Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Reptiles > lepoard gecko

lepoard gecko

22 11:53:16

Question
I have a baby lepoard gecko he seems to be getting very skinny and not much interest in eating. He usto eat very well I got him with no tail I've heard there nutrients are in there tail don't know if that's what's wrong. I've got 24 others that are growing fast and seem very healthy so I don't know what's wrong. I feed him meal worms and crickets. His aquarium is abt 80 degrees. Please help I would appreciate any help u can give.

Answer
More information would be helpful.

Proper temperatures for a leopard gecko are 80F ambient, and a 90F basking spot, during the day.  Crickets and mealworms must be dusted every time with a quality calcium powder, containing vitamin D3, since these insects are very high in phosphorus.

Please isolate this hatchling, if he is currently in an enclosure with other animals.  His problem may be as simple as being the lowest animal on the totem pole, and being stressed out.

Where did you get him?  If you got him from a pet store, pet stores are not a good source for pet reptiles, and the risk is much higher that a pet store animal will have parasites, or an infectious disease.

Isolate him first, with proper temperatures, and see if his appetite picks up after a week.  If his activity level declines and his appetite does not improve, then take him to an experienced reptile veterinarian.

If he has been isolated for at least a week already, then I would take him to a vet immediately.

If he doesn't make it, then definitely get a necropsy done.  With 24 other geckos in your care, you want to know what was wrong, and be sure it was not something contagious that could kill your other animals.

His symptoms are too general to guess at any specific cause.  Loss appetite in reptiles is the result of almost every issue they can have, and is often the first sign that something is wrong.