Leopard gecko not eating?

BunnyGirl

BunnyGirl

New Member
Hello,
I posted a few days ago about a weird bump on my geckos armpit. She now isn't eating. she will go off for a few days sometimes so i wasn;t worried before. but it has now been like a week and a half since she ate. I gave her mealworms, superworms, and wax owrms to entice her, but she didn't even look at them. She just finished lastnight and i have never seen her shed before ( i know she sheds every month, but this one took so long I actually saw her sheding which never happens). Any ideas. nothing has changed in the cage or anything.
 
BunnyGirl said:
Hello,
I posted a few days ago about a weird bump on my geckos armpit. She now isn't eating. she will go off for a few days sometimes so i wasn;t worried before. but it has now been like a week and a half since she ate. I gave her mealworms, superworms, and wax owrms to entice her, but she didn't even look at them. She just finished lastnight and i have never seen her shed before ( i know she sheds every month, but this one took so long I actually saw her sheding which never happens). Any ideas. nothing has changed in the cage or anything.
Click to expand...


I would recommend

1. Don't feed for a couple of days.
2. When you feed again try crickets.
3. Check the temps , its getting colder something may be off in the setup.

and... relax

Are you finding poop ? Is her tail fat? does it look like it is shrinking?

May be time for the vet.

Do you provide belly heat or basking heat?
 
I give basking heat, I am trying to get it hotter for her now. I have tile the cage floor so it is hard to get that heated from under the tank
 
Belly heat is prefreable, leo's are nocturnal and dont bask as such. They use sun warmed rocks/surfaces when digesting food.
how old is it?
How do you create humidity?
Does it drink from the bowl or mistings only?
What were the findings with the bump?
 
I have a heat light on her 24 hrs a day
She was born around christmas ( I got her form someone else so about 10 months)
I mist her tank when she is shedding
she has both a bowl and mistings every 2 days
I found one big bump under her armpit of her right leg.

She may have eaten a small hornworm last night and possibly a waxworm, but I'm not sure
 
Is it the front leg? Sometimes leopard geckos develop a lump looking 'bubble' right below their armpit..not in it, but below it. is this where it is? If so it's completely harmless and I think it is some sort of storage.

I went through the same thing
One of my leopard geckos got really fat and always ate and had a voracious appetite. I fed her everyday and A LOT. her tail got very fat and she got the lumps, then she stopped eating for a good month...tail flattened a little, and now her appetite is back.
The environment did not change at all either.

With their fat storage in the tail...they can go a while without food. if she starts to show signs of illness though, I would take her in, but if it's normal behavior just not interested in food I wouldn't worry too much.

Also, is your heat mat on the outside of the tank? or inside. I would recommend getting rid of the tile where the heat mat is and instead put like a paper towel folded twice over it, it doesn't get too hot, and keeps their belly nice and warm :]
hope my story helped calm some nerves..
 
The light that is on the tank is not a day light, it is a purple night light. I know they are nocturnal. I know that UTH are supposed to be safe, but I have all my tