I bought a beautiful male Tangerine albino on July 19th that is 10 months old and am concerned about it not eating. I have a 20x10 tank with a daytime temperature of 90-95 on the dry hide side and 80 on cool side. At night the temperature goes to about 78-80 degrees. Papertowel is used as a substrate and water is always available in a shallow bowl. When I first bought him I had a moist hide that he would never leave, the breeder said to get rid of it because it wouldn't eat and go to the dry hide. He has been offered mealworms and crickets but is not interested. Since I bought him he has eaten 2 mealworms and has pooped only once. He has the tank to himself and is fat and healthy looking for now. I am concerned, any suggestions?

Hello,

Welcome to HC. Hope you enjoy the site.

Leopard Geckos, like all reptiles, can become stressed. This can happen from being moved, being placed in "high traffic" areas of the home,inadequate temperatures,etc. Stress can lead to not eating. Its very common with reptiles.

How often do you "disturb" him? What I mean is, how often do you go over to the tank, handle him, tap on the glass, etc.? Reptiles need some time to adjust to their new surroundings when they are first moved. If you have been handling him regularly, he may not be comfortable yet and slightly stressed.

Do you leave a shallow dish of mealies in with him at all times? Have you left a dish with mealies in over night?

Are you using a digital thermometer to get your readings for the temps? If not, what type of thermometer are you using?

Leopard Geckos that like to stay on the cooler side of the enclosure are often too hot on the other side. I would suggest you put the moist hide back in the enclosure as well. There is no reason to remove it.

Hit me with a response to some of my questions so we all get a better understanding of how things are.

__________________

Rich, Thanks for the response! I pick him up for 5 minutes every other day. He is in a zero traffic part of my house and I even put paper on the outside of the tank to try and make him more comfortable. I have a shallow dish of mealies with him at all times. My digital thermometers are from radioshack. This gecko stays in the hide box(warmer side) during the day and roams at night.

Hello,

I would suggest adding a few waxworms or butterworms to his food dish. Whatever you place in the dish, keep track of. Document every time he eats something over the next few days.

Being nocturnal, Leopard Geckos can have pretty strange behaviors regarding their diet. If the mealies aren't moving enough for him, they may not be appealing. So with the added insects, you should get more movement out of everyone. Depending on his size, some super worms would certainly get things moving in there.

If he is nice and fat, I would give him a few more days before becoming overtly concerned. Try changing the diet up and see how he goes with the new items.

Where did you get this leo? I don't really need to know this answer, but I am curious.

__________________

I bought him from Tremper Geckos

Hello,

If Ron sold you the leo, I would definately try waxworms. I own 2 Leopard Geckos from Ron, and they both were very young when I bought them. They were also extremely fat. lol I believe Ron feeds waxies as part of his rotation.

__________________

Ron suggested I only put mealworms in the shallow dish and wait and see. That was 2 weeks ago, I will add waxworms per your suggestion. I am also wondering at what point do I really need to show concern and then what do I do? It is fat now but I know it could slowly wither away without eating.

Hello,

When I got my Leopard Geckos from Ron, they came with no advice. After recieving them, and seeing how fat they were, I realized that waxies had to be a part of the diet.(I breed Leopard Geckos.These babies were fat.lol) I ran my normal routine of leaving a dish of baby mealies in with them, but I also added waxworms. They took to eating both without a hitch.

Its my belief that Ron uses a high waxie diet to get the weight on the Leopard Geckos so they will be ready to ship. Its not a bad thing, both my Leopard Geckos were extremely healthy....just fat! lol

If this is the case, the mealies you are feeding may not be what this leo is use to eating regularly. Thats a problem with waxworms. If they are fed as the primary food item, some Leopard Geckos will become "addicted". Try tossing some in with the mealies. If the waxies are eaten, and the mealies aren't, it would be safe to assume that you will need to slowly switch them off the waxies, and onto other feeders.

__________________

I agree with Rich on this, waxworms are the reptile candy of the world, and given the choice most kids prefer candy. Mix the mealies and waxies together and slowly cut back on the ratio until you have eliminated the waxworms. I only give them as "treats" to my pets, and very infrequently.

__________________
Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

Visit me at www.jaysreptiles.com

LOL,,,,I had the same problem. Now waxies are only a treat. Good luck Gecko Guy

__________________
Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan