# leopard gecko addicted to wax worms



## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

as some of you may know we have a leopard gecko called Flick who hasnt eaten properly in 7 weeks!!!! She has eaten two wax worms and 1 mario worm over this time but wont touch anything else, we have tried her on meal worms, mario worms, crickets, Locusts and Phoenix worms and still nothing!

We have been trying to force feed her mealies and phoenix worms this morning but she keeps spitting them out. We have even tried cutting up wax worms and dipping meal worms in the guts to try and make them smell like it but still nothing.

About ten minutes ago we decided to give her a third wax worm just to make sure that she still could eat, she saw this and gobbled it up quickly, we tried quickly putting phoenix worms in front of her incase she would think they were another wax worm but nothing.

Any ideas how we can get her to eat something properly? as she has obviously has become addicted!!!!

we have phoned up our vets and are waiting for a call back to see what he says.

Its stupid as its basically due to giving her one on Christmas day as a treat, we never usually give her them due to having a treat a frog that is addicted to them!

We have heard that getting them to walk about a lot will help it as it increases their metabolism.

we do have critical care forumula at home and other supplements. 

Any help would be great, thanks!


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## Misswhippy (Jan 15, 2009)

Wow! I didn't realise they could become addicted to them so quickly to be honest


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

Yeah I know, we barely ever give ours any wax worms and like I said it was Christmas day that she had one and it must have been since then!!!! Mad!


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## TEENY (Jan 4, 2008)

She might just be wound down a bit coz of the cold weather. Mine are a bit finnicky with thier eating at the mo but it is starting to pick up a bit now. As long as tail is nice and plump and she is still drinking, pooping etc try not to worry too much. Vet will know more tho


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## LauraN (Jan 10, 2008)

I never give my leos wax worms due to the fact they can easily become addicted to them which can then turn into a nightmare :bash:

Try feeding her some chicken baby food or other meat based baby food. Just blob some on her nose like you would a crestie so she licks it off.

Atleast this way you'll know she's getting a little something to eat and it might start her on the road to eating crickets/ locust again.

I used this technique with my male leo when he broke his leg and stopped eating. Worked a treat and he's now nice and plump and healthy.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

ok thanks, her tail has lost a lot of weight and her fat pockets have now gone from under her arms, so I really cant decide if it is an addiction or if she is ill.​


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## Misswhippy (Jan 15, 2009)

Definately best to get her checked out bless her.I guess it's possible that it may be illness and that she just fancied eating something at that particular time?

Let us know though,I would be interested to hear if it's possible to become addicted to waxies after one!I suppose they can be as fussy as some humans though (my girly is incredibly fussy and odd in her eating habits!) so you never know


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Personally I think this addiction thing is a crock of shite. I give all my lizards the occasional waxie and not one of them has become 'addicted'. My GF does the same and she has 25 odd Leos, and not one of them has become 'addicted' either.

As mentiones it could just be winter turn down period, maybe your setups arent perfect, or even a little cool in this weather, this will slow them down considerably. A gecko wont starve itself to death unless there is an underlying problem, so just cut the waxies out, check your setups and temps and strategies and go from there


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

If you have been following the other threads I have made, everyone else has said my temps and setups are fine. 90degrees and they are kept on kitchen roll. I am aware that the weather is changing and she isnt fed waxies on a regular basis so it isnt the case where they need cutting out. 

She is starving herself other than eating a wax worm every three weeks when we let her have one, so surely that would be classed as an addiction.


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Amyboo said:


> If you have been following the other threads I have made, everyone else has said my temps and setups are fine. 90degrees and they are kept on kitchen roll. I am aware that the weather is changing and she isnt fed waxies on a regular basis so it isnt the case where they need cutting out.
> 
> She is starving herself other than eating a wax worm every three weeks when we let her have one, so surely that would be classed as an addiction.


By humanising it you can call it addiction. Have you looked at RFUK lately? Its impossible to know that there are other threads connected to this one.

Feeding it purely on waxies will kill it anyway eventually, so you need to work it all out whats the best course of action. Carrying on with waxies is not the answer. How much weight has it lost since being like this?


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

I know it will kill her, we have a fire belly toad who has MBD due to only being fed wax worms which we have to syringe feed every night. I dont want her to turn out like this.

over the 7 weeks she has lost 7 grams.


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## Misswhippy (Jan 15, 2009)

Amyboo said:


> If you have been following the other threads I have made, everyone else has said my temps and setups are fine. 90degrees and they are kept on kitchen roll. I am aware that the weather is changing and she isnt fed waxies on a regular basis so it isnt the case where they need cutting out.
> 
> She is starving herself other than eating a wax worm every three weeks when we let her have one, so surely that would be classed as an addiction.


Personally,I'd only class it as an addiction if she was eating them regularly and only them.Being one every 3 weeks could be more coincidence than anything hun so get her checked out at the vets.

I think addiction to waxies is possible but I would think that they would have to have had themmore regulalarly for that to be the case


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Amyboo said:


> I know it will kill her, we have a fire belly toad who has MBD due to only being fed wax worms which we have to syringe feed every night. I dont want her to turn out like this.
> 
> over the 7 weeks she has lost 7 grams.


Whats her total weight before and after? For a 70g gecko to lost that would not be as bad as say a 20g


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

she used to weigh 69g, but that was at the beginning of the 7 weeks, that was when we started weighing them all, she has lost a lot of weight in her tail and her fat pockets are gone.


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## Lil_Elphie (Jan 25, 2009)

Aww Amy i hope Flick starts eating properly soon! Let me know what the vet says!


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Definately a toughie. Have you had her checked at the vet and fecal samples done? As Misswhippy says above, it could purely be a coincidence RE: eating the waxies.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

no shes not been to a vet, with her not eating properly she is only pooping when she has actually eaten something, so getting a sample done wont be that easy. Im still waiting for our vets to phone us back.


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Ah, bit of a catch 22 situation. Well in order to get a poop sample it would be worth giving it a few waxies in order to get some poops. Then the vet can get the samples analysed


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

yeah I think I will get him to do some blood tests too, just to see what she is lacking and it might tell us more.


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## Nic B-C (Dec 4, 2008)

Temp changes from weather itsbeen mad remember very cold and then mild like today this will always upset te applecart in nature


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

any more ideas of what might help?


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

I think if you ask around you will find most people who have collections of leos have some who at the moment are 'off their food'. I have a 6 month old Eclipse doing exactly the same as yours. She wont eat anything other than waxies. After trying all the other alternative foods I have given her a waxie or two each week (after 2 weeks fasting)just to check she is able to eat and process food. She has lost 3 gms in the last 3 weeks, off her food for 5 weeks. However she is active, appears healthy and has produced small but normal poops. I dont think its addiction to waxies, just a temporary loss of interest in food. I have another leo who has done the same thing and this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find her mealie dish empty.

I am attributing it to the weather, the changing amount of natural daylight, the start of the breeding season and her hormones starting to kick in. I have 25 leos and a good number of them have reduced appetites. I have spoken with three other breeders over the last few days, all of whom are experiencing the same thing. 

I wouldnt worry about it being a waxie addiction. Obviously if your very concened about the weight loss a vet trip may reassure you and a faecal test will certainly be worthwhile. However assist or force feeding may just serve to stress her out and be counter productive towards her eating normally.

Personally, if she looks well, appears active, can produce normal stool after a couple of waxies, I would hold out just a bit longer. Keep offering her food and hopefully she will surprise you with an empty food dish one morning soon.


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## reptilemorphz (Dec 31, 2008)

you could try a freshly shed superworm beacuse they are white and they may resemble a waxworm this is all i can think after you exclude the comments others have left


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

Mal said:


> Personally, if she looks well, appears active, can produce normal stool after a couple of waxies, I would hold out just a bit longer. Keep offering her food and hopefully she will surprise you with an empty food dish one morning soon.


thanks for the reply, she still hasnt tried anything yet but she is near to shedding so will give her some more time.


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## yingyang_gal (May 20, 2008)

*No More Waxowrms*

To start with STOP feeding her waworms altogether!!! You want to give her regular doses of repti boost and make sure theres always a dish of mealworms in the viv.

She should after time start feeding normally again, however it wont usually be untill after shes starved herself 1st so much that she'll start eating the mealworms again then other food items as normal.


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

Amyboo said:


> thanks for the reply, she still hasnt tried anything yet but she is near to shedding so will give her some more time.


 Your very welcome. I know what its like, you worry like crazy about your leo because you love and care for them. Please keep us posted as to how things go. Hopefully you will be posting soon to say your leo is munching away again. Obviously if things dont improve you may have to consider further interventions.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

Yeah I will do, fingers crossed


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

shes still not eaten anything, Iv not tried her on any wax worms, as I dont want to make it worse, she just has no interest in anything else. She has done two poops though this week.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

Amyboo said:


> shes still not eaten anything, Iv not tried her on any wax worms, as I dont want to make it worse, she just has no interest in anything else. She has done two poops though this week.


if she's done two poos this week but hasn't eaten any waxxies then she must be eating something


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

Amyboo said:


> shes still not eaten anything, Iv not tried her on any wax worms, as I dont want to make it worse, she just has no interest in anything else. She has done two poops though this week.


If she has done two poops this week, if they appeared normal, she must have eaten something. Is there any chance food was hidden in the viv, an escapee and unnoticed cricket for instance ? Has she dropped any more weight ? If she is passing normal poops it shows her gut is working and she will probably start eating properly soon. One of mine that did the same thing, off her food for weeks, is now eating mealies like they are going out of fashion. It may be worth trying a few different food items again. Medium locusts with the jumping legs removed are often irresistable to even the fussiest of eaters. Reptiboost or hydrolife drops may also hep to get her started. I hope she starts eating properly for you soon. It does make you worry when they dont eat. Can you get some of the poop checked by your vets just to be on the safe side ?


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

SleepyD said:


> if she's done two poos this week but hasn't eaten any waxxies then she must be eating something


 Hi Sleepy, not spoken to you in ages as Ive not been ol much lately. My post must have hit about same time as yours. Im glad someone else feels the same that this leo must have eaten something. Im sure leos do this deliberately sometimes just to play games with us. They love to drive us nutsssssss.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

Mal said:


> Hi Sleepy, not spoken to you in ages as Ive not been ol much lately. My post must have hit about same time as yours. Im glad someone else feels the same that this leo must have eaten something.


hiya back  
*nods* no poo if not eating



> Im sure leos do this deliberately sometimes just to play games with us. They love to drive us nutsssssss.


lol true ~ like kids they give us grey hair, wrinkles and empty the wallet :lol2:


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

yeah I did think that the fact there are two small poos in there then she must have eaten something but one of them must have been the last wax worm I fed her about a week ago. The other thing we were thinking, she has shed this week, could the second poo be made up of this??? they are only small.


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

Amyboo said:


> yeah I did think that the fact there are two small poos in there then she must have eaten something but one of them must have been the last wax worm I fed her about a week ago. The other thing we were thinking, she has shed this week, could the second poo be made up of this??? they are only small.


 wouldn't have personally thought the poo had anything to do with a waxie given over a week before .... did you keep either of the poops for the vet to check?


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

It could possible be a shedding poop, however they tend to look different to normal poops,often they are grey. It might be worth persevering with tempting food items other than the waxies. The fact you are getting poops and her abilty to eat waxies shows her gut is functioning. No matter how much she loves waxies, she wont starve herself just to get them. If the weight loss isnt drastic it may just be a case of waiting till she is ready to eat. Hopefully it wont be much longer. As I have said before, many keepers are experiencing similar behaviour in some of their leos, mine included. The days are getting longer and warmer so hopefully the misbehaving leos will shrug of their winter blues and start eating like little piggies.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

yeah the poops are still in there. We just keep trying her on everything each night and morning. hopefully she will begin to eat again soon. I weighed her tonight in the past 8 weeks she has lost 8grams.


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

Amyboo said:


> yeah the poops are still in there. We just keep trying her on everything each night and morning. hopefully she will begin to eat again soon. I weighed her tonight in the past 8 weeks she has lost 8grams.


Did I read somewhere that your leo weighed 70 gms prior to her going off her food. If so this weight loss isnt too drastic. Obviously that amount of loss on a 20gm leo would be very worrying. If your Leo had some underlying illness or paraste loading etc I would have thought the loss would be much greater. Keep trying and hopefully things will work out. If you can get some hydro life drops they might give her appetite a boost. They are simple to administer, just a single drop on the tip of her snout each evening. I have used it this way with good results. Obviously if you are still concerned a visit to a herp vet may alleviate your worries. However you need to consider whether this would stress your leo unnecessarily which could inturn delay her return to eating.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

took a photo of her a few nights ago, just wanted to see if people thought she still looked to be a good weight.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

anyone?


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

She looks fine, nice thick tail and she doesnt look underweight. Keep tempting her with tasty morsals other than waxies and she will eat when shes ready. Have you rechecked your temps etc ?


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

at the hot end she is on 91degrees, yeah I will keep trying, she has got in to a habbit of scratching the glass in the early hours of the night as if to come out, we always open the doors, try her on some food and get her out but still nothing. Its very odd lol.


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## Amyboo (Nov 11, 2007)

Shes still not eaten anything and no poops since the last time I posted.

Iv bought some butter worms which all being well will be arriving tomorrow, how many should I feed her? thought I would get her some to try. 

Weighed her again last night, her original weight was 69g now she weighs 59g so seeing as though she hasnt really eaten anything in ten weeks, a gram a week doesnt seem so bad, I think she is just being very stubborn, as she is active if we get her out and seems her normal self other than not eating.


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