressing by not handling your gecko for a few weeks.
Make them feel secure during this time by covering the side of the tank with something dark.
I've had a leo in the past that didn't eat for a full month when he was knew and was really thin but he got into shape after that.
Good luck!

 

[acpart]

I have a lot of leopard geckos who aren't eating much now. This is due to winter, ovulation and breeding. Everyone is quite healthy. Here are some articles that discuss this issue either directly or indirectly:

http://www.geckotime.com/my-gecko-is-not-eating/
http://www.geckotime.com/my-gecko-will-not-eat/
http://www.geckotime.com/the-yearly-cycle-with-geckos/ (check out the "winter" section)

Aliza

 

[Jolenels]

Not sure if this is what it is but she does lay in the cooler half of her tank. Her UTH is on the one side, her heat lamp in the middle, and the far side is basically bare with a small hut. She lies beside the hut all day more or less. She is too long for it now, I just had it in there for filler haha. How do I know when it becomes a serious issue though? She is the only gecko in the house, so no breeding issues, and she is in a room with minimal traffic, noise and movement. Her tank is more or less covered (it was to retain heat initially) but I was worried about it being dark all the time so I lift the blanket up in the day and lower it at night right now. She also used to be fairly noisy but I hear very little noise from her now.

 

[Jolenels]

I just found out something crazy interesting and gross and yuck all at once. Dora only eats mealworms. We went on vacation for a week (I was on vacation when I asked this) and my mum has been gecko sitting. She will feed Dora and give her water as long as she can pour it in, so basically not looking at her at all if possible. Well I just cleaned her cage and found 2 beetles. I was like 'what the hell are these?' I've never even seen this type of beetle where I live! I found out mealworms turn in to beetles? The last tank change was done by my hubby and he didn't lift the repticarpet or anything I just found out. I scoop every other day but I only lift everything and clean it once every two weeks or so. So it's been about five to six weeks since the last proper clean (because of vacation, I should of done it before but I ran out of time ). Now I'm grossed out, and I feel horrible. I have never, in my life, seen a beetle come from a meal worm! Maybe that was stressing her out? They were both living under her slate tiles. My hubby got an earful, this was his first time cleaning the tank ever, but he usually holds her and watches me while I do it so you think he would know to lift the carpet. I take everything out, vacuum all the loose bits, get some warm water and I wash the tank, then I wash the repticarpet (we replace it once every third change) and all her huts and what not, and then I put it all back in and she goes back in. He just stuck her in a container, vacuumed the carpet, scooped the poop, and put her back in. So the mealworms where hiding for probably about five or so weeks. I just did a mega super clean and Dora is stalking around her terrarium all angry as can be and I did happen to notice some dead skin on her belly that she would stop and drag every few moments. So she must of shed on vacation, I'll give her 24 hours to see if she get's it all off, so that's at least a small relief. I do feel like the worst person ever knowing that she has been living with beetles and somehow all the times I scooped I never saw them! :S

 

[rob.kolm]

Don't feel bad to them it's food. My Leo eats Roaches which are like beatles .

 

[acpart]

They ignore the beetles. They are not a problem. Make sure the floor of the tank on the hot side isn't too hot by measuring it with a digital thermometer with a probe. Some leopard geckos seem to like to stay on the cool side in winter and don't eat much. Others stay on the cool side because the hot side is too hot. It should be in the low 90's.

Aliza

 

[Jolenels]

We have a laser thermometer and everything is at alright temperatures. Maybe she just likes it cool.

In 2 years with her and numerous other years with my tarantula and various reptiles I have never had a meal worm turn in to a beetle. It shocked the crap out of me. Those beetles are hideous!

 

[Jetfire]

shoot, let some superworms pupate,if you want to see creepy. The little darkling beetles (that's what mealworms turn into) are nothing compared to their MUCH bigger cousins.

 

[Jolenels]

I never buy super worms lol but if I do I won't be letting them hit beetle form! I'm surprised I never knew this before. We got a surprise adoption tonight though so now we have crickets in the house and I may see about giving those to Dora again and see if she can catch them. The only issue is the new adoption eats smaller crickets then Dora would so she may be uninterested in them.