My Leopard Geckos Strange Dietary Habits

Question
QUESTION: This is my first reptile pet, and I have researched the care of leopard geckos
carefully. Since I brought him home he HAS eaten, but he is a juvenile, so I'm
worried that he isn't eating enough for his age. I know for a fact he eats meal
worms, because he's been eating them just fine, he just doesn't eat twice a
day like I've read they're supposed to. I've experimented with different feeding
practices, including leaving the worms in the enclosure all the time, putting
them in only at night, and putting them in in the morning and leaving them.
Sometimes he eats them, but more often than not, he doesn't. It's been nearly
two days now, and he still shows no interest in food. Is this normal?


Ruby-one of my Leos   ANSWER: Hi Kasey

Welcome to the wonderful world of Leopard Geckos

It sounds from what you are saying that you have only had your Leo for a few days

If this is the case-
Be happy that he is eating at all as many Leopard geckos do not eat for one to two weeks after being moved into a new home

Since he is a juvie-I would just continue the practice of leaving the dusted worms in with him 24/7

Another alternative is to feed both crickets and mealworms
They really do better with a variety of different types of insects in their diet and he may like the crickets better and eat more of them

What was he being fed before you bought him?
He may not have been fed mealworms before you got him and really isn't sure about them yet

It sounds like he is going to do just fine

Here is a link to my Leopard Gecko care sheet

http://www.communities.ninemsn.com.au/LadyGeckosLizardLounge/yourwebpage7.msnw

Good Luck with your new pet and write back if you have any more questions

Sandy aka LadyGecko









---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your help. I've gotten him/her to eat. I suppose the meal
worms weren't stimulating enough so I offered crickets instead, and s/he's
fine with those. I have noticed another little oddity, however, that I can't find
an answer for. I have read that urine is contained within the fecal matter (the
yellow bits?), and yet, I was lying on the sofa with him/her sitting on my
stomach, and out of nowhere s/he produced a large amount of perfectly clear
liquid. It didn't have a noticeable odor, so ... I'm confused. If the yellow bits
are the urine what is the clear stuff?

ANSWER: Hi Kasey

I'm glad to read that your Leo is eating more since you introduced crickets into her diet

At this time of year-even the younger Leos do slow down just a little with the season change but she should still be eating at least every two days

Appetites will vary from gecko to gecko(there is no absolute rule of when and how much each gecko will eat) and especially if they are going into a shed-their appetite will drop considerably until the shed is finished

What a Leo defecates is more of 3 parts than 2-there will be some liquid-the white urate and the darker fecal matter
Change in insets can also affect the way that their feces look and make feces more liquid or firmer depending upon what type of insect is being fed

Also males will mark territory with a liquid-could it be that you have a boy?

Hope that this helps

Sandy aka LadyGecko



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: S/he shed just a few days after I sent my question in, so that may be it. So far  
s/he has had a ravenous appetite, and I am thrilled. I've tried offering meal
worms periodically and there is still little interest in them. Perhaps s/he
doesn't know what to make of them? They could be too large ...

Since I added the crickets, s/he (I was waiting to see what gender s/he was
before coming up with a name, but I've given up and just named him/her
Alastor) has still had normal-looking poo, so whatever this was happened in
addition to that. There also haven't been any enormous wet spots in the
vivarium, so it's only happened twice now to  my knowledge. I have NO idea
what gender Alastor is. He's a juvenile, if it is a he, so whether there are male
sex organs or not is a bit hard to determine. I see a faint shadow of what
COULD be the ^ that males are supposed to have on their underside, but
sometimes when I look again I think I imagined it.

Thank you again,

Kasey

Answer

male Leo Mack Snow   Hi Kasey
You are most welcome

With most Leos-one they reach a weight of 35 grams-it becomes obvious by the hemipenial bulge underneath the tail that they are male
Absence of a bulge usually means that they are a female

I seldom look for pores as I keep all of my juvies in separate tanks/tubs

Hope this helps

Sandy

PS-Included is a pic that shows the underside of one of my males and his hemipenial bulge
I just happened to catch him in this weird position when I was taking pics the other night