I am a brand new owner of a baby leopard gecko. I purchased him/her from a reputable pet store. He was in the process of shedding his skin when I got him and there is still quite a bit of skin left on his head. It looks like it might be off in a couple days. I am worried because I am pretty sure he has not eaten any of the crickets I have given him. I want him to be healthy and have done everything to fix his cage up for him. Do you think he's not eating because of the shedding skin?? Any advice you could give me would be great!! Thanks.
Leopard geckos are super sensitive to change. The change from your pet store to your house and the stress of shedding is keeping him from eating. He may not eat up to 5 days after getting him. If it lasts longer then a week, then I'd be worried about his health and take him to a vet.
He should finish shedding fine by himself, but if you'd like you can mist/spray some water on him to help the skin come off.
Leave the skin in with him though because they eat it as a nutrition source.
Thanks guys. I guess I am just a little nervous because I have never had a reptile before. I have been counting the crickets and it's been three days now that he has not eaten but I will take your advice and just wait... How much do you think I can hold him right now? Or should I back off and not touch him at all?
Best leave him be for a while with as minimal contact as possible. Reptiles in general are sensitive to change and it probably didn't help that he was moved and rehomed during his shed (which is a period when they are a little stressed in general and tempermental).
Keep the humidity high, this will help him shed. Like Angeleeta said, you can spray him or mist him. Another thing I found to help raise the humidity in the tank is to get a paper towel, get it wet and put it in the tank near the heat pad or somewhat under the heat lamp. This will cause the water to evaporate a little and a glass tank will trap it so it gets some moisture in there.
Also, keep in mind that lizards are pretty tough. They can go months with very minimal food intake. I wouldn't really start to worry until 2 or 3 weeks without eating.
I'm assuming you have all the equitment? Heating and lighting can also affect a reptiles eating habits. It has to be the right temperature for digestion, otherwise they don't eat. A UVB lamp is also a necessity, it should be left on 6 to 8 hours a day.
I have a Chuckwalla lizard, and I recently had the same problem (only with veggies). Lizards are a lot like people. If they're shedding or have a cold (my lizard's case) they become very picky eaters. Try feeding him/her Gecko treats or something. Or, if you're really rambuncious, you can try to build up his appatite by playing with him on stairs, or somewere else (just make sure he can't hurt himself or herself). Hope it helps!
By the way, if you want to hold him, just pick him up and see if he freaks out. If he does, just hold him for a few minutes and put him back. Also try to touch his stuff a lot. The more his stuff smells like you, the more he realizes you're not here to hurt him.
Can you help me? I have two leopard geckos and they won`t eat .One of them has bits pf shedded skin around his legs and he can`t walk right. i tried helping him take the skin off but it did not work. I also tried to mist the tank to make it more humid. What should i do now?
Well, I also just got a couple of tiny baby leopard geckos, and both of them are pretty lethargic. I've seen one of them eat, but he's very skinny with no fat on his tail and hip bones sticking out. I've been looking all over the internet for help with this problem, and haven't found much. I would like to add my two cents to the topic as well. I think that handling them when they're this tiny can be both good and bad. They get to know you aren't necessarily here to eat them, but it also causes them a certain amount of stress. It's a good idea to keep them in a relatively small space, so their food doesn't get too far away. I'm just as stumped as you are, though.
HELLLPPP. i had two leopard geckos, almost full grown, one died so i bought a new baby. it hasnt been eating at all and its parts of his belly are dark colored, and he incredibly skinny. i tried to open his mouth and put a cricket in there but he coughed it up and i think he might diee. WHAT DO I DO?
I also have 3 baby leos. Had 4 but 1 died last week. It just stopped eating. I tried the Fluker's emergency supplement but it kept throwing it back up until it just succumbed to whatever caused it to stop eating. Now another is doing the same. Its tail is very skinny and you can see his spine protruding. I took it to my local pet store yesterday. The girl was able to hand feed it 2 waxworms and it kept them down and actually had a normal bowel movement - a positive sign. I was told to stay away from crickets as they carry much bacteria and possibly parasites. Also mealworms are difficult for a weakend leo to digest since they have a hard shell body. I was told to dust the waxworms with calcium and vitamin powders and pry the leo's mouth open to get the worm inside him, but to limit him to 1 worm 2x a day as to not overfeed it. She also recommended letting it soak in a bath of room temp Pedialyte, unflavored, for about 10 mins. The leos will absorb the fluid & electrolytes through their skin which will help keep it hydrated. So far so good. I "force" fed him againt this morning and he kept it down. Hopefully in a couple of days he will have enough energy to eat on his own. Wish me luck! Also, to keep the other 2 from getting "sick" I put the unhealthy leo in a plastic tupperware container inside the existing tank, with his own water supply and paper towels in the bottom of the container for easy cleaning. This way he is still well heated but not on contact with the other 2 leos. I noticed when 1 became unhealthy, the others stayed in their caves and did not eat until the unhealthy one was not longer in the tank. I guess they can sense the danger.
Good luck with your babies. I hope you can get them back on the road to good health!
Well, the "force" feeding didn't work. 15 hours after I gave my little leo his waxworm, he regurgitated it in whole. Completely undigested. I guess he's just too weak. It doesn't appear he has much longer. His belly is black, almost bruise like. I was told this could be internal bleeding from a parasite. That would make 2 that have died in less than a month in the same manner. Now I am concerned the remaining 2 may suffer the same fate.
These leos belong to my 9 year old son. He was devastated last week and cried for 2 days when the 1st baby died. Now he is going to go through it again. This is heartbreaking. He wants me to replace them but I am not so sure it is healthy for him to go through this again. I'm torn. I want him to be happy. I want the leos to be happy and healthy.
a vet would have been a great idea...there ARE reptile vets in existence. If you don't have proper vet care in your area i would avoid buying the animals that require that care.
Most of these cases sounded like impaction something a vet would have to fix.
