Help!
My Leopard Gecko is getting skinny and not eating!
This is a concern I have seen over and over again in the reptile hobby for as long as I can remember. It is usually chalked up to one of three major things : Poor husbandry. Stress or Cryptosporidiosis (aka: Crypto). I am not a veterinarian so I am not here to jump into the "Crypto" debate. Some believe all Leopard Geckos carry it but extreme stress can trigger it. Some believe any gecko who tests positive should be euthanized. All I am going to tell you is is considered highly contagious so any affected Leopard Geckos should be isolated from ALL other reptiles.
I am not here to diagnose or give any on Crypto (also called Stick Tail). I advise anyone concerned to do their own research. My information here is to help those who are desperately struggling to get their gecko feeding again. I highly recommend consulting a veterinarian if you have any health concerns about your gecko.
Now - Lets get your Leopard Gecko eating again!
This is intended to be a STEP BY STEP GUIDE. As tempting as it might be to 'jump around' and try things in a different order I highly encourage you to follow it step by step. Even if you feel you have already ruled some of these items out. I put this together with over 20 years of experience working with Leopard Geckos. This includes breeding my own, helping other breeders and helping other hobbyist.
I have linked items I feel may be useful to you as you go along this care guide.
My Leopard Gecko is getting skinny and not eating!
This is a concern I have seen over and over again in the reptile hobby for as long as I can remember. It is usually chalked up to one of three major things : Poor husbandry. Stress or Cryptosporidiosis (aka: Crypto). I am not a veterinarian so I am not here to jump into the "Crypto" debate. Some believe all Leopard Geckos carry it but extreme stress can trigger it. Some believe any gecko who tests positive should be euthanized. All I am going to tell you is is considered highly contagious so any affected Leopard Geckos should be isolated from ALL other reptiles.
I am not here to diagnose or give any on Crypto (also called Stick Tail). I advise anyone concerned to do their own research. My information here is to help those who are desperately struggling to get their gecko feeding again. I highly recommend consulting a veterinarian if you have any health concerns about your gecko.
Now - Lets get your Leopard Gecko eating again!
This is intended to be a STEP BY STEP GUIDE. As tempting as it might be to 'jump around' and try things in a different order I highly encourage you to follow it step by step. Even if you feel you have already ruled some of these items out. I put this together with over 20 years of experience working with Leopard Geckos. This includes breeding my own, helping other breeders and helping other hobbyist.
I have linked items I feel may be useful to you as you go along this care guide.
Before we jump into food we need to go over your geckos environment with a fine tooth comb.
#1 : Is your gecko housed with other geckos? I know this is a VERY controversial topic. I am not here to tell you which is right or wrong. However, if you have a gecko that is NOT eating well or dropping weight you need to separate it from any other geckos. This should be #1. Especially if the other geckos appear to still be healthy and feeding well. Sometimes when kept in groups you have a gecko who starts to get bullied. You may not see it but that can be a reason they stop eating. Also - if this gecko really is sick you want it away from other geckos ASAP! A gecko who has lost weight or stopped eating needs to be isolated. Period. Sometimes if you isolate the gecko and give it a few days it starts eating again with gusto! If your gecko is already housed alone or has been isolated - continue.
#1 : Is your gecko housed with other geckos? I know this is a VERY controversial topic. I am not here to tell you which is right or wrong. However, if you have a gecko that is NOT eating well or dropping weight you need to separate it from any other geckos. This should be #1. Especially if the other geckos appear to still be healthy and feeding well. Sometimes when kept in groups you have a gecko who starts to get bullied. You may not see it but that can be a reason they stop eating. Also - if this gecko really is sick you want it away from other geckos ASAP! A gecko who has lost weight or stopped eating needs to be isolated. Period. Sometimes if you isolate the gecko and give it a few days it starts eating again with gusto! If your gecko is already housed alone or has been isolated - continue.
#2 : Check your temperatures carefully. You may have had the temperatures perfect before but you need to check them again! Have you turned on a new fan? Did you changed your house temperature? Is the season of the year different? Did you move the cage? The air temperature on the "hot" side of the cage should be 88 - 90 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. At night the cool side can safely drop into the 70's but I like to keep the hot side at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit at night. You can use a variety of reptile heating elements to achieve these temperatures but I never recommend a hot rock. If you realize your temperatures are dropping a little too cool -especially during the day - the first thing you want to do is bring them up to where they should be. A gecko can get very sick if they eat and get too cold so if they feel their environment is unstable they may stop eating.
