My reptile is sick . . .?

Question

I have had my reptile since June 30th I think. She is an adult female Leopard Gecko. A man at Petco perswaded me into getting a juvenile, too. I tried to tell him I was looking for only adults to breed them, but I kindof fell inlove with "Elmo". So I got that baby Leopard Gecko. I now had one adult female and 1 unsexed baby.

Just about 5 days ago, I decided it wasn't right to get something I wasn't looking for. I took the baby back. Now I have 1 female and she hasn't eaten since I've gotten her. Almost a week! I know adults usually eat every other day, but this is insane! I tried to force-feed her: I put her inbetween my legs, then held her mouth open with 1 hand and put a mealworm in it. She ate 1, but today she refused it . . .

Are there any illnesses? I am getting a few more, because I think she is just depressed.

Answer 1

Have you tried to feed her crickets? Sometimes breeders only feed their geckos 1 food source and it just may be that she was raised on crickets and has never seen a mealworm. She might have an internal parasite , this is very comon in leopard geckos. Is her tail skinny? Does her poop stink really bad and is it runny? These are the symptoms of internal parasites. If you can send me a pic of her to : [e-mail]. I might be able to help you out a little bit more. It doesn't make a lot of sence to take a $20 pet to the vet and end up with a $60 bill when the problem can be fixed for less than $10
check out this website , it might help you to understand what is wrong : http://www.anapsid.org/maincaptive.html
And if you are interested in buying a few more , I have 16 available juviniles that are all females and they are only $18 each and shipping will be $18 no matter how many you want. I can send you pics.

Answer 2

please believe me that if you move a reptile into new home, it may not eat for quite a while. they are cold bloded, so it is not like you or me.. not eating since june 30 is NO CONCERN. stop forcefeeding it, it may get it only worse. how would u feel if you were so stressed out that you didnt feel like eating and somebody squeezed your body so that you couldnot move and stuffed food down your throat???? will this make you feel better and start eating?? STOP IT!! i also believe that you didnot even give it any water with the mealworm - did you? pls realize thet it would sooner die of thirst than of hunger, dont you think? eating no food canot harm it for two weeks. so if it ate one mealworm, then it has no wish to eating another -indeed i dont see what is "insane" as you put it. You harrass the poor animal wha would wish only peace and quiet, and then you are surprised that it doesnot eat?? "almost a weak" "iinsane" LOL. LOL. my experience is that depressed animals that go on hungerstrike start eating something really yummy, not actually stapplefood things. besides thy guy who said that it might not be accustomed to worms may be perfectly right. so if you want do something that could help, try to give it some fruit squashed with honey or greens, a cricket just for a change, or dab a droplet of honey on the lips. Make it drink water or water with a bit of honey and calcium supplement (you dab on mouth and it will lick it) every day.

if you insist on forcefeeding (that is if it doesnot start eating in two weeks and start looking skinny) dont grab it between legs -just hold by mouth and open mouth with one hand and feed with the other so that it doesnt freak out and spit it.

if you feed mealworms, they may get deadly constipation, so an adult would prefer superworms if you can get them - just like melaworms, only bigger.

if you want to have more of them, get them now, because they may not like newcomers in their territiory, and generally it is better to keep them in pairs or groups, but if you think of getting some more just to make it happier, then it makes little sense. If you are concerned about its state of mind, you should have thought better before forcefeeding a healthy animal just after a couple of days of not eating! it doesnot show any symptoms of sickness, does it?? then forget about the vet so far. Write me or Timmy email if not sure AND RELAX, IT IS NOTHING!!! IT IS PERFECTLY NATURAL for a newcomer. i would only check the stool fro parasites (when there is some)

forgive me if i am wrong , but it seems that YOU CALL YOURSELF "A LEOPARD GECKO BREEDER AND KEEPER" IN YOUR POSTINGS HERE 6 DAYS AFTER YOU PURCHASED PROBABLY YOUR FIRST ONE and before it even started feeling at home yet ? AH YES, I SEE...

Answer 3

when you buy certain reptiles they should tell you before hand about not putting them in the same cage if you want them to bond to you. it sounds like she really bonded with the other one. she might not like the next one. if you just wanted her, i suggest talking to a vet. they might have a better way for her to start eating again and bond with you instead. there are vets that do take care of reptiles. they are sometimes rare to find depending on where you live.

Answer 4

In the future don't buy reptiles from petco, petsmart or any big chain pet store. Their knowledge of reptile care is feeble at best. And most of the time their advice is incorrect.

Answer 5

Any time a pet doesn't eat as it is supposed to is a cause for concern. Contact a professional vet--not the salesperson--and have your pet checked out. Don't waste any more time on here asking nonprofessionals.

Answer 6

i just got a Leopard Gecko... alls i know is that PetCo doesnt seem to know ANYTHING about them i had to ask my vet alot of questions.

Answer 7

check you tempature if that is not right it could through her off also it is not uncommon for gecko to not eat when they get ready to molte. if the tail is still big you ok. also try a liquid D3 i reccomend zoo meds d3 it called moonlight or soler flare excellent stuff.

Answer 8

well first i would say take her to the vet...it my be expensive but its better than having her die on you. if you can not get to a vet don't feed her live food cause they might choke her if they try to crawl out.... i had to force feed my chameleon baby people food for 4 months (vets orders) when he wasn't able to eat.....so try feeding her like veal baby food until you can get her to the vet....hope i could help...and best of luck to you!

Answer 9

may be illness, depression -or she's tired of meal worms, try crickets or some other bug
(sometimes switching up their food can help)
make sure she's not too hot/cold.
good luck!!

Answer 10

If she was in a tank with more geckos than she is probily lonley.