Well, I was all happy that Gigi and Freckles had gained a few grams, and now they don't seem interested in eating! I thought maybe it was because Gigi was getting ready to shed, but she shed three days ago (a great shed and she munched it all up) and she's still not interested. And Freckles isn't really interested either. They completely ignore their mealworms (which are offered in a dish, constantly available, just a few at a time), and they'll maybe eat one cricket a day.

The girls are both adults, older than 2 (the previous owner had them 2 years and says they were adults when he got them). Gigi weighed in at 56 grams yesterday and Freckles at 54, each down 2 grams from a week prior to that (Gigi's the same as she was the day I brought her home 3 weeks ago, and Freckles is actually up 4 grams still). Their tails look OK, and they're still active at night, pooping normally and daily. Temp at the top of the repticarpet is 90.3 on the warm side and 72.2 on the cool side.

I've got an order with some silkies, phoenix worms and butterworms coming in a few days. I'm really hoping they'll like the silkies, and I will see if I can make those the diet staple. I'm a little concerned, as I read today about viruses that the silkies are prone to and that have been going around in the silky breeding business. I'll just cross my fingers...

It's possible I spoiled them on waxies temporarily -- I got a container of waxies and although probably half of them died, I fed the Leopard Geckos the other half (about 25 total) over 2 weeks. They haven't had any since, and I'm not sure I'll get them again -- they die too easily and if the geckos can't eat more than a few a week, I'll end up either wasting the waxies or feeding too many...

At what point should I worry? I can take them (and/or fecal samples) to a vet, but I don't want to do that if it's not necessary. I'll admit to having become obsessed with these little girls. I just adore them, and maybe I'm just worrying too much. Maybe I should switch to offering food only every other day, so they have a chance to get hungrier? Or maybe 1 cricket a day isn't really a problem for a full-grown leo?

Any advice for a slightly worried mommy would be much appreciated.

--Amy

I personally prefer wax worms to mealworms, because they are more digestible. I have gone to feeding crix every other day with my leo, he seems fine with that. If they are not losing weight than I wouldn't worry too much. (Who am I kidding I worry about everything).

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Thanks for your reply, Jay!

They are losing weight, that's the thing -- each one is down 2 grams in a week. But I guess in the larger scheme of things (three weeks -- not exactly a great deal of data, lol), they are steady, and Freckles is even up a bit with weight.

I've read so much about waxies being poor nutrition and "addictive," I thought I wasn't supposed to feed them on a regular basis...

Is it possible that the crickets I'm feeding are too large? The only choice I seem to have is "large" or "small." Large is a pretty big mouthful for these girls, but they can manage it. Maybe if they had smaller crickets, they would eat more? Though the difference between 3 small ones and 1 large one is negligible, I would guess.

The rule of thumb for feeding crickets is the cricket should be no bigger than width between the eyes.

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MARSHA

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

The cricket should be no *longer* than the width between the eyes, or no wider?

Thanks!

Hello,

Longer.

Have you tried butter worms? They are soft bodied like the waxies, but are more nutritious. They can be purchased online at varying places.

Waxworms are not as nutritional as other feeder insects available. They do have a higher fat content, and some reptiles will become addicted. When Leopard Geckos are losing weight, they are ideal though for getting them to eat and to increase the fat on the body.

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What substrate are they on? Are you feeding them late at night or early morning? They are much more active eaters then. Have you seen them soaking in their water dish?

The waxworms will help them put on weight faster, crix are better long term.

FOOD %PROT %FAT %Ca %Phos KCAL/gm
Insects
mealworm 22.3 14.9 .26 .23 2.74
cricket 55.3 30.2 .23 .74 unk
silkworm * 64.7 20.8 .21 .54 5.74

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Sounds like these crix are too big, as they are longer than the space between the Leopard Geckos' eyes. I'll get smaller ones. I've got butterworms coming in a few days, along with silkies and phoenix worms.

I feed the girls in the early evening, when they emerge from their hides -- sounds like I should do it later, when I go to bed (though that will mean that anything they don't eat will be in there 'til morning). They're on repticarpet and ceramic tile -- repticarpet in the entire enclosure, and one 12" textured tile on the cool end. I haven't seen them hanging out in their water dish, although Gigi really seems to like the new moist hide I put in. It's a Repti-shelter one with moist reptile moss in the bottom. She started going in there before her recent shed, and now seems to still like it on an ongoing basis.

I appreciate the advice, everyone. Any additional feedback also appreciated, if you have any.

--Amy

We all worry about crix doing damage to our herps, the smaller ones are more prone to hiding than eating a leo. Since the Leopard Geckos are nocturnal anyway there is little potential for damage inflicted.

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Hello,

A simple way to keep the crickets away from the leo is to toss a small piece of carrot or potatoe in the tank during feeding. If the crickets get hungry, they can eat away without bothering the Leopard Geckos.

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