Leopard Gecko's and food issues

[mike989e]

I have 3 Leopard Gecko's in my tank, i started feeding them on Crickets and the odd Waxworm, i have tried to move away from crickets as they are escape artists. I now feed them Mealworms and Waxworms, now recently, the last 2-4 days, they wont eat any food.

They have never taken food from the food bowl, and only when i use tongs. so i have given up putting the food bowl in altogether as i don't like to leave their food in the tank anyway.

The strange thing is today they wouldn't eat anything not even Waxworms, which supprised me. they don't look unhealthy, their tails are fatter than when i bought them from the shop.

2 of them are extremely skittish and run away whenever i try to feed them, and one of them even try to bite me whenever i put my hand in the tank, its not cause of food as i tried to put food in too and all it did is bite then let the waxworm fall on the floor.

does anyone have any idea's whats wrong?

Stats:

Temp 28 at night 32 in the day. I use a infrared light in the day and a heat mat as night.

The tanks is 3.5 foot by 2 x 2

1 Wet hide, made from a plastic container which moss at the bottom.

3 logs to hide under and in.

1 huge water bowl. filled up with about 1CM of water in the deeper end.

[trw]

Originally Posted by mike989e

I have 3 Leopard Gecko's in my tank, i started feeding them on Crickets and the odd Waxworm, i have tried to move away from crickets as they are escape artists. I now feed them Mealworms and Waxworms, now recently, the last 2-4 days, they wont eat any food.

They have never taken food from the food bowl, and only when i use tongs. so i have given up putting the food bowl in altogether as i don't like to leave their food in the tank anyway.

The strange thing is today they wouldn't eat anything not even Waxworms, which supprised me. they don't look unhealthy, their tails are fatter than when i bought them from the shop.
if the leos are adults, then this is perfectly normal. my 18 month old leo only eats every day, 2, or 3 day depending on how much she ate the previous day, and maintains about 85-90 grams and is a nice size.

2 of them are extremely skittish and run away whenever i try to feed them, and one of them even try to bite me whenever i put my hand in the tank, its not cause of food as i tried to put food in too and all it did is bite then let the waxworm fall on the floor.
the 2 skittish ones could be nervous of the more confident one and this is why they are skittish. are they all the same size? do you know their sexes

does anyone have any idea's whats wrong?

Stats:

Temp 28 at night 32 in the day. I use a infrared light in the day and a heat mat as night.
the lamp is not needed as leos get all their heat through their bellies. just use the mat for day and night.

The tanks is 3.5 foot by 2 x 2

1 Wet hide, made from a plastic container which moss at the bottom.

3 logs to hide under and in.
for 3 leos in one tank i would put in loads more hides. i would say one hide for each in the hot side, 1 hide for each in the middle and one hide for each in the cool end, and at least 2 moist hides, so about 11 hides. it sounds like alot, but leos dont like company so need spaces to hide away from the others in their chosen temperature and not just where an empty hide is avaliable.

1 huge water bowl. filled up with about 1CM of water in the deeper end.
A huge water bowl isnt needed. they live in arid rocky desert, so only a small bowl is needed.

i also wouldnt feed waxworms as they are very fatty and arent very nutritious. my leo eats only mealworms and is perfectly healthy.

[mike989e]

The Leos are ranging in sizes and ages, they are between 5 and 8 months old. The oldest one is not the most confident. the youngest one is. which is also the smallest, the male is the middle sized/aged one.

they are bred for the 2 females and 1 male. they are all from different breeders.

I don't agree with the no need for the lamp. i believe the lamp is a better way to house them, as it more natural heat from above and not from the bottom. i have read alot about this.

The water bowl is more for asthetics than anything else. low level of water as they can die from drawning.

[trw]

Originally Posted by mike989e

The Leos are ranging in sizes and ages, they are between 5 and 8 months old. The oldest one is not the most confident. the youngest one is. which is also the smallest, the male is the middle sized/aged one.
if the leos range in size and age then you need to separate them as they could fight, and even if the smallest is the most confident, in a fight it would lose. also keeping males with females all the time can really stress out the females as the male keeps pestering them to mate. if you want to breed then you should keep the male separate from the females for most of the year, and then introduce it to the female at breeding time for a short period.

they are bred for the 2 females and 1 male. they are all from different breeders.

I don't agree with the no need for the lamp. i believe the lamp is a better way to house them, as it more natural heat from above and not from the bottom. i have read alot about this.
A lamp is not more natural, as during the day when they sun would be heating them from above they would be hiding under ground in burrows, or under rocks and so not being heated from above. and at night they come out to lie on the warm earth to get belly heat. you can use a lamp if you want. as long as it is statted it shouldnt be a problem, it is just not neccesary and so a waste of electricity.

The water bowl is more for asthetics than anything else. low level of water as they can die from drawning.
is it not better to give the leos whats best for them than what looks best, a large surface area of water will increase the humidity in the viv to high levels which is not good for the leos.

as you said the leos are not all adult yet, they should be feeding every day, however missing one day should be of no concern really. just keep an eye on them, and if they dont feed tomorrow then begin to keep a closer eye on them. i would really suggest separating them though, until they are all the same size, then if you really want to keep some leos together then you could put the 2 females together, but have a spare setup incase they need separation. the male should be kept on his own though except during the breeding season.

[jools]

Originally Posted by trw

i would really suggest separating them though, until they are all the same size, then if you really want to keep some leos together then you could put the 2 females together, but have a spare setup incase they need separation. the male should be kept on his own though except during the breeding season.

Could not agree more. Sounds like a recipe for disaster the way they are atm. To have such young females in with a male is a real no-no imo. They will not be physically capable of coping with a breeding season at this age. Even if you have not seen it I am sure there will be dominance issues affecting their feeding. Foe 3 Leos in the same viv you would need at least 6 hides in there plus the moist hides. Were they quarantined? Have you had any of them checked for parasites?