#3 : Check your environment! Your gecko should be getting 10 - 12 hours of daylight every day. They should be dark at night. If you have bright lights on your gecko 24 hours a day it can stress them out. They should also have 3 - 4 hiding places at the bare minimum. You should have one hide on the hot side, one hide on the cool side plus at least ONE "humid" hide. In a perfect world I would give them a humid place to hide on both sides of the tank so they can decide which they prefer but if you can only give them one put it closer to the warm area. These geckos are often thought of as desert dry sand geckos but that is not entirely true. Average daily humidity should range around 30 - 40% but they do need a humid place to retreat to - this is very important when they are shedding.
#4 : HYDRATION! Have you ever been dehydrated in your life? You feel crummy and the last thing you want to do is eat. While it seems silly to say but we need to make sure you gecko is hydrated. I have run across a lot of starving geckos that are simply dehydrated. Has your geckos water bowl run dry recently? Make sure you gecko has clean, fresh water. Make sure the humid hides are indeed humid and not dried out. It can happen to the best of us - we get busy for a week with life and next thing we know the cage has dried out. If your gecko drinks and re-hydrates it may start eating for you within a day or two. You can also try getting a clean spray bottle and misting your gecko in it's cage lightly twice a day. While not common, occasionally you get a gecko who just doesn't like to drink from a bowl. Sometimes they really prefer to drink from the fresh mist. Still don't see your gecko drinking? You can also try a hydration soak. You can use just luke warm water or you can buy the electrolyte soak made for reptiles. You can take a tupperware container and put a few air holes in the top of it. Add just enough water or electrolyte soak so the gecko can stand up and keep it's head out of the water safely. This will vary based on the size of your gecko. Add the lid and keep a close eye on your gecko. You can let them 'soak' for about 10 minutes 2 -3 times a week while they are not eating. Always supervise! If you have a very weak gecko they may not be strong enough to keep their head out of the water so be aware and adjust accordingly. Also, make sure the water is warm not cold!
A lot of times you can get an otherwise healthy gecko eating again just by going back over steps 1 - 4.
#5 : KEEP IN MIND: When you have a gecko who is not eating - assume the gecko is stressed. Even if not mentally 'stressed' it's body is STRESSED. While I am about to offer you a lot of different options keep any interactions with your gecko SHORT. No more then 10 -15 minutes per day if at all possible. (Obviously - things like going to the vet will take longer). If you don't get the desired result (eating) within 10 - 15 minutes put the gecko away and try again the next day. Spending long amounts of time trying to get them to eat can sometimes stress them out more. Pick one thing to try - if it doesn't work. Wait and try again the next day. Do NOT be playing with a gecko who is not eating. Keep handling and interactions short and just what is necessary! Don't try too many things at once! Take things one day at a time if possible.
A lot of times you can get an otherwise healthy gecko eating again just by going back over steps 1 - 4.
#5 : KEEP IN MIND: When you have a gecko who is not eating - assume the gecko is stressed. Even if not mentally 'stressed' it's body is STRESSED. While I am about to offer you a lot of different options keep any interactions with your gecko SHORT. No more then 10 -15 minutes per day if at all possible. (Obviously - things like going to the vet will take longer). If you don't get the desired result (eating) within 10 - 15 minutes put the gecko away and try again the next day. Spending long amounts of time trying to get them to eat can sometimes stress them out more. Pick one thing to try - if it doesn't work. Wait and try again the next day. Do NOT be playing with a gecko who is not eating. Keep handling and interactions short and just what is necessary! Don't try too many things at once! Take things one day at a time if possible.
#5: FINALLY -FOOD!!! Ok - we have finally got the bare basics out of the way.
Before you read any farther - If your gecko starts feeding again take things SLOW! If they have been off food a while their stomach is not use to processing large amounts of food. If they eat too much at first it could make them puke and go off food again! I have seen this happen many times. You don't want to go backwards! TAKE IT SLOW! If they eat one or two bugs GREAT! As tempting as it is to keep going - take a break! Wait 24 hours and offer one or two bugs again. Wait another 24 hours and offer two or three bugs. Wait 24 hours and offer three or four bugs. If a gecko has been off food a long time you need to reintroduce food slowly over a week or two before allowing them to free feed all they want !
A: Type of Food - For reasons I can not fully explain I have seen otherwise healthy geckos just stop eating. Maybe something happened and they now associate a specific food type with a negative experience? Maybe they just get bored with eating the same food every day? Maybe they are missing something nutritionally or maybe they have too much of something nutritionally. If you only feed your gecko one or two types of insects you may just need to start giving them more variety.
If you mainly feed mealworms - try offering BSF larva, crickets or dubia roaches.
If you mainly feed crickets - try offering BSF larva, mealworms or dubia roaches.
If you mainly feed dubia roaches - try offering BSF larva, mealworms or crickets.
If you have an adult gecko that is still relatively healthy looking and active try offering one superworm.
