# My Leopard Gecko won't eat!!!



## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

I've only been owning leopard gecko's for a year now so I need a little help. I have a male and a female leopard gecko, they used to be housed together but since she got preganant ago they've been seperated. She was pretty skinny when I first got her but not too bad. She laid about 8 clutches of 2 eggs several months ago and after laying them would eat ravounesly but after laying the last two she stopped eating, this was about 5 or 6 months ago! She's had the occasional locust and wax worm but apart from that won't even look at food. I have taken her to the vets the try and figure out whats wrong with her. 
First the vet checked to see how alert she was, no problems there, she was bright eyed and very aware of the vet! He then checked the strength of her bones, turns out they were nice and hard, so it's nothing to do with calcium deficiency.
He then felt her stomach for any sign of impaction, I use reptile carpet, the only thing she could ingest was the vermiculite which i've now changed to sphagnum moss, but that wasn't the problem either, there was no sign of impaction.
He then did an ulta-sound to check for eggs, or follicles on the eggs (i think), but there were no eggs at the time, so that wasn't it either!
He commented on how she still had a fat tail so she's not on deaths door. He also said she wasn't dehydrated which was good.
He then medicated her for worms, aparently the medication also acts as an apetite stimulant, this seemed to work a few days after the visit to the vets, she ate some locusts and one or two waxworms, but it's been several weeks since then and she hasn't eaten since!
I'm absolutely stumped as to why she isn't eating, When i put the food infront of her she either acts like she hasn't noticed it, or looks at it then walks away!
I was feeding her critial care via syringe as the vet asked me to do but a few weeks ago he asked me to stop feeding her the critcal care.
She has laid 2 infertile eggs about 2 weeks ago and is now looking very thin and still won't eat! Since she laid the eggs she's been staying in her moist hide and hasn't come out. I check on her everyday, she's still very alert and responsive and i've now started feeding her crushed insects (the vets suggestion). I use a thermogun to check the temperature which is fine and I havn't dramatically changed anything in the tank. I'm not sure what else I can do to help her or to get her to put on weight! Any idea's?


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## CT1974 (Mar 29, 2007)

Have you tried all available livefoods?? (locust, crickets, mealworms, butterworms, calci grubs, silkworms etc etc)

You mentioned that she had eaten the odd waxworm - have you tried squeezing some of the juice from a waxworm onto a locust etc? It may make it a little more tempting for her to eat...

Some people try baby food if their leos aren't eating - this may work for you...

Just a few ideas - I hope that she's chomping away soon. :smile:


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

I've tried pretty much everything I can get my hands on! The vet even suggested giving her bugs we find around the house but she doesn't even look at them 
Someone did suggest to me crushing waxworm goo onto the locust but all it did was make a mess lol, she wasn't intersted.


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## CT1974 (Mar 29, 2007)

I don't know what else to suggest then really...the vet seems to have checked her out pretty thoroughly already...

I assume all your temps are fine?

Maybe other forum members will have other ideas for you to try.

Hopefully one day soon she'll realise that she's actually quite hungry, and start eating again. 

Good luck and keep us posted on her progress won't you? :smile:


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

Thanks for doing your best to help, The temps are correct, hopefully since theres nothing actually wrong with her she'll pick up soon, she's just getting me worried about her! Thanks again.


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

what do you use to heat the viv?

in most cases as winter approached the overall temp in the viv would have dropped... this may have caused or atleast played the leading part in her stopping eating.

if you dont mind, what are the temps in the viv and how often do you check them?

so she wont eat but does eat if offered via a syringe? [ccf or crushed insects as you said]


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

What weight is she?
Is there a chance she just can't fit any more in? Just asking because that's one I come up against regularly, where someone si worried about a gecko not eating, but they just don't have the space to eat any more food!


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

DeanThorpe said:


> what do you use to heat the viv?
> 
> in most cases as winter approached the overall temp in the viv would have dropped... this may have caused or atleast played the leading part in her stopping eating.
> 
> ...


I use a heat mat and heat lamp, the temp is usually around 30ishC at the warm end and 25C at the cool end. I check them everyother day,perhaps I should check daily.
With the syringe feeding I hold her to my body (but if she struggles I don't restrain her) and poor small amounts of the syringes contents onto the side of her mouth which she laps in.


