Hi everyone! First post here, so i'll quickly introduce myself. My name is Jade and I'm from the Isle of Man. After doing my research I finally took the plunge and purchased 2 leopard geckos.

As I know its important, here's the details of my set up - Im using a heat mat underneath and a infrared heat lamp over the tank. On the warm end the temp is 85-90 and on the cool side about 78. I'm using paper towels as the substrate as I read about the problems of impaction. They have a moist hide away in the cool side of the tank. There is also a peice of wood for them to hide under/bask on and a tube for them to hide in if they wish.

The problem im having is with them eating. When I purchased them both ate crickets on the first day of getting them home which seemed really promising. However, after that one of them just didnt seem to be eating. Her tail and legs went really thin. I managed to get her to eat a couple of waxworms, although one of them seemed to have been vomited up in the morning. I was really worried about her so took her back to the pet store as they agreed to take her home and get her eating.

They exchanged her for a much fatter gecko. This gecko seems to be doing fine and has a lovely fat tail, although I dont really see her eating. However now my other gecko who seemed to be doing fine (had a fat tail) has now gone skinny and I haven't seen her eating for a while. She did just shed yesterday and ate the skin, but hasnt eaten anything after this. She seems to be pretty lethargic and stays in the tube with her eyes closed most the time. She doesnt seem interested at all when an insect passes in front of her which worries me. I'm feeding very small crickets, some tiny locusts and I have a bowl of small mealworms always in the tank. These are all dusted with leopard gecko dust by t-rex and gutloaded before feeding.

On the positive side I have heard from the pet shop who said the gecko I returned is feeding now. This makes me worry that i'm doing something wrong. Any suggestions on how to get them feeding or where I might be going wrong?

Thanks for your time, I really do appreciate it

Welcome to Herp Center.

How are you measuring the temperatures in the tank? How large is the tank? Where in the enclosure are the geckos hanging out?

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Hi and welcome, this is a very informative place! I don't have a whole lot of experience my self but did think of one thing. Do you have them both in the same enclosure? Could there possibly be an issue with one dominating the other and getting all of the food? Even though you don't see them fighting it is possible. Good luck with them!

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Alex Hitch Hitchens: "Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."

Welcome to the neighborhood. Good luck with your new critters. Listen to Rich, he knows Leopard Geckos....

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The cool end of the tank is measured with a 'stick on' thermometer. We have a thermostat attatched to the heat lamp on the warm end.

They are kept together in the same tank. I did have worries about keeping 2 together but the shop keeper assured me that 2 females would be fine. I haven't seen any violence or displaying towards each other, but as you said, that doesn't mean that much.

The thinner gecko tends to stay either in the tube (which is pretty much central in the tank) or in the moist box. The other guy spends a little time basking under the lamp and the rest of the time in the moist box also.

The tank is 50cm long, 20cm wide and 30cm high. Its a underworld perfecto tank. This is meant to be a temporary home until the little geckos get bigger. I was told by the pet shop owner that the small geckos can get 'spooked' by a large vivarium, so it was best to start off small and when they get bigger to move them into a larger home.

Many thanks for your prompt replies

It may be time to separate them, lizards aren't really social, even though Leopard Geckos are said to be one of the better types to co habitate. If you get them two different set ups and the skinny gecko starts eating and regaining weight then you know thats what the problem was.

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In what sort of time frame is this weight loss occurring?
If its very rapid, it could be an internal parasite issue. You will need to have a fecal sample tested by a vet to rule that out. Any vet can float a sample and tell you whats in it.
If you are talking about the little round dial types they are notoriously inaccurate, often being 10-15 degrees off.
If you are referring to the stick on tapes, they are even worse as they measure the temperature of the glass itself as opposed to measuring the temperature in the enclosure.
Get yourself a good digital thermometer.

Some shop owners will tell you anything to make a sale! You can't always trust their "advice".
You are correct. Just because you aren't seeing it doesn't mean that one gecko isn't keeping the other gecko stressed out.
Sounds like there could be some dominance issues going on. However the fact that two different lizards from the same source have exhibited this behavior tends to make me think that it may indeed be a parasite problem.
How big are these geckos?
That tank measures in inches at 19.69 x 7.84 x 11.81. This is too small for a single gecko much less 2.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks very much for your response.

The weight loss has occurred over a week since we introduced the new gecko, which does make me think this is a problem with 'bullying'. What did make me think it could be something else is that the people in the pet shop kept the returned gecko with other geckos and it has started eating again.

Yes my thermometer was a 'dial' one. I had no idea they were so innacurate. I have literally just ordered a digital thermometer now after hearing that.

The gecko's are about 4 inches long from nose to end of their tails. As I meantioned previously I thought that they needed to be kept in a smaller enviroment until they are larger as it would 'spook' them. I have no intention keeping them in this tank for longer than a few months. Is this not the case? I am more than willing to invest in a much larger viv if this will help.

Before you go ordering a bunch of stuff from the pet stores - online and retail - there are a lot of things you can buy in regular retail stores such as Walmart, K-Mart, Lowe's, etc for many of your pet needs. More often than not you will be paying high pet store prices for the same thing you can get cheaper closer to home. A good digital indoor/outdoor thermometer with hygrometer will run $11.88 at our local Walmart...

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Veronica
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For a single baby, that tank would work for a few months. In gallons, that tank is below 7. Thats pretty small for 2 babies.

If you have additional heating elements, you could keep one of the babies in there and move the other to a temporary sterilite or rubbermaid container. This will separate the 2 quickly, and help reduce the chance that they pass a parasite if that is the case.

There are a few more possibilities. These geckos sound as if they are new. Typically it takes 5-7 days for a reptile to get accustomed to its new environment. If they are being disturbed during this time, it will take longer. If there are 2 in the enclosure, and one is larger than the other, the stress on the smaller one is higher.

I realize you said they ate for you on day one, but that could be because they were hungry. If they were being underfed at the petstore, food would be a top priority if it were present.

The temps could also be an issue. Though the thermometer you are using reads 85-90, it could be as high as 110+ which may be why they are using the cooler end.

The moist hide is always cooler than the rest of the tank. In a 7 gallon tank, creating a heat gradient is almost impossible. I house all my babies within sterilites that rest over heat tape. This allows me to get the hide over the "hot spot" to around 90 degrees while allowing the rest of the container to be room temperature. (Typically around 78 degrees.)

Because of the way heat is dispersed through the floor, the ambient air doesn't rise drastically at all. The digi probe in the hide will read between 88-93 degrees and the cool end of the container is around 75-78 degrees. This creates a wide gradient and the babies will move to where they want to be as needed. (Most prefer the 90 degree range during the day.)

Keep in mind that though the petshop owner has said the baby is eating, it doesn't mean it actually is. It wouldn't be the first time someone has lied. lol If it is eating, and was placed back where it came from, it could simply be that the gecko is familiar with that tank and readjusted quickly since it does know the tank.

My suggestion is to separate them as quickly as possible. This will allow you to monitor both their stools separately and will allow you to monitor food intake.

As suggested, have a fecal done on both to rule out parasites. Once separated, don't disturb them for a few days and allow them some time to adjust.

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