Why!

[JVG]

Why does my leo hate food! ive tried pretty much everything, even the apple sauce thing from the 'how weird is this?' didnt do anything for her, i tried it with my other leo and she just lapped it up, when i put crickets in she'll come out all excited...sometimes, but will eat one and go back in here hide, she used to eat silkies, but ignores them, i used to have her on sand and thought she was impacted and when i put them on papertowel, the first defications had a lot of sand in them, and i now have a fear of impaction and have heard mealies can cause this so i have bin avoiding them, but might try some later on tonite, and sometimes she'll take waxies but i dont like to give her lots because i dont want her getting addicted, i thought she was afraid of the other leo, so i took the other one out and let her have the run of the place for feeding but still nothing, i think my temps might be a bit low, could this be why? i bought some zoo med leopard gecko food today and im gonna put that in a dish, just to see if it tickles her fancie lol , any one else got some ideas?

[peterm15]

just a bump.. good ??? i dont have an answer but id like some answers too... mine arent eating like they used to either..

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

I would say ditch sand was good idea. I've never heard of mealies causing impaction myself, but I feed mine meal, king and supers on a regular basis, and no problems. It might be a good idea to give your gecko the runs LOL by feeding it alot of waxworms for a few days to help clear out sand (?? not sure if good idea or if it would work) Have you recently stopped hand feeding the geckos? I know 1 of mine is a picky little s**t and has to be hand fed. The other female is finally taking to crickets also, but the one only eats kings and has to be hand fed.

[SnowSnake]

Maybe she has enough fat? last spring my female went 5 months without eating much... she would eat a super worm every 2 weeks if I was lucky. And then in july she started to eat like a pig!! Now she eats fine. I only feed my geckos once a week (as much as they will take (usually around 4 super worms)), they always have a dish with calcium/vitamin powder and they have a good weight. I've been working this way for 2 years and they are doing fine. Don't worry about it too much, when mine had her fast she lost 15 grams and now she took it back.

[SnowSnake]

I know 1 of mine is a picky little s**t and has to be hand fed.

why don't you stop hand feeding him? Trust me, when he'll be hungry he's gonna eat!

[mikeyweir]

you might want to try just putting the desired food in a small dish and letting her take them when she wants them. Another thing I have noticed with my leo's is that they can sometimes get stage fright, and won't eat when im near. I have a red light over the tank so i just turn that on and hide in the shadows to watch them feed, then the timid one comes right out and begins to pig.
mikeyweir

[JVG]

she definetly doesnt have enough fat, she is skinny, she'll start to put some fat back on then loose it again,

[clint545]

How does she get along with the other leo? Could be a case of stress or bullying? Do you have enough hides in the cage?
What is the temp range?
You might want to try putting her in a seperate cage for awhile and she how she fares by herself.
if she is eating and not gaining weight, she might be sick and you'll need to take a feces sample to a vet.

[JVG]

they were fighting over a hide for a while, so i took it out, and put two there, then eventually took the other out cause neither used it, the healthy one sleeps all day on the warm side and this one all day on the cool side, my temps are definetly to low, i laid some thermometers on each side, 78 on cool, 84 on warm, ill try and get some pics up tommorow, of her and the enlosure, when i go to pick up my new cam, i am using a light as i dont really want to get into uth, because i only have papertowel in there so would it be to warm? also the only place i have to keep this tank is on my dresser, thanks

[SnowSnake]

for the uth. Theres no problem. I also use paper towels and the air the circulates between the layers of papertowel is a good insulation (put about 4 layers of papertowel). If they fight seperate them and see if he gets better. Like clint545 said, it might be because of the stress caused by the other leo. Good luck :)

[clint545]

You said you took the hides right out? Do they have any kind of cover in the cage or are they left out in open space? If they don't have somewhere to hide or retreat to when they want to or when they feel threatened then they will stress quite easily!

[DragnDrop]

If you give them each a hide on the warm side, raise your temperature closer to 90 (88-90) on the warm side, or even separate them to lessen stress, that should help get her eating again. If she's skinny, I doubt it's the usual winter fast that a lot of leos go through.
You should also get both of them checked for internal parasites which could lead to loss of appetite. And while you're at it, get the vet to check for possible impaction, it can take months for it to show up, long after you've figured the sand didn't do any harm.

[gargoyle]

I totally agree with clint545 seperate them! I had my 14year old female start doing the same thing, she was being dominated by a younger female. After about two months of having her in a seperate rubbermaid and feeding her powdered everything, she's probably the best looking leo I've got (again)! She's now with some 2yr old females and a 2yr old male and doing just great, eating, drinking, breeding! I've had a few do this over the years and usually after splitting them, they do come around as long as you seperate them in time! Don't let it go too long though!

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Originally posted by SnowSnake
why don't you stop hand feeding him? Trust me, when he'll be hungry he's gonna eat!

She lost alot of weight and I want to make sure 100% she is eating lots. She laid 1 batch of eggs and her tail dropped to half. I am not breeding her for the rest of the year unless her tail bulks up a ton. I don't really mind, she's actually good about it and likes the attention I think LOL

[Tim and Julie B]

Take Hilde's advice and get a fecal done on both of them. It may save them both from further/future problems. In the meantime, since it may take you a while to find/schedule a vet appointment, try the "pick your own food" test:) Offer a few different foods in small dishes. One with mealies, one with silks, one with butters, etc. and leave them un-dusted, but offer a shallow dish of calcium as well. Leave them overnight and check to see if anything was eaten. Bump up your temps on the hot side to 88°-90° to allow for better/faster digestion. Often, an increase in temps will increase appetite. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help. Keep us updated, and good luck with your girl.

Julie

[JVG]

so is a UTH the best way to do that then? for the temps? cause i have one i was worried it would get too warm since ive only got papertowel in there.

[DragnDrop]

UTH is best for leos, it gives them 'belly heat'. Being terrestrial, they're built to absorb heat better from underneath (arboreals are better at absorbing heat from above from the sun). If you attach the UTH directly to the tank, you could put several layers of paper towel down if you want, or a piece of slate which will absorb the heat and let them soak it up. A dimmer switch (T-rex calls them rheostats, available in pets stores) will help too. I attach the UTH to a piece of plexiglass or tempered glass a bit smaller than the area under the tank between the moldings. That way I can move the UTH around if needed, and it doesn't touch the tank directly. It never gets too hot that way, even without a dimmer.

[Tim and Julie B]

Definately go with a UTH. I position mine under tiles in the tank. If using paper towels for substrate then I attach it under the tank like the directions say. You should notice a big difference in your leos once the heat goes up. Don't worry if they spend all thier time on the warm side once you get it all hooked up:)

Julie

[JVG]

Would it be a good idea to keep a heat lamp on just to keep the air temp up?

[SnowSnake]

thats what I do

[JVG]

how many layers of papertowel do u think, 4 like snowsnake did?

[SnowSnake]

Depends on the quality (some are thicker). I put the in bundles of 3-4 and at some places the overlap to get 6-8 layers.

[nimrodfiftyfour]

I had a similar situation happen with a rescue gecko I had. She was almost dead when I got her because the people before had her with a larger gecko that was beatin on her and even though they had been seperated for a number of months she still wouldn't eat. After about 2 months with me she still wasn't eating, and was nothing but bones. I developed a force feed at that point that she lapped up once it was in her mouth, and after about a month of that, and putting up with some regurgetation at first she began eating on her own and just laid her first eggs last week! The feed is nothing more than Eukenuba puppy growth formula wet dog food, lots of calcium (minerall), vitamin dust, and cod liver oil as an emulsifier and for additional fatty acids. If nothing else works that may be worth a shot. Good luck!