Help!! Gargoyle not eating!!

ssScaleyCreations

New Member
Messages
3
Hi everyone, I got a new gargoyle gecko at repticon on saturday december 11th. Shes a baby, only 4 months old. I asked what diet she was on prior so that she wouldn’t go on a feeding strike, but that’s exactly what happened. Im feeding her a mixture of repashy grubs n fruit and watermelon pangea, which is what she was eating before. She hasn’t eaten since saturday, and I’m starting to get concerned. I have tried everything. I contacted the breeder to ask what I should do on monday and they said to let her adjust for two weeks with no handling and offer food in dime size amounts so I can tell if she is eating. I did that, and still nothing. Im putting a small bit of pangea on parchment paper so I can see if she ate anything, and I take pictures of how it looks when I set it in the cage so I can see if she ate anything the next morning. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I tried giving her mealworms, she didn’t want it. Tried giving her crickets, she didn’t care. She did poop on Tuesday, the smallest poop I’ve ever seen and it’s probably from the food she was eating before. She will only eat from my finger, since I gave her the smallest bit on my finger on Saturday to get her interested in the food, but haven’t done it again since I know she could get accustomed to me feeding her from my finger instead of finding food on her own.

here is some information on the setup of the enclosure:

- 10 gallon
- max temp of 79 low of 76
- Humidity range 60-70

Photo of the enclosure:
04F7931D-73F7-4206-A94F-A2687D98EF6B.jpeg

(That is not a heat lamp, that is a UVB lamp and it does not produce any heat whatsoever)

The breeder said the tank and the conditions are perfect, so I don’t think its a problem with that.

its almost been a week she hasn’t eaten, and I don't know how long she can go! Im starting to get really concerned she’s going to starve herself to death.

photo of her:

052E91CD-317F-4385-891E-E41E65754FAF.jpeg
E52B4FE3-09A6-4E73-BDCA-C01B36183275.jpeg
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,118
Location
Somerville, MA
She looks pretty healthy. You'd be surprised how long these guys can go without eating, even juveniles. Here are some ideas to consider:
--you could continue to feed her from your finger for awhile
--hold her and stick her head in the bowl and see if she'll start licking it
--hold her and poke a cricket at her mouth. She will likely bite it. Some gargs need to be introduced to crickets this way. I did this with my garg hatchings. I still have 6 of them who are now 4 1/2 years old and they all eat crickets. Their mothers, who I still have, don't seem to eat them.

It's possible that she'd do a little better in a smaller enclosure, but I'd suggest not moving her unless you really have to. In any event, she will definitely not starve to death if she doesn't eat for a few weeks.

Aliza
 

Visit our friends

Top