Now this downfall is fault of my own. I had a hectic few weeks and let my Leo's health fall on the back burner.. This is the first Leo I have had in quite a few years so I am rusty on some things. I have Azul in a 10 gal tank, he has a heating lightbulb for his hot side(I just ordered a mat as well), the temps are 88 on the warm side(will increase to 93 when the heat mat comes in), the cool side is around 80, he has three hides one of them being moss, his substrate is paper towls, he has his water dish filled and cleaned daily, he always has dried mealworms readily available an was eating 4 crickets every other day. He now shows no interest in any sort of food. I can put it right in front of his face, I can clearly see him look at the food and then he ignores it. His tail has greatly decreased in size(still not too critical though). I just want him to start eating before it gets too far. The only thing I can think caused it was his tank not being warm enough an the moss got cold because he is constantly in the moss. What ever the cause, What are your tips on getting him to want to eat again?
Ok well your first mistake was not having the UTH. Second the correct size for a Leo's enclosure is 20 gal. They do much better. 10's have been used for years yes but your gecko gets 7-8 inches and thats a bit to large for a 10 gal. I understand breeders using small containers and all to save room but I never agreed with that. But lets get to the main issue...due to not having a UTH the problem could very well be impaction. Which is food not digesting in the stomach and becoming solid because there is no heat or not enough heat to help digest the food. A light isn't even needed unless your house gets cold otherwise a UTH is really all it needs. Look at the gecko's belly. Feel it. If its still soft your probably just catching it before it becomes a critical problem. Try this method.. 2 15 minute luke warm baths a day (80 degrees F works) Nothing higher than his shoulder. Or the first knuckle on your index finger usually is a good way to measure (unless you got tiny hands) buy 2 eye droppers. 1 eye dropper is for Mineral Oil. Three drops on its nose. Let him lick the drops off himself, he will do this naturally. This helps lubricate and break up the food in his stomach 1 eye dropper is for pedialyte (Plain only) a few drops of this on his nose. He will be dehydrated from lack of drinking due to him not eating. Rub his belly. While he is bathing and calm. Use a finger to rub his belly. Not to much or you will stress him. This does work to help break up the impaction and let him use the potty. Do it even after he does go (for a week or so more to make sure he's flushed). And bring him to a Vet. You made a mistake of not keeping up with your Leo. I hope you've learned a valuable lesson from this and will keep up with his needs. Let me know how it goes.
I'm still going to keep an eye on him but he ate two wax worms today not too long after I posted this. I have kept his tank warm enough now with a pad heater I found. I did look at an feel his stomach some a couple days ago and again today an it didn't seem like an impaction. He did just complete his shedding so that also contributed to his non-eating strike. I am actually in the process to upgrade his tank too, which I planned on for a little bit now. The 10gal was temporary. The only reason I didn't think of using a UTH at first is because my grandma doesn't. She has had all sorts of lizards her entire life, including Leo's and has never used one and she has never ha a problem. But I deffinately am upgrading everything in his tank, starting with the UTH. But thanks for the bath suggestion, that I will keep in mind(but will hopefully now not need it seeing as I know what I did wrong). I will still give the vet a call for a professional opinion.
Lay off the wax worms and switch him to Super worms. The wax worms have no real pro's other than Fat intake. Stick to the super worms or (shivers) baby dubia roaches (I won't go near them at all). But happy to know it isn't impaction and just a random occurance (my leo eats before and after her shedding every gecko is a little different). There is nothing wrong with getting second opinions Im just happy I could be of service.
Yeah, I am aware of the wax worms only being fat, that's why I was trying to get him to eat two. So he had a little bit of fat since he was loosing some. I now have a UTH and the propers items I need for him and he seems to be doing a lot better already. thanks again.
