Hi, I have recently purchased a leopard gecko, 1st reptile since my iguana died about 9 years ago). It has been about 36 hours and it has not eaten. The pet store where I purchased it told me they feed them mealworms while there. I was curious if it is normal for a young gecko to go without eating that long. I mean, it is not aggressive. I can reach in and pick him up and he is not nervous or scared about it. He just don't seem to be eating.

Troy

Hi, Troy. I think he just needs to get settled in. I'd recommend leaving him alone and not trying to handle him for a week or so. He may just be too freaked out by his big change in living arrangements to eat. Have you read the great caresheet on this site?

Leopard Gecko Caresheet (Eublepharis macularius) - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

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Amy

Congrats on the new friend! and welcome to the neighborhood! Like Amy said, he probably just needs to get settled. Give him some time without handling him and only go into the tank to change the water and clean up.

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Congrats on the newbie and just give some time

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MARSHA

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

thanks I will follow that and I checked out the caresheet. any other suggestions as to what to try feeding him if he wont eat or how to coax him to eat.

You have been given great advice! I am sure he will settle down and eat...I do know that if he still isn't eating after a while, sometimes people have to entice them into eating a little. For example, I will put a cricket in Matilda's cage and kinda coax it into hopping by her face and that usually catches her attention and she eats. Or, if you have to, hold the cricket in a pair of tweezers or tongs...it will probably wiggle around like crazy, and if you hold it in front of their face it should trigger a response. With meal worms I have read to make sure they are warmed up before you feed them - that way they are nice and wiggly and will help get his attention. We would love to see pictures Good luck!

When it's lights out for them is when they'll do most of their eating. I reccomend you just wait. It took my oldest when I first got him about two days to actively hunt down some crickets.

For fun, try wiggling your finger near them, see if they like live challenging prey. Geckos almost always have different tastes when it comes to prey. My girl absolutely loves it, and it will catch her attention from just about anywhere in the cage. The male could care less of course :]

When I first got my skink he was the same way, now, he knows when foods coming, and five minutes after i've dumped them into his tank there all gone. Give him time, some space, and make sure his tank is hitting the right temps and so on.

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