Gecko Eating, Shedding, Active but Not Pooping

[Chrisinator]

Hello All,

I have a male hypo melanistic gecko that I have had for about 2-3 months under my care. I'm not sure how heavy he is nor his age but he looks to be healthy with great coloring and a nice fat tail. He is active at night also.

I have him in college with me right now and I'm having some issues regarding him pooping. He doesn't seem to be impacted as I've gotten him to poop before by giving him a warm bath and massaging his belly. He doesn't seem to want to poop at all and it's been about 4 days since. I have paper towels as substrate so sand impaction shouldn't be an issue.

I used to feed him once a day but started to slow it down a bit. He can eat up to 10 medium sized mealworms and even more if I allowed him but I tried to minimize feeding to prevent him from being uncomfortable with so much in his system. I have a small amount of Repashy Superfoods for Leopard Gecko in his food bowls.

At college, which seems to be a singular issue, our room is fairly cold. Around 70F. I have a 60 watt desk lamp right above the warm side. I am getting around 90F right above the Zoomed heat pad and with the lights on an air temperature of 80F near his warm hide and around 70-75F on his cool hide. The air temp drops at night to probably 65F but head pad is still on.

He is currently in a 10 gallon tank with a head pad on the left side and a warm hide. I have his humid hide on the right side next to another hide which is the spot he usually pooped in. I am planning on upgrading to a 20 long in a couple months.

I know that I probably won't get as detailed answers as going to the vet.

My questions are my attempts to understand why he hasn't been pooping regularly...

• Are the temperatures ok?
• Would it be worth getting a designated heat lamp as well?
• I take him out and let him walk around my desk nearly everyday. Could this be stressing him out by being constantly held? What about fire alarms?
• Do they have a habit of not pooping prior to shedding?
• Could he have some parasitic issues? I obtained him from +++++ but he seemed to have been healthy throughout my care and grew a ton compared to when I first got him
• How long should I wait before giving him another bath?

 

[indyana]

What are you measuring the floor temperature with? The temperatures sound fine from what you posted. I do not think he needs more heat.

If you've recently moved with him to college and his environment has changed, he could be a little out of whack. Some geckos also do not digest properly during a shed cycle, which could impact his poop schedule.

I'd say hold off on the bath and just wait and see what happens. If he doesn't seem lethargic, bloated, etc., he's probably just digesting still.

Your gecko could certainly have parasites, as many reptiles carry them without showing a lot of symptoms. If you would like peace of mind, you can take a fecal sample to a vet do be tested and treat him for parasites. I really suggest that to everyone though, as I think it's better to test and treat occasionally than let it get to the point where parasites build up and cause health problems.

 

[Chrisinator]

Thank you for the respons! I am measuring the temperature using a digital thermometer and also the old school ones and are fairly close to each other.

He doesn't seem to be lethargic and I see him moving around all the time so he definitely has a ton of energy.

I'm gonna feed him in two days since he just ate his shed to see if it's something along those lines. I did shine a light on his belly and he seems to be clogged up near the middle section so I'm hoping it's just too much food at once especially since he shed.

 

[Chrisinator]

He ended up pooping yesterday! Probably the size of a quarter so it's a fairly large poop. Took about 5 day for him to get through it. I think Im gonna feed him everyday but smaller than I usually do... or would you recommend feeding him only after he poops?

 

[indyana]

That depends how old he is. Any gecko over 2 years, I would say it's fine to feed every 2-3 days. Geckos 1-2 years should still be fed at least every other day. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed every day.

You don't have to wait for poop. Just make certain he has a warm floor spot around 90 F to properly digest, and trust that his digestive track is going to work. As I said, if he continues having weird digestive issues, a parasite check by a vet could be helpful.

 

[Chrisinator]

Took him about another 4 days to poop a small one but I tried to cut back a little bit before because I was scared that he could get bloated. I've been feeding him about 5-6 medium to large size mealworms.

After the 4th day took another 3 days to poop again.

Thanks for your help!

 

[indyana]

That doesn't sound bad at all to me! Mine usually poops 2-3 times a week, and that's with 2 meals a week.