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

Ally said:


> What weight is she?
> Is there a chance she just can't fit any more in? Just asking because that's one I come up against regularly, where someone si worried about a gecko not eating, but they just don't have the space to eat any more food!


She is currently 35g after laying the two infertile eggs which is why i'm really worried about her. I don't know, maybe her stomach shrunk and she can't eat?


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

Ah, I see!
Was worth a check...


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

ah, yeh you wana get her back up to weight for sure.
maybe focus on having what she does eat being as nutritious and fatty as possible... maybe waxworms dusted in calcium? and next feed waxies coated in multivits for instance.


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

DeanThorpe said:


> ah, yeh you wana get her back up to weight for sure.
> maybe focus on having what she does eat being as nutritious and fatty as possible... maybe waxworms dusted in calcium? and next feed waxies coated in multivits for instance.


I've been doing that but when I show her the wax worm she closes her eyes or walks away, she's such a frustrating gecko lol. I'll keep trying, sometimes she does have her days when she decides she likes food after all, just got to hope she start having these kind of days more often.


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## Kimmy173 (Aug 2, 2007)

Do you handle her often and is she active in her viv? I've recently had this experience with one of mine. She's always been laid back and when handling she just sits on my lap or shoulder and that's all. She stopped eating for no reason. I thought she was gravid from retained sperm but turns out no, I tried everything, baths incase she was constipated, different foods, different feeding areas (in and out the viv) etc and she just wouldn't eat. 

It was suggested to me by a friend who doesn't keep or know anything about reps to make her move. If she's not moving her motabolism isn't that high and since she had a nice fat tail she didn't need to eat that often. When handling I put things on my bed like books or clothes etc for her to explore and whenever she stopped in one place for a while I'd give her back legs a light tap and she'd keep moving. After a day of this she was eating two hoppers! with no encouragemet from me. I just put them in and boom.. gone. So now, a day before feeding I make sure our handling sessions make her move around and become active, she's now more active inside her viv as well. This could be something to consider. Try making her more active to encourage her hunger.


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

No I haven't been handling her much, I thought it might be stressful for her since she's not eating, I only really take her out to give her the occasional bath and to give her some food with the syringe. She was active but since she laid those eggs a few weeks ago she's not really been that active atall.
thanks for the info, i'll try that!


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

Kimmy thats an idea id not thought of......! sounds good.
Cat001 - how often do you syringe feed and offer live food??

With my fasting gecko I tried all sorts, but I was advised (too late) to offer nothing for a few days, and offer some for a day or two, then dont offer for another 2 days etc. If food is kept being put in front of them when they are off there food they can sort of 'turn off' to it, it just doesn't stimulate them.

Maybe combining this with kimmys idea may work?? 

Another method i heard of is to syringe feed for several days, a couple of times a day, so the gecko gets used to feeling full. Then stop feeding, and offer live food two days after, hopefullly your gecko will feel hungry and take the bait!

Personally id leave syringe/force feeding as a last resort, unless the gecko will lick it off its nose...... far too stressful.

Good luck!


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

I've been offering food everyother day, the same with syringe feeding. I try my best not to stress her whilst syringe feeding her, usually she lets me hold her and poor small amounts of the syringes contents onto the side of her face which she willingy laps up. If she's unconfortable with me holding her i'll let her move where she wants then try again when she's settled.

These are very good idea's, i'll try them and see how things turn out.


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

id really like to hear how you get on with her, especially if you find a method that works! Hope you get her eating soon!

oh yeah, two other things i heard that worked.... hydrolife - you can buy it off livefoods its just drops you can give with electrolytes, and avipro in the water, from same place. Supposed to stimulate the appetite and get things going again, has good reviews...


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

Oh ok, I'll have a look at that, thanks!


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## suez (Jul 8, 2007)

there is a thing called seasonal anorexia (It is important to keep in mind that anorexia is not actually a disease itself in leopard geckos but it is a symptom of a potentially serious problem or it may be just be part of a natural seasonal slowdown that many leopard geckos go through yearly. ) hopefully this is all it is and i think you have done your best up to know good luck


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## murphy27 (Aug 9, 2007)

Kimmy173 said:


> Do you handle her often and is she active in her viv? I've recently had this experience with one of mine. She's always been laid back and when handling she just sits on my lap or shoulder and that's all. She stopped eating for no reason. I thought she was gravid from retained sperm but turns out no, I tried everything, baths incase she was constipated, different foods, different feeding areas (in and out the viv) etc and she just wouldn't eat.
> 
> It was suggested to me by a friend who doesn't keep or know anything about reps to make her move. If she's not moving her motabolism isn't that high and since she had a nice fat tail she didn't need to eat that often. When handling I put things on my bed like books or clothes etc for her to explore and whenever she stopped in one place for a while I'd give her back legs a light tap and she'd keep moving. After a day of this she was eating two hoppers! with no encouragemet from me. I just put them in and boom.. gone. So now, a day before feeding I make sure our handling sessions make her move around and become active, she's now more active inside her viv as well. This could be something to consider. Try making her more active to encourage her hunger.


 
kimmy - this is exactly the same situation that i was in and i also made my leo exercise more!!! and it worked for my leo - she started eating more after 2 days! :no1:


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

Things are already starting to look up, I took her out for some exercise last night and already she's more active. I saw her walking around her tank this morning, she hasn't eaten anything yet but it's still early days. I might try her with baby food and see how she gets on with it. I've ordered the Avipro so thats on it's way too!


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## CT1974 (Mar 29, 2007)

Sounds like you are doing everything you can, so lets hope she starts eating soon! Good luck and keep us posted! We like to hear happy stories on here! : victory:


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

just worth a mention, a lot of our leos will take bits of rasperyy quite hapilly so if you have any of those..


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

DeanThorpe said:


> just worth a mention, a lot of our leos will take bits of rasperyy quite hapilly so if you have any of those..


OK i'll try that, I know exactly where I can get some good quality fruit.


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi, where possible i personally would keep food as 'normal' as possible. You really just need the feeding instinct to kick back in... maybe a drop on her nose now and then or a dish on the floor, but as long as shes not too thin and food isnt that urgent don't try too much. Can be easy to try too hard...!


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

I got a lot of ideas from people... do a search for 'anorexic leopard gecko' on this forum. Youll see the story of my little guy. don't want it to worry you but there was some stuff i found helpful.


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

RedGex said:


> I got a lot of ideas from people... do a search for 'anorexic leopard gecko' on this forum. Youll see the story of my little guy. don't want it to worry you but there was some stuff i found helpful.


I found the forum, I'll bear all of that in mind, thanks!

I've tried her with the baby food and she doesn't like it. She has been out a lot more and basking on her rock instead of staying in her moist hide like she's been doing for the last week. Although she's still fairly active she's starting to look a little lethargic and her tail is starting to look thin so I might increase her feeding for this week then leave her for a couple of days.


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

heres an update on her progress...Since i've started taking her out for exercise she has definatly started moving around more! 

She still hasn't accepted live food yet but the Avipro arrived today so I mixed some up and tried a small bit with her. She immediatly started shaking her head with her mouth wide oped trying to get the taste out! She was very lively which is always a good sign. To help her get the taste out her mouth I mushed up some insects including some wax worms, watered the mush down a little so I could fill the syringe to 5ml and fed it to her, she was much more willing to accept this. She lapped it all up willingly and didn't struggle to break free from me. I even added a little bit of the Avipro with the bugs to make sure she takes in atleast a little bit of it, seems like the taste of the bugs masked the taste of the Avipro. 

I discovered a small poo in her tank today, not sure how significant it is but I assume if she's producing stools then she must be digesting the stuff i'm giving her. The stool wasn't a normal one though, it was almost putty like, a bit like jelly...yuck, I can't believe i'm describing poo! 
I'm not sure what this means though, I'm hoping it's just because of her liquid diet.


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## Ryegeckoman123 (Feb 24, 2008)

she could be pregant. Try force feeding I had to do that to my stud a while back. It's kind of mean but it can help it feed. I think you should think about asking the breeder what he/she feed or the pet store you got it from. I would try force feeding...


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

Ryegeckoman123 said:


> she could be pregant. Try force feeding I had to do that to my stud a while back. It's kind of mean but it can help it feed. I think you should think about asking the breeder what he/she feed or the pet store you got it from. I would try force feeding...


The only thing with force feeding is it's very stressful and in her current condition i'd be afraid that it would be too much for her but i'll consider it if the Avipro and hydrolife doesn't help to encourage her to eat.


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## Ryegeckoman123 (Feb 24, 2008)

I know cats I was just trying to give you a option I wouldn't do it because it difficult to do my dad was pretty good at it for some reason. He has done it before with his snakes and turtles when he was a little kid, I think. I wouldn't do it without ever doing it. If you have friends or something that know about leos try and ask them to teach you some basics in doing it.


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## BlackRose (Jul 8, 2007)

how is she? mine is in the situation atm


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## cat001 (Mar 4, 2008)

BlackRose said:


> how is she? mine is in the situation atm


She passed away in her sleep! 
The vet couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, considering how thin she was when I got her i'm guessing this isn't the first time she refused food. Maybe it was a genetic problem? no idea at all why she stopped eating and passed away! :'(


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## mike_marsh_101 (Aug 31, 2009)

I have a male african fat tail and a female chocolate albino, I've noticed that they havn't really eaten much in the past 3 weeks. They have both shed in this time (eaten their skin as well) but there is poop in the tank, also their weight hasn't been effected.
Any ideas?


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Hi Mike, it took me a while to realize you have tagged on to an old thread. For us to be able to try to help YOU we will need a bit more info. Is your chocolate albino a leopard gecko or AFT (sorry I don't know all the AFT morphs so that might or might not be a stupid question). How old are they? how long have you had them? are they housed together? what are the temperatures in the viv or vivs? Are they losing weight?


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## mike_marsh_101 (Aug 31, 2009)

jools said:


> Hi Mike, it took me a while to realize you have tagged on to an old thread. For us to be able to try to help YOU we will need a bit more info. Is your chocolate albino a leopard gecko or AFT (sorry I don't know all the AFT morphs so that might or might not be a stupid question). How old are they? how long have you had them? are they housed together? what are the temperatures in the viv or vivs? Are they losing weight?


I didn't realise that I had, chocolate albino is a leopard gecko, the female is about 14months and male is about the same. I've had the female since september and male I got about a month ago, they are housed together.
The temp is what it should be about 88C, I have weighed them and they don't appear to have lost any weight, although females tail is a bit thinner.


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## 53bird (Sep 30, 2009)

african fat tails should not be kept with leopard geckos :gasp: im sure jools will tell you everything you will need to know : victory:


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## mike_marsh_101 (Aug 31, 2009)

53bird said:


> african fat tails should not be kept with leopard geckos :gasp: im sure jools will tell you everything you will need to know : victory:



there are lots of people that house them together though, pet shop said it shouldnt be a problem


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Firstly African Fat Tails and Leopard geckos should NEVER be housed together. Although they need similar temperatures their humidity requirements are very different - AFTs need things much more humid. I would recommend that you split them into separate vivs ASAP. 
They may also be going through a winter slowing down phase called brumation. There is a sticky about this on this section. Someone you may want to pm is SleepyD - she keeps both AFTs and Leos and is an expert on both. I will try to find those links now. http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/69162-brumation-who-what-why-when.html 
http://sleepydeegeckos.webs.com/

You might also want to get faecal checks done for parasites.


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## mike_marsh_101 (Aug 31, 2009)

thank you so much for your help


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## mike_marsh_101 (Aug 31, 2009)

Tthere isn't actually any reptile vets near to where I live, so how else can I do a fecal check?


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

mike_marsh_101 said:


> there are lots of people that house them together though, pet shop said it shouldnt be a problem


as has already been said leopard geckos and fat-tails should not be housed together as they need different humidity levels and have to a certain extent different requirements .... if you must keep leos and fatties then I seriously recommend that you keep them in seperate vivs.



mike_marsh_101 said:


> Tthere isn't actually any reptile vets near to where I live, so how else can I do a fecal check?


 there are two lists of herp vets to be found on the forum which cover most areas of the UK ~
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/372947-uk-reptile-herp-vets-area.html
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/3730-good-herp-vets-near.html
Feacal checks can also be done by contacting PAL's who provide an excellent and relatively cheap feacal testing service ~ further details on them can be found on the following links ~
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/306068-cheap-efficient-faecal-testing.html
Pinmoore Animal Laboratory Services Limited


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