I bought my daughter a baby leopard gecko at a local pet store on Saturday. They told me she had eaten Friday night and that they only eat about 1-2x's per week. I have since been told she should have been eating every day. I have not been able to get her to eat since I have had her. I keep her cage warm about 80 during the day and she has a under tank heating pad in the evening. I have tried crickets various sizes, the ones the pet store sold me were way too big and attacked the gecko and I had to remove them. I just ordered the smallest crickets I could from Fluker's. They arrived by fedex this afternoon. Do you think I should try small mealworms?

Also I found out after several days that she was more than likely not drinking from the water bowl the pet store sold me. My brother advised me to mist the tank walls and even her if necessary and she would like the moisture. I didn't have a mister when he gave me the advice but she did like water of off my finger. She she started drinking she has perked up and become more active but is showing absolutely no interest in the crickets.

I am afraid that she is going to die. My brother thought she was very young and her tail was too skinny.

I have attached a picture of her.

She looks very skinny, as in no fat in her tail. As babies she should be offered food daily, either small crix or small mealworms, as they get older you can offer food every other day. She is most likely stressed and will take a few days to get settled. What is her set up, what size tank, substrate, heating etc? Do you have a calcium dish and a humid hide for her. I wouldnt mist her cage, put the water bowl back in, you will not always see them drink. Have you read any caresheets? Here is a link if you havent.

Leopard Gecko Caresheet Index

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Hello,

That gecko is very malnourished. I would suggest you leave a shallow dish of mealies (the small ones) in there at all times. This way, she can eat as she sees fit. I would also suggest heading down to petco and buying some waxworms. She needs to put some weight on as she is very underweight. (New hatchlings have fatter tails than that.)

If she doesn't eat within the next 3 days, i would get her down to the vet. She will most likely have some sort of parasite if she won't take the waxies. (Try the smallest waxies out of the container first. They are high in fat, so dust them with a calcium and vitamin supplement.

The caresheet listed above covers an awful lot. If you have any questions though, feel free to post and keep us updated!

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She is in a 5 gallon aquarium (30x12 inches or so) It has a sand substrate that the man at the pet store picked out for me. He said is was a special oyster shell calcium sand???? There is an undertank heat pad that I was told to leave on all of the time. I placed her hide out over that, which looks like half of a hollowed out log. I also use a heat lamp that I leave on during the day. All of this is at one side of the tank, I was told to leave the other side cooler incase she got too hot. I do not have a calcium dish, what is that? I am stopping a pet store on the way home to get their smallest mealworms and I was also adviced to buy a nutrient spray that she will lick if misted???

As for stress, I know my daughter has been picking her up from time to time. I told her she is NOT to do that any longer. Daughter is 12 by the way.

Since I started misting her tank and even her she will lick the moisture, she doesn't seem to drink from the water dish. She has also perked up a lot since she started drinking the misted water. She now walks around her cage and explores. Prior to misting her she mostly layed around. She did show slight interest in the littlest cricket but didn't chase it.

I am getting so much conflicting advice. It seems that most of what the pet store told me was incorrect. I am not sure how old she is, I was told approx. 6-8 weeks old. Any help anyone could give me I would greatly appreciate. I will go right now and check out the link you provided. Thanks!

Never listen to the petstore. I would definitley get her off of the cali-sand,,,its horrible stuff, put her on paper towels. A calcium dish is a dish with rep-cal calcium in it left in the tank at all times. Since she is in a 5 gl, I dont know with having a heating pad and a heat lamp if it is cool enough on the other side, what are the temps at each end now?

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Is it powder? I am making a list of what I need to get at the store when I leave work.

Anything else? I will remove the sand tonight. It wasn't cheap. They really took me for alot of things. Its a shame this pet store has been around for like 25 years. I am a little mad about the amount of money I spent but more for the life of this little creature and the heartbreak my daughter is going through.

This is my first reptile. I have a hamster, rabbit and parakeet in addition to our new little gecko.

Here is a link to the rep-cal.....

Welcome To ReptileUV - Mega-Ray® UVB lamps for reptile lighting worldwide

Keep us posted.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I was reading the care sheet. I have a question about the humid hid and using a margarine tub with damp moss. Do you cut a hole in the tube and leave the lid on it or do you cut a hole in the tub and flip it upside down. I am not really clear on that.

Other than the humid hide and the sand substrate I think everything else is okay. The sand will go tonight and I will work on the moist hide. I really appreciate everyone's help.


I will pick up the calcium powder, mealworms and waxworms on the way home tonight. Have you ever heard about a spray that has nutrients? I also read somewhere that you can give the babies a little meat flavored baby food????

The pet store did sell me some kind of white powder suppliment that they said to put on the crickets before I feed them to the gecko. I am not sure exactly what it is called, as I am at work. But I am sure it was a vitamin and mineral supplement D3?? does that sound right?

Hello,

I will write the list for you.

You need a bigger tank. a 10 gallon is the smallest you can go and it will need a heat mat over to one side that doesn't cover more than 1/3 the tanks floor.

You will also need more than 1 hide. The leo needs a hide on the warm end, and the cool end. You should also add a "moist hide". We have instructions for how to make one on the site.

You need 3 dishes. A shallow dish to hold mealies, a shallow dish to hold water, and a shallow dish to hold the calcium.

I too suggest papertowels as a substrate right now. The leo is very thin and it will be easy to clean and monitor her.

I would suggest you grab a small container of waxworms when you grab the mealies. The waxies are high in fat and most picky eaters will eat them. Only offer 2 at a time, per feeding. The leo will likely eat more than its stomach can hold and will regugitate them.

I want to second that most petstores have no clue as to what they are saying. he sold you all that stuff because that is his job. If he thought you would have boiught it, he would have suggested a 55 gallon tank for the little guy as well. (Which isn't a bad thing, just expensive. lol)

You should also grab a digital thermometer with an external probe from walmart. That way you can monitor the temperatures accurately on both end of the enclosure. The radial ones at the petstore are junk.

I keep Leopard Geckos by the way and currently own 12 of the little buggers.

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