[Calypsotheleo]

(First post here! Not in the UK but this forum looks active)
I have a gargoyle gecko who just turned 1yo on the 19th. And this past year has been so tough. I bought the lizard from what seemed to be a reputable and knowledgeable breeder and the gecko was about 2 months old and weighed 4 grams when I bought it. Weight gain was rapid until 12 grams hit. This gecko has been sustaining 12 grams for almost a whole year... and I need help.
The lizard seems to have no appetite unless hand-fed. I've been trying to wean them off hand-feeding for months now but every time I've left food in there it goes to waste. The lizard has starved itself for a week at a time because it only eats when hand fed. I've tried insects but I've only managed to get it to eat 2 dubias in literally a year. I've tried crickets, mealworms, hornworms, and dubias. I wave it around in their face, rub it on their mouth, and let them run around but the gecko just ignores them. The only thing it'll eat is pangea but clearly it's not enough to gain weight. I'm back to daily hand feeding just to TRY and gain some weight because I'm concerned.
Also, catching the gecko is a nightmare. It'll run around the tank and jump everywhere just to avoid me (and I feed at night, so not sure what the issue is) and I've held them every few days for a year now but it's the same every time.
Housed in a 45x45x60 exo terra, misted twice a day, temp is 22-24c.

Can anyone help? I'm concerned that this lizard will never reach full size at this point. It has no will to eat by itself. 13 grams is the highest recorded weight I've seen. I'm going to be trying some bee pollen in the food hoping that'll help, and if that doesn't work I'm gonna try carnivore care. Last option would be the vet.

 

[M1chelle]

I don't own a Gargoyle (yet) but have several Cresties what pangea flavours do you feed?

I have a Crestie that's being awkward with weight and food but she is currently at 32g which is still a reasonable weight.

I would suggest vets as that's a long time to go without weight gain.

What humidity and temperature do you keep your gargoyle at? Do you use UV light?

Some Reptiles are naturally skittish, I have to say, besides knowing the lack of weight gain, your gargoyle looks okay. Is it popping okay?

 

[Calypsotheleo]

I don't own a Gargoyle (yet) but have several Cresties what pangea flavours do you feed?

I have a Crestie that's being awkward with weight and food but she is currently at 32g which is still a reasonable weight.

I would suggest vets as that's a long time to go without weight gain.

What humidity and temperature do you keep your gargoyle at? Do you use UV light?

Some Reptiles are naturally skittish, I have to say, besides knowing the lack of weight gain, your gargoyle looks okay. Is it popping okay?

I feed growth & breeding, apricot, and papaya. I've tried watermelon but they didn't like it. Temp is usually 72-76 degrees fahrenheit (22-24c) Humidity 50-80%. I don't have UVB or heating for the gecko because I've seen that's not a requirement. Considering buying a very low wattage heat lamp.

Good news is I've ordered bee pollen which I've heard is a great appetite stimulant and I have seen the food being eaten more often (when not hand feeding)!

 

[elishacoombes9]

When did you start hand feeding and why?

This can cause a lot of issues when feeding!
A female (Crested gecko) I got last year had to be hand fed for 2 weeks because of previous owner. I wasn’t having that, so I did at first when she got here to make sure she was eating and was very slim as was left in with the Male for breeding, and then I stopped, and she ate herself, she eats perfectly now.
You need to stop the hand feeding, it won’t starve itself! I also have a Male here who won’t touch Pangea or any other diets at all. Only insects.

Also had a woman contact me a couple years ago now, her friend had a baby off me and would only hand feed her. She had taken it on as was skinny and contacted me for help, I told her to leave the food in the viv, it’s not going to starve itself, about a week later she started eating on her own and gained weight nicely!

Leave a couple crickets in at night and see if gone in the morning.


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[ian14]

It needs heating and UV.
The whole "keep at room temperature, no heat needed" is absolute rubbish. These come from a semi tropical Pacific island which is warmer than the average UK room temperature.
When I had gargoyles I told that they need no heating just UV. So I did this, and they barely fed but sat as close to the uv tube as they could get.
I added a basking lamp and they became so much more active and started feeding with gusto.

 

[M1chelle]

Hope that helps. A few of mine didn't like watermelon and my fussy Crestie turned her nose up at food& insects.

I've just bought a CGD that contains bee pollen from reptile supplies. There are several flavours and contains bee pollen. I'm going to try it out tonight to see if that helps my fussy Crestie, of so I will let you know.


Your temp and humidity seem okay.

maybe add another food place in to see if that helps? And try not to let it drop below 60% humidity?

i have another Crestie that will only eat insects if they are in the it bowl, have you tried that?

wax worms are an occasional treat for my Cresties, not sure if they will work as your Gargoyle isn't even interested in insects but thought I'd mention it just incase.

 

[M1chelle]

When did you start hand feeding and why?

This can cause a lot of issues when feeding!
A female (Crested gecko) I got last year had to be hand fed for 2 weeks because of previous owner. I wasn’t having that, so I did at first when she got here to make sure she was eating and was very slim as was left in with the Male for breeding, and then I stopped, and she ate herself, she eats perfectly now.
You need to stop the hand feeding, it won’t starve itself! I also have a Male here who won’t touch Pangea or any other diets at all. Only insects.

Also had a woman contact me a couple years ago now, her friend had a baby off me and would only hand feed her. She had taken it on as was skinny and contacted me for help, I told her to leave the food in the viv, it’s not going to starve itself, about a week later she started eating on her own and gained weight nicely!

Leave a couple crickets in at night and see if gone in the morning.


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While I agree with most of what you are saying, my Crestie Strawberry didn't eat when I first got her last year and she didn't eat for a few weeks, I started hand feeding her after weeks of trying to get her to feed on her own.

Once she was at a reasonable weight, I slowed it down. I did many many things before hand feeding.

My point is, be careful saying it won't Starve itself because, well you don't know that it won't.

If the Gargoyle is eating, but only small amounts and not loosing weight then I wouldn't worry, it might change as it gets older.

 

[elishacoombes9]

While I agree with most of what you are saying, my Crestie Strawberry didn't eat when I first got her last year and she didn't eat for a few weeks, I started hand feeding her after weeks of trying to get her to feed on her own.

Once she was at a reasonable weight, I slowed it down. I did many many things before hand feeding.

My point is, be careful saying it won't Starve itself because, well you don't know that it won't.

If the Gargoyle is eating, but only small amounts and not loosing weight then I wouldn't worry, it might change as it gets older.

That’s what I did above with my female^
She didn’t eat so had to hand feed for 2 weeks. Then after I stopped., took her around a week to eat alone. She was bred like mad though so she wasn’t used to being able to eat when wanting to and not worry about a Male jumping her.

And it’s not just me who’s had problems, I’m saying it won’t starve itself as we’ve rescued skin and bones before, friends had them who won’t eat etc. They will eat, they hunt in the wild and will eat when they want. A lot of mine go off food certain times of the year but they do eat. Just not a lot and sometimes not noticeable.
It needs to realise it can eat when it wants,
Also they don’t like being annoyed when they eat at night, some don’t mind but clearly little gargoyle does, so the op needs to just leave him/her to it. Take a pic of food before and see if changed next day.
It’s kept the same weight for nearly a year, yes looks slim but it’s obviously eating something or would be skin and bones like the cresties I rescued who literally were starved on jelly pots.
And would be dropping weight quickly if eating nothing too.


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[LiasisUK]

Throw crickets in (the same size as his head or larger) and leave them in until they're eaten. It sounds like you just put them there and remove immediately. Pretty much all gargoyle geckos (from my experience) won't eat in front of you, and I have bred many.

Also get him a UVB light and increase the temps to 24 to 27 c

 

[M1chelle]

Hope that helps. A few of mine didn't like watermelon and my fussy Crestie turned her nose up at food& insects.

I've just bought a CGD that contains bee pollen from reptile supplies. There are several flavours and contains bee pollen. I'm going to try it out tonight to see if that helps my fussy Crestie, of so I will let you know.


Your temp and humidity seem okay.

maybe add another food place in to see if that helps? And try not to let it drop below 60% humidity?

i have another Crestie that will only eat insects if they are in the it bowl, have you tried that?

wax worms are an occasional treat for my Cresties, not sure if they will work as your Gargoyle isn't even interested in insects but thought I'd mention it just incase.

So I gave my Crestie tropical flavour and she eat it all! Might be a fluke so I'm feeding it to her again tonight 🤞 but that's the most she has eat in months!

 

[Calypsotheleo]

Thanks for all the responses!
I know it's probably not very responsible to hand feed after just a week has passed as I am probably a bit too worried...
I ordered bee pollen and the results were instant, baby went from no appetite to eating significantly more, so I am now adding a little bit of that to the food daily until I can be sure they are gaining weight.
Sorry for the misconception by the way, I'm actually in America lol! In a very hot and dry climate.
I will look into getting UVB and since my leopard gecko and the garg terrariums are right by each other, they should be able to share a heat lamp. I'll consider putting some crickets or dubias in a bowl they can't escape from and leave it overnight (I haven't because the gecko hasn't expressed much interest in bugs).
Thank you for all the helpful tips! <3