Gecko too slow to catch prey

[Shera]

My 2 were on a hunger strike and sleeping all the time for about a solid week. My temps were good, but they were in the dark all the time. I started opening my curtains to let in light during daylight hours, and simultaneously they both started to eat again.

 

[Trevy the Gret]

I tried opening the blinds a 24/7 (usually I left them closed for most of the day) yesterday. So far it hasn't seemed to have any effect besides driving my gek into his house all the time rather than the corner, but we'll see.
Should the tank be in direct sunlight, because it's not right now?

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I think it might be good to get a fecal tested. His extreme fatigue isn't sounding normal.

 

[mindgamer8907]

Maybe it's just me, but newbies (I still do this) tend to get a little over zealous about feeding. Unless your gecko is sickly thin (it sounds like that's improbable from the "eat like a pig stage", though possible) a week or two off food won't hurt. In fact, I know Khrysty's got one that eats less than yours has been, is gravid, and is barely 30 g. In the past month it's eaten maybe once a week. Lethargy is what most reptiles do most of the time, they're cold blooded (the logic that follows that statement gets tedious take it as it is please).

How thick is your gecko's tail? Compare that thickness to the thickness of the neck. If they're close or the tail is much wider than the neck don't panic. The leo will return to food on its own, assuming the food is offered all the time. I'd actually keep the mealies in there anyway, the gecko will learn to feed itself if it is hungry enough.

Equally as important is the temp. I know you just upped the temp from earlier but it needs to stay higher (again, the 90s are good, but higher is better, try to keep it at least 95 F).

Just to cover my bases, keep a warm and cool hide, calcium, no loose substrate (like sand, etc) clean the cage, fresh water, make sure there's poop, so on and so forth.

A trip to the vet for fecals isn't a bad idea either (pref. a herp vet), but I'd say this thread has just about covered everything else. Follow the advice on here and keep us posted.
Good luck.

 

[Trevy the Gret]

The problem is that this isn't the gecko refusing food for a week or two, it's been two months and he's really only eaten a couple crickets (like three or four).
I compared his tail to his neck. The widest part of his tail is just about as wide as the thinnest part of his neck. Is that good or bad?
I also moved the gecko's cage to an area that gets a lot more natural light, and he seems a little perkier, at least he did for a day or two. Lately he's been sleeping a lot and lying down again.

 

[Trevy the Gret]

My poor little guy still won't eat, and he's getting worse. I fed him a mealworm the other day and he caught it, had it in his mouth but it crawled out. It's like he's so out of energy that he can't even hold on to his food.
He's a little more active now, and he crawls around his cage whenever I'm there, going from hiding spot to hiding spot, but when I say crawls, I really mean crawls. It's like he's pushing himself along on his rear-legs. Some of the time his head isn't even off the ground!
I change the mealworms every day or so, but he's not interested in the ones in the dish. I put one out for him every once in a while, and generally he look interested, but lose interest after a short while. Often, though, he'll be more concerned with me or with going to sleep somewhere else to pay attention.

 

[STUTFL]

Is he getting calcium?

 

[Trevy the Gret]

He is (or was) getting it through gut-feeding in his crickets and mealies.

 

[Tony C]

He is (or was) getting it through gut-feeding in his crickets and mealies.

You really need to dust with an appropriate supplement, gut-loading is not an effective method of calcium delivery.

 

[STUTFL]

A dish of calcium is also ideal for a leo cage, especially since his lack of appetite means there isn't much to dust at this point. They *do* actually eat the stuff, unpalatable as it looks. :laugh:

 

[Trevy the Gret]

So is this a special calcium supplement that I need to buy at the pet store or can I grind up other supplements and use them?

 

[STUTFL]

I'd just nip out to the pet store and buy a little bottle if I were you. Calcium powder with and without D3 is used for other pets besides leos, so even small stores usually carry it. You can get it as a nice fine powder too, so it'll stick properly to the feeders.

 

[Trevy the Gret]

Is it possible to use supplements not bought at the pet store, at least for the short term until I can get to the store?

 

[STUTFL]

Depends what the supplements are! I don't see any reason you couldn't use calcium purchased elsewhere, assuming there's not other stuff thrown in it, though I'd drop by the Supplements forum below this one and see what they have to say there about specifics. I've never tried it myself.

 

[STUTFL]

Out of curiosity, about how long do you expect it to be until you can get to a pet store?

 

[Trevy the Gret]

A couple of days, most likely. Mayhap sooner.

 

[STUTFL]

Ah, that's not so long then. Hang in there, wee leo!

 

[Sparky99]

Hi, I have been having the same problem with mine. He has always been on a cricket diet, but just the other day I bought some small meal worms and was able to get him to eat a few, because he is just not interested in the crickets since he is kind of slow to catch them, its like I have to help him, by guiding the crickets toward him, I think they are too fast, but dont have it in me to pull the legs off.... I have an under the tank heating pad on the one side with the basking light on top by his hamock, which he loves to lay on. but my tank is and has always been only around 75 degrees, and he has never had a problem with this before. Could this hurt him in some way, he is still going to the bathroom, I was worried about that, but he just did the other day......

 

[STUTFL]

Okay, well they don't see as well in very bright light. If you're feeding him with the basking light on, it may affect his accuracy. As usual, don't keep the basking light on all the time, make sure he can get away from it easily, etc.

Also, 75F on the hot side with a UTH AND a basking lamp? Are you sure? That's about one degree above room temperature in my home - how warm do you keep it in the house? Are you sure the UTH is working properly? Is it big enough for the tank? How and where did you measure the temp?

Both bright light and low temps will make a leo lethargic.

 

[Trevy the Gret]

Thanks for the help everybody!
I got my gecko a little dish of supplement and some ultra-fine 'calcium fortified' substrate. I know that the sand is bad for geckos, but this stuff is literally like a heavy dust and is supposed to pass through their system easily and without damage - and the best part about it is that the mealies can't get away by crawling under the mat that used to be in there, it also retains heat a lot better and so the cage is just that much warmer.
Now this little guy is eating up a couple of mealies a day and pooping regularly. He's more active also, running around his cage and climbing with a lot greater frequency than he used to. I think he feels better.

So again, thanks a lot for the advice!