how long?

[trw]

how long are leos able to go without food? my leo hadnt eaten for about a week, so i took her to the vets as she had also had 2 bad sheds in a row. she also doesnt seem to be opening her eyes as wide as normal in the viv. she is still active, and when i take her out she opens her eyes and seems normal. the vet says she is healthy and has no signs of any external parasites. he didnt want to do a fecal as he said it was not worth it for a gecko that seemed to healthy otherwise. he also said she is a bit fat. she hasnt eaten for about 10 days now and has only lost about 2 grams. how much longer can she go without food and what do all the experienced leo people say about getting her to eat again. i have tried her with locust, mealworms and mealworm pupae and shes not shown any interest in any of them since her last shed 10 days ago.

[SleepyD]

Originally Posted by trw

how long are leos able to go without food? my leo hadnt eaten for about a week, so i took her to the vets as she had also had 2 bad sheds in a row. she also doesnt seem to be opening her eyes as wide as normal in the viv. she is still active, and when i take her out she opens her eyes and seems normal. the vet says she is healthy and has no signs of any external parasites. he didnt want to do a fecal as he said it was not worth it for a gecko that seemed to healthy otherwise. he also said she is a bit fat. she hasnt eaten for about 10 days now and has only lost about 2 grams. how much longer can she go without food and what do all the experienced leo people say about getting her to eat again. i have tried her with locust, mealworms and mealworm pupae and shes not shown any interest in any of them since her last shed 10 days ago.

healthy leo's are able to go several weeks without eating or substantial loss of weight or giving too much concern .... providing that a) they are healthy and b) that their set-up is good........... personally I am concerned over several things in your post ~
1. when you say she doesn't open her eyes as normal in the viv but she opens them properly when out of the viv ..... does she have lighting/uv in the viv? strong/incorrect lighting and even UV can affect their eye's (squinting, not opening eye's fully etc) ~ UV can in some cases (and if incorrectly used) also have an effect on their skin/shedding as can lighting if it is producing heat and creating an overly dry ambience.
2. I have to disagree with the vets prognosis regarding parasites without him actually doing a feacal test ~ leo's don't always show outward visible signs of having parasites/worms etc and the only way to even intimate that a leo doesn't have them is to have the leo tested.
What is the set-up like, what temps and substrate?

[trw]

the hot end is at 88 with a mat underneath a newspaper substrate. the cod end fluctuates from 68- 70 depending on the room temp. no lighting in the viv, and in the evenings i hang a sheet over the front of the viv while i have my room lamp on. its not like she is squinting, more like she has just woken up and is still a bit sleepy. when she is eating she eats calcium dusted insect on weekdays and vitamin dusted on weekends. she has a small water bowl, 8 hides and a moist hide and a few slate roof tiles on top of the newspaper which she likes to lie on. i took her out yesterday for some exercise and she seemed fine in herself.

do you have an adress for the lab that does cheap fecals? i think it was you that made the thread on it. the vet is cheap for consultations, but charges £50 for fecals. and how fresh do the poos have to be to be tested as she has only done tiny poos every few days since she stopped eating.

[SleepyD]

how and where are you measuring the temps and what with?

the cheap feacal thread was originally posted by RedGex here -> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/306068-cheap-efficient-faecal-testing.html ~ I just keep pointing people to it lol
the website for PAL's is here ~ Pinmoore Animal Laboratory Services Limited

[trw]

Originally Posted by SleepyD

how and where are you measuring the temps and what with?

the cheap feacal thread was originally posted by RedGex here -> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/306068-cheap-efficient-faecal-testing.html ~ I just keep pointing people to it lol
the website for PAL's is here ~ Pinmoore Animal Laboratory Services Limited

thanks. the temps are being measured with digital thermometres on the floor of the viv.

[maddragon29]

I agree with Sleepy, most decent rep vets will do a fecal if you ask them no problems, as they know reptiles dont always show exterior signs of illness/parasites.

I'd get one done deffo. if it all comes back clear then as long as she doesn't loose weight at an alarming weight i wouldn't worry too much. If she's an adult maybe mix the decor in her cage a bit, get her some new stuff. She's maybe just bored (so getting lazy) and I have a fussy eater male that gets bored after a couple of months then perks up again if i buy him something new and change his tank contents around