# pale leopard gecko, not eating or drinking?



## EmzEffect (Jul 6, 2009)

my leopard gecko has been pale for 2 days now, and yesterday she only had 3 crickets(normally she will eat at least 5, or more if she can), and today she refused to eat any. she seems kinda sluggish, and her skin is still very dusty and pale looking. her eyes are perfectly clear, and there are no signs of flaking skin. 
i also havnt seen her drink since i got her, or take any of the calcium(and i have checked regularly on her at night but she doesnt seem to be out unless i leave the heatmat on a little late, even then she just sits in a corner)
im just wondering if this is normal? its my first gecko, i think she is about 9 weeks old, and i havnt seen her shed yet so maybe she is shedding but i wanted to make sure. 
i put some moss in her hide; her hide is half hot, half cold, and i put the moss on the colder bit. 
please dont just say SHES SHEDDING LEAVE HER ALONE if you havnt read everything properly....i keep seeing other forum posts like that and its frustrating because im not sure what to think :/ 

thanks a lot for reading, please get back to me


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## lil05 (Jul 22, 2008)

heya and welcome

your leo is most probably just shedding if shes gone very pale and should shed in the next day or two

some leos will go off there food whilst sheddign aswel so nothing to worry about and should be back to normal after 
also she probably is going out of the hide and drinking but probs is doing it during the night so you dont see

just keep her moist hide nice and damp to aid her sheddding


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## filardimarg2 (Nov 6, 2008)

Hi there,
The heat mat needs to be left on 24/7, they need the belly heat to digest their food, if she is "pale" do you mean as if she is wrapped in tissue paper? If so, she is going to shed, some leo's do go off their food, mine don't, but your's might be 1 that does. Leaving the heat mat on always will or should up her food intake. Hope so.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

at 9 weeks old she should be eating a lot more then 3 or 5 crix ~ mine at that age eat at least 10+ crix/hoppers every night plus have access to a dish of mealies at all times.
what is the hot end substrate temps? do you have the heatmat on a stat? how are you measuring the temperatures and where?

if she's too cold or not getting the heat that she needs all the time then it can interfere with her digestion and eating.


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Welcome!!! Agree with all above posts. What size food are you feeding her? It should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. Large crix would look very scary to a little Leo


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

EmzEffect said:


> my leopard gecko has been pale for 2 days now, and yesterday she only had 3 crickets(normally she will eat at least 5, or more if she can), and today she refused to eat any. she seems kinda sluggish, and her skin is still very dusty and pale looking. her eyes are perfectly clear, and there are no signs of flaking skin.
> i also havnt seen her drink since i got her, or take any of the calcium(and i have checked regularly on her at night but she doesnt seem to be out unless i leave the heatmat on a little late, even then she just sits in a corner)
> im just wondering if this is normal? its my first gecko, i think she is about 9 weeks old, and i havnt seen her shed yet so maybe she is shedding but i wanted to make sure.
> *i put some moss in her hide; her hide is half hot, half cold, and i put the moss on the colder bit. *
> ...


She should ideally have 3 separate hides - one over heatmat (warm), one cool end and one moist hide. If she does not have enough hides this will stress her and make her shy. She needs to be able to choose which one to use so that she can regulate her temperature.


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## EmzEffect (Jul 6, 2009)

no worries!!
she was just shedding, and is eating fine now 
she sometimes has a waxworm as well, so i tend not to give her so many crix because she gets really fat and i didnt think she looked comfortable.
thanks so much every one for the advice(i didnt actually realise any one had replied til now because i expected to get emails :/ sorry for the long awaited reply D8) 
shes running around now and seems very happy, so ive not changed anything dramatically. also my house is rather warm at night; i thought it would be more natural to turn off the heat mat at night? i dunno...lots of people say different things XD but she seems ok if i leave it on or off(ill leave it on anyways) 
now that she has settled in she also has been licking the calcium and drinking the water  i was just panicky that she shouldnt be doing this


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## queenquack (Apr 6, 2009)

shedding, just to repeat!!
mine wont eat at all wen he sheds. xxx


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## kirstyink (Mar 6, 2009)

weather you turn your heatmat on or off deosnt matter as long as the temps are right 75 - 80 for the cold end and 87 - 90 for the hot end. what are your temps as sleepy d said she should be eating way more and wax worms shouldnt be given all the time maybe 1 or 2 every month or so as a little treat but even that isnt nessacery as wax worms are very very fattening and not very nutritous. i would suggest keeping an eye on your temps, cutting out the wax worms and giving her more crix.

i dont wanna sound like a nag or whatever but it isnt really for you to decide if she is comfortable or not as if she gets full she will stop eating, if she doesnt stop eating after 5 crix or whatever then it means she is still hungry.

hope any of that helps haha x


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