(Do NOT offer large superworms to young, VERY thin, emaciated or weak geckos.)
B: The way you offer Food - Again for reasons I can not explain I have seen geckos develop and aversion to how they are fed.
If you usually feed your gecko out of a bowl - try offering food on tongs or letting a few bugs run around the cage.
If you usually feed your gecko on tongs - try offering a bowl of food or letting a few bugs run around the cage.
If you usually let food run around the cage -try offering food in a bowl or from tongs.
*** A few things to note : Dubia Roaches, Mealworms and Superworms will dig down and hide in the substrate. If you try letting them run loose in the cage only drop one or two right near your gecko for them to see. This way you can remove them before they disappear if your gecko is just not interested. Crickets are more likely to stay on the surface to be found.
If you usually only offer food during the day try offering food at night. If you don't normally leave a bowl of food in the cage try leaving a bowl of food in the cage overnight. If you are offering crickets it is OK to leave one or two in the cage overnight running around. Just don't leave 6+ crickets running around as this may start to annoy or stress your gecko more.
If you always dust your bugs with calcium try NOT dusting the bugs for a little while (you can still leave a bowl of calcium in the cage). If you never dust your bugs with calcium try dusting them with calcium
Before you read any farther - If your gecko starts feeding again take things SLOW! If they have been off food a while their stomach is not use to processing large amounts of food. If they eat too much at first it could make them puke and go off food again! I have seen this happen many times. You don't want to go backwards! TAKE IT SLOW! If they eat one or two bugs GREAT! As tempting as it is to keep going - take a break! Wait 24 hours and offer one or two bugs again. Wait another 24 hours and offer two or three bugs. Wait 24 hours and offer three or four bugs. If a gecko has been off food a long time you need to reintroduce food slowly over a week or two before allowing them to free feed all they want !
A: Type of Food - For reasons I can not fully explain I have seen otherwise healthy geckos just stop eating. Maybe something happened and they now associate a specific food type with a negative experience? Maybe they just get bored with eating the same food every day? Maybe they are missing something nutritionally or maybe they have too much of something nutritionally. If you only feed your gecko one or two types of insects you may just need to start giving them more variety.
If you mainly feed mealworms - try offering BSF larva, crickets or dubia roaches.
If you mainly feed crickets - try offering BSF larva, mealworms or dubia roaches.
If you mainly feed dubia roaches - try offering BSF larva, mealworms or crickets.
If you have an adult gecko that is still relatively healthy looking and active try offering one superworm.
(Do NOT offer large superworms to young, VERY thin, emaciated or weak geckos.)
B: The way you offer Food - Again for reasons I can not explain I have seen geckos develop and aversion to how they are fed.
If you usually feed your gecko out of a bowl - try offering food on tongs or letting a few bugs run around the cage.
If you usually feed your gecko on tongs - try offering a bowl of food or letting a few bugs run around the cage.
If you usually let food run around the cage -try offering food in a bowl or from tongs.
*** A few things to note : Dubia Roaches, Mealworms and Superworms will dig down and hide in the substrate. If you try letting them run loose in the cage only drop one or two right near your gecko for them to see. This way you can remove them before they disappear if your gecko is just not interested. Crickets are more likely to stay on the surface to be found.
If you usually only offer food during the day try offering food at night. If you don't normally leave a bowl of food in the cage try leaving a bowl of food in the cage overnight. If you are offering crickets it is OK to leave one or two in the cage overnight running around. Just don't leave 6+ crickets running around as this may start to annoy or stress your gecko more.
If you always dust your bugs with calcium try NOT dusting the bugs for a little while (you can still leave a bowl of calcium in the cage). If you never dust your bugs with calcium try dusting them with calcium
NOTHING IS WORKING!
My Gecko STILL won't eat!
I know - it's frustrating! At this point your gecko has likely been off of food for weeks or months. This is where it often gets termed "stick tail" as your gecko is likely very skinny and weak. I hope at this point you have consulted a vet but there is still hope to get them eating! I still have some tricks up my sleeve that I have seen work time and time again. Everything above STILL applies - especially TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, HIDE BOXES and HYDRATION.
At this point I recommend you try to move your gecko down to a much smaller cage. If you have your gecko in a large 30, 40, 50, 75, 100 gallon tank... move them down to a 10 gallon hospital tank. This is your hospital tank. It's not intended to be forever. It's still critical you get your temperatures right. You still want normal day/night cycle. You still want 2 hide boxes plus one humid hide. A water bowl. I recommend using paper towels on the bottom. If you want something thicker you can use shop towels. This helps to see if your gecko is pooping and also helps keep insects from hiding if you leave anything in the cage.
At this point I recommend trying two different insects all together. These insects are NOT nutritionally sound for a long term diet but they can do WONDERS for getting a sick gecko to eat again. I leave these as a last resort because some geckos get HOOKED on them. At this point getting the eating is the #1 goal. We need to get there stomach working. Get nutrition into them.
Hornworms : I recommend buying hornworm cups from rainbow mealworms or dubia.com. I feel like my worms usually come smaller from rainbow mealworms which is what you want. You don't want to offer a sick weak gecko a GIANT hornworm. The size of the worms will vary from microscopic to just right in size when you get them. They grow VERY fast so even if they are microscopic they will be feeding size in a couple days. I find it best to offer them to the gecko when they are about as thick as a pencil and maybe an inch long. You can try and offer them on tongs but if the gecko doesn't take it just leave one or two crawling around the cage. I have seen geckos take them hours after they have been left in the cage. Like a little light bulb clicks on in their brain and they think "wow, that looks tasty!". If your gecko eats one or two wait 24 hours and offer them again. Hornworms grow VERY fast so they will outgrow your gecko. Keep that in mind. I would only order one cup to start with. You will need to order again soon if the gecko starts eating. If they start eating you can slowly offer them a little bigger each time as well. Hormworms are largely made up of water so their nutritional content is LOW but they can do wonders to getting a gecko on the road to eating again.
Waxworms : The holy grail of gecko temptation. Just the smell of them can send geckos into a feeding frenzy. The plus side is they keep a lot longer then hornworms as well. However they are very fatty! While this sound perfect for a thin starving gecko - too many can give them diarrhea and upset there GI track more. These are for temptation! A 'treat' so to speak. If your gecko has refused everything else you can offer it 1 - 3 wax worms at a time. Sometimes this spurs their drive for food. If you gecko takes 2 or 3 wax worms GREAT! Stop there and leave a hornworm in the tank overnight to see if it will take that too.
My Gecko STILL won't eat!
I know - it's frustrating! At this point your gecko has likely been off of food for weeks or months. This is where it often gets termed "stick tail" as your gecko is likely very skinny and weak. I hope at this point you have consulted a vet but there is still hope to get them eating! I still have some tricks up my sleeve that I have seen work time and time again. Everything above STILL applies - especially TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, HIDE BOXES and HYDRATION.
At this point I recommend you try to move your gecko down to a much smaller cage. If you have your gecko in a large 30, 40, 50, 75, 100 gallon tank... move them down to a 10 gallon hospital tank. This is your hospital tank. It's not intended to be forever. It's still critical you get your temperatures right. You still want normal day/night cycle. You still want 2 hide boxes plus one humid hide. A water bowl. I recommend using paper towels on the bottom. If you want something thicker you can use shop towels. This helps to see if your gecko is pooping and also helps keep insects from hiding if you leave anything in the cage.
At this point I recommend trying two different insects all together. These insects are NOT nutritionally sound for a long term diet but they can do WONDERS for getting a sick gecko to eat again. I leave these as a last resort because some geckos get HOOKED on them. At this point getting the eating is the #1 goal. We need to get there stomach working. Get nutrition into them.
Hornworms : I recommend buying hornworm cups from rainbow mealworms or dubia.com. I feel like my worms usually come smaller from rainbow mealworms which is what you want. You don't want to offer a sick weak gecko a GIANT hornworm. The size of the worms will vary from microscopic to just right in size when you get them. They grow VERY fast so even if they are microscopic they will be feeding size in a couple days. I find it best to offer them to the gecko when they are about as thick as a pencil and maybe an inch long. You can try and offer them on tongs but if the gecko doesn't take it just leave one or two crawling around the cage. I have seen geckos take them hours after they have been left in the cage. Like a little light bulb clicks on in their brain and they think "wow, that looks tasty!". If your gecko eats one or two wait 24 hours and offer them again. Hornworms grow VERY fast so they will outgrow your gecko. Keep that in mind. I would only order one cup to start with. You will need to order again soon if the gecko starts eating. If they start eating you can slowly offer them a little bigger each time as well. Hormworms are largely made up of water so their nutritional content is LOW but they can do wonders to getting a gecko on the road to eating again.
Waxworms : The holy grail of gecko temptation. Just the smell of them can send geckos into a feeding frenzy. The plus side is they keep a lot longer then hornworms as well. However they are very fatty! While this sound perfect for a thin starving gecko - too many can give them diarrhea and upset there GI track more. These are for temptation! A 'treat' so to speak. If your gecko has refused everything else you can offer it 1 - 3 wax worms at a time. Sometimes this spurs their drive for food. If you gecko takes 2 or 3 wax worms GREAT! Stop there and leave a hornworm in the tank overnight to see if it will take that too.
