[Mikeyp2000]

Hello again..

I apologise yet again for possibly the same old story (as I have searched for previous threads), but i'm beginning to get worried.

Ive had my leo for 6 years now and hes been a happy fella up untill now, hes always been a little skittish and not the biggest of leopard geckos, but has always ate well. But over the past month I have seen a rapid decrease in his appetite and has eaten practically nothing over the past 2 weeks.

The problem is ive not changed anything in his enviroment that he isnt used to. The temperature has been cooled to 24'c in the warm end for winter, which i do every year but apart from that nothinh has been changed from his usual all year round habitat.

Last week I changed about 1/3 of his substrate to sand (the rest is covered with bark), because I thought possibly he needs more contact with the heat the mat is producing from under the vivarium for his digestion. Although hes never had a problem this with before, but i thought i'd try anyway.

He has no physical problems i can see of, so i'm really stuck to what could be causing the lack of appetite.
Ive read up on the exo terra electrolize supplement and i'm thinking to try this.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a worried keeper?

 

[leopardgeckos4me]

Hi first of all give us a run down of your setup ..temps ext.

some points to look out for.....

1. Strange or abnormal behavior
2. rapid wieght loss(exspessialy in tail)
3. darkening of the eyes
4. sunken eyes
5. sloppy/runny /odd colour poops

these are some things that if accur need treated...maybeoffer him mealworms or a treat see how he goes ....if he doesnt eat get a fecal done or take him in to see a vet.It could just be stress also it could be inpaction is he pooing?

Keep us updated

Hope all goes well

 

[Mikeyp2000]

The viv is 24x15x18 inches, hot spot/warm end are 24-25'C currently for winter, about 28-30'C in summer. Cool end is 18-20'C currently (room temp) and is 23'C in summer.
I got a spot lamp and heat mat for the warm end, the bulb gets turned off at night and heat mat is left on so keeps that section at 20'C, while rest of viv goes down to 17-18'C.
Theres a hide in both ends and flat rock for basking (which he occasionally uses), water bowl in cool end.
He always has been very shy, even though he was handled from a young age,but since hes stopped eating i hardly see anything of him. I really would like to be able to just sit and observe him all one night to see what hes been doing lately, cos hes not been active at all.
Oh and he has been pooing, well only once since i cleaned him out last week, which obviously is a sign hes not been eating. Also cleared one poo that looked mostly like a cricket, dry and brown.

 

[K.J.Geckos]

first of all i wouldnt reckomend using bark for him.this isnt a good substrate for leopards really.he could just be going into the winter slow down with all the cold weather we have had the past couple of weeks.my leos started to eat less this year but thats because hes getting on a bit now and i guess hes feeling the cold more now.have you tried feeding a couple of wax worms at all to see if he is hungry or if hes just holding out on you?

 

[BADGERS MUM]

i agree on the substrate,trouble is altho barks not ideal its prob the change in that is enough to unsettle him abit,id go for lino,kitchen roll astro turf if youre atall worried,i had an impaction scare(i have an adult male leo) and changed straight from sand to lino,he was skittish for a day or two but soon settled,end of the day if his tails fat he can go for days without food but id take him to the vets to put your mind at rest,try nuttyaboutgeckos suggestion of waxies they can kick start an appetite and good luck let us all know how hes doing

 

[Mikeyp2000]

I rarely feed wax/meal worms as they arent readily available nearby to its mostly crickets, but i'll try online.
It has been rather chilly past couple of weeks, but hes never usually this inactive. hmm.
What do you think about this exo terra electrolyte supplement? Do you think it would be beneficial?
And again the bark thing, ive used bark since he was about a year old, so hes used to that now and i havent had problems, thats why i only introduced the sand to a third of his viv. But its so mixed with opinions its hard for me to knwo whats right nowadays!

 

[Venomous Poison]

i use electrolyze and it seems to help my leo's my female is going through the same sort of thing at the mo. it says it increases appetite, try it! see if it makes a difference.

 

[K.J.Geckos]

well some leos are kept on bark but as a breeder i wouldnt recomend it myself as i've read and seen some pretty horid pictures and cases at work with leos becoming impacted when house with the stuff.this i would say is worse then sand as if he does eat it then i dont think he would stand a chance of him digesting the stuff where as sand maybe a posability of a little digested.Meal worms are not very nutritional for geckos really but crickets are.wax worms can be fed on ocasion to perhaps stimulate a appertite in a gecko.if you dont want to actually feed him one then try crushing a wax worm and dipping the odd cricket in it.sounds gross but it worked for me.also have you tried feeding hoppers at all?some leos can suddenly decide after years of being on other foods that they will just stop eating what the normal food is.I had a extreamly stubburn gecko that was fed crickets and mealworms at the shop but then refused to eat them for me.with regards to the supplement thingy.i didnt get much luck of it myself when one of my leos was ill last year.some people say it works and others dont think its much of a help but if your really concernd then give it a go.what have you got to loose?

 

[K.J.Geckos]

opps also forgot.try livefoods.co.uk they do great live food on there and they should be with you be tues.i started using them only a couple of weeks ago and i think there quality and promptness is great.really can recomend them

 

[BADGERS MUM]

gotta say mickey youve obviously got a tried and tested method as hes been fine for 6 yrs,it speaks volumes about your care,maybe its the weather maybe he just feels sluggish due to extreme cold spells weve had,you know whats right for him,the substrate debate is rife its personal choice alot of the time,id give waxies a go if you can get them and the electrolyze it certainly wont hurt then maybe consider the vets,fingers crossed for you mate,its always a worry if they act out of the ordinary

 

[Mikeyp2000]

Thanks Badger, I appreciate that comment about care, I am a very over the top worrier so constantly keep an eagle eye over him.

Thanks for all the comments and advice, I like to get as many different peoples views as I can, gives me a good idea of the options I can take.

I'll be trying wax worms and the Electrolize supplement, just hope he gets back to his normal self soon.

 

[BADGERS MUM]

seen you posted on the other thread concerning eating,hope this puts your mind at rest a little as theres a few of us in the same boat,my leo has fits and starts with his food,but he will always munch a waxie,give them a go

 

[Mikeyp2000]

Just been checking up on my Leo and found what appeared to be a partially eaten cricket? It looks like its been bitten but not eaten, anyone know what this is a sign of? Possibly hunger but unable to digest? Is this a sympton of impaction?

Any info is helpful.

 

[Mikeyp2000]

BUMP.

Sorry just really need to know if anyone has experienced what I said above.

 

[BADGERS MUM]

firstly he may of just bitten 1 and left the rest how many did you put in? has he eaten several n just left half? if not does it look like hes pooed it out and its not be digested,thats pretty normal,for my leo,depends how much hes ate and when he pooed,impaction is being unable to pass anything so if hes pooing its unlikely to be that,very hard to say without more info hopefully someone will be able to help more soon

 

[Mikeyp2000]

Ah no thats fine, hes been pooing a little so thats better then nothing I suppose, I jsut need to chill out a bit I think.

Got my Electrolize today so going to pop that in his water in a minute.
Still ain't got my stuff from livefoods.co.uk though, apparently the order was despatched Monday, 1st class Royal mail ain't what its cracked up to be. Hope the waxies and crix aren't all dead.

 

[BADGERS MUM]

both should be fine the waxies can withstand cold weather,i keep mine in the fridge and once my friend left some in my garage and i forgot them it froze that nite and with the exception of the hoppers the crix and waxies were fine,if hes pooed i wouldnt say impaction,cant remember if you keep him on sand or bark and i know its worked for you so all i can really say is vets but then you have the stress of moving him which is a pain too,keep posting!