Underweight leo

sap123

New Member
Messages
1
From what I have read, I believe that my leo of about a year and a half is pretty underweight. Last time I weighed him, he was about 37-40 grams depending on how much he had just eaten. His tail is nice and fat, but his body is very skinny and I am worried that he is going to keep losing weight due to lethargy when it comes to eating. I'm not sure what to do to get him to eat or how to help him gain weight.

About your leo:
- Sex - ?
- Age & Weight - apprx 1 yr and a half, 37 g last time I weighed
- How long have you owned your leo - 1 yr and 2 months
- Where was he/she obtained - pet store

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo - every few days
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. - had metabolic bone disease and was treated for it, now has slightly deformed arms and legs but is strong again; also needs help shedding with feet and toes
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on - My leo hasn't gained very much weight. He is very skinny and seems lethargic about eating, whether I feed him crickets for him to chase or feed him worms off of tongs. He never seems interested in food at all except for the crickets that come near enough for him to catch without moving from under his warm rock.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size - 25 gal
- Type - glass terrarium
- Type of substrate - finely ground coconut fiber (Zoo Med Eco-Earth)
- Hides - 2, one rock platform
B) Heating
- Heat source - heat lamp (day), ceramic heat emitter (night), and under tank heater (all time)
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) - 73 F (hot side air), 85 (hot side ground), 65 (cold side air and ground)
- What are you using to measure your temps - infrared thermometer
- Do you have any lights (describe) - 75-watt heat lamp over hot side of terrarium

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) - crickets, usually about a dozen or a few more every other day and a few mealworms if he will take them,
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) - crickets are released into terrarium for him to hunt, worms are fed off of tongs
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) - Zoo Med ReptiCalcium and RepCal Herpative, always available in a small bottle cap left in terrarium. He licks at it when necessary
- What are you gut loading food with - High Calcium Reptile Diet by Flukers
 

LoveReps

Member
Messages
133
Location
Tennessee
It could also be difficult for him to get around to chase his food because of the deformity caused by mbd. I would try strictly hand feeding him even with the crickets to see if that helps first and if he still refuses to eat take him to the vet and bring a stool sample along so they can see if he has an underlying issue. Best of luck to you.
 
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