Hello!

I recently purchased a leopard gecko that is about 4 years old (from what I am told) and I have determined that it is a female. Her owner told me that they were putting a dozen crickets in her tank every two weeks and just leaving them until they were dead or gone. They said that they fed her on 12/15, and by the time I picked her up all the crickets were gone. Since I picked her up on 12/19, she has not pooped. Now, I am assuming that she ate lots of crickets on 12/15 and hopefully pooped between the 15th when they fed her and the 19th when I got her. Not certain, though.
On 12/23 she ate one cricket (we had an extra leftover from the emporer scorpion) and ate about a dozen of the small mealworms on 12/24. She still has not pooped as of this morning. I was planning on giving her crickets again tonight (about a half dozen), since this is what she was used to eating before and hoping that it might get her back on track. I feel that feeding her every two weeks (like the old owner) is not enough, so I plan on doing weekly feedings at least...but, since this is what she had been doing for so long, is it possible that she just isn't ready to go yet?? Obviously, I want her to be OK but would like to avoid the vet if possible....anything I can try at home to get her going?
Some other info about her situation: She was living on sand before I got her, so obviously, I am paranoid about her being impacted...BUT she was living on sand for 4 years and appears quite healthy (big, fat tail, etc)....it would seem a little odd if she impacted herself after 4 years of being on sand RIGHT before I got her (she has been on paper towels since I got her). Also, in her old home the only heat she had was a heated rock...now I have a Under Tank Heater and the heated rock is gone. I do not have a thermometer w/ a probe so that I can check the floor of the tank's temp, but the air temp near the bottom goes between 76-80 depending on the time of day...I would assume that it is at least a few degrees warmer on the floor of the tank itself....could it be that this is cooler than the rock she was used to and has slowed down her digestion? She spends most of her time on the cool side of her tank, though...and I would assume that natural instinct would tell them to go on the warmer side if she wasn't able to digest or poo fast enough. The only other major change between her old life and new life with me is that they did not have a moist hide or calcium dish for her, which she has now...I can't imagine that that could be a bad thing or cause her to not poo. Aside from not going, she appears to be happy and healthy! She spends most of the day sleeping on the cool side of the tank, but she does move around here and there during the day...she does move around in the evening and at night, and that is when she has eaten...This is my first gecko, so I am not certain of exactly HOW active a gecko normally is in the evening, but from the sounds of it, the fact that I do catch her moving and doing things is a good sign. She does not seem overly stressed, and she is quite calm and friendly when I handle her (she was a classroom pet, so she is very hand tame). If she were impacted, would I see other signs of stress and discomfort?

I know that was really long, but I just wanted to give as much info about the situation as I could....let me know if any of you have tips that I can try to get things moving, or if you think she may just need to get used to her new home and life....the picture below was from the night I got her...not a great one, and it doesn't really show the plumpness of her body and tail....but from what I can tell, she seems very healthy. THANK YOU in advance for your help!!!

It sounds to me like your leo while heathy was grossly underfed I would feed it twice a week and whatever it eats in 30 min to one hour. I always maintained my Leopard Geckos on a diet of mealworms only with no ill affects. The sparce feeding schedule could be the cause of your problems. Your temps sound as if they are good, if you haven't already I would also recomend adding a moist hide. I wouldn't be too conserned with the thought of it being impacted as long as it's well hydrated you should see some improvement soon.

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I feed my gecko at least every other day...I feed her until she doesn't want anymore. She lets me know when she is full and stops eating. Leopard Geckos won't over eat that I know of...so I would feed as much as she eats.

That is one of the most irresponsible things I have ever heard. leopard geckos should be fed every day, or every other day dependng on their size. I feed mine daily.
And you should never just leave live crix in with the leo. They will bite the leo and may cause infection.
Sounds like a constipation problem if not impaction. Since you know that she is eating something there should also be something coming OUT! Forget about what the other owner was doing. It was not appropriate.
How large are the crickets? You should be feeding something about the length of the distance between the leo's eyes. I would feed one at a time. That way you can easily keep track of exactly what she is eating.
The next time you feed meal wors dip them in a little mineral oil and see if this won't loosen her up a bit.
Try setting her in a tub with about an inch of lukewarm water for 15-20 minutes. If nothing happens try GENTLY rubbing her belly. If nothing happens still I would contact a vet.
There are two kinds of impaction.
1- Chronic impaction which is where the impaction builds up over time and eventually blocks the system.
2-Acute impaction where something suddenly and all at once blocks the system

Good!
Never assume. Make SURE that you have the proper temps. Reptiles are extremely dependant on the proper temperatures to digest their food and maintain their biological functions.
Also there should be hides on both the warm and cool end of the tank.
Leopard Geckos are nocturnal. Moving around in the evening and at night is normal. The evening is when I feed mine.

Actually you have done quite well! Often we have to ask so many questions of people it is like pulling hen's teeth to get information! And the more info we have to work with the better!

She does seem to look pretty good and the tail is fuller than I would have expected from the described feeding schedule.

Good luck with her and keep us informed!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

You have been given some great advice. I was appalled to hear how seldom your leo had been fed. I know you mentioned you added a calcium dish which is great but I would also recommend dusting the crickets or mealies with calcium and/or vitamin powder. I don't think you have to do that at every feeding with an adult leo, though. Also, I don't see my leo drinking out of her water dish so I sometimes dip a cricket or two in some water before I feed it to her. This will help her stay hydrated. (I use filtered water). I highly recommend feeding her one cricket at a time as Merlin advised. I also find it helpful to keep a notebook to track the amount of food eaten, urate and poop dates, and I also track weight (my leo is around 5-6 months old and eats between 8-12 small crickets a day). I would also recommend gut loading the crickets to ensure the highest nutrition is passed on to your leo. Best wishes to you and your leo!

When I got my first leopard gecko it didnt poop for a few days, i think this was due to stress so prehaps the move is stressing he,she out.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for all your help - my little girl is now eating and 'eliminating' on a regular schedule!! The last matter to deal with is getting the leftover skin off of her toes (She did not have a moist hide w/ her last owner and they didn't know that it was a problem for the skin to stay on there) so, I am using a Q-tip to soak the bad toes with warm water...I am hoping that if I do this for several days in a row that it will come off easily. A book that I have recommended using eye lubricant (like Visine?) to help get this skin off - any one ever tried this?? I took some new pictures of her this weekend and will be posting them soon

Tamara

I wouldn't. Such chemicals are tested on safety for humans.
Leopard geckos were never part of the study.
For the skin on the toes. Take a small container with about a half inch of lukewarm water in the bottom. Put the gecko in there for 20-30 minutes and let it just stand in the water. Make sure it doesn't get too cold. Then try to use the Q tip to rub the old skin off.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Well someone needs to have a chat with Matilda about this one, cuz I tried doing it this way and she was NOT having it. She was very unhappy about standing in the water, and I know it was definitely not too hot...It wasn't very deep either (well below her head), but she panicked as soon as I placed her in the dish. She was more accepting of standing in a warm, wet washcloth...but I think I am accomplishing more by continuously dipping a q-tip in water and soaking the toes that way. If anyone has another idea, or an idea about how I can keep her calm and still in the water....we are willing to try anything!

Lefty has never liked being submerged in water. When I first adopted him, he had some trouble shedding, but would flip out if I set him in warm water. Luckily, my guy hasn't had any trouble shedding lately, but he will allow Q-tip only - so you're not alone! I would say, If Q-tips work, stick with it.

-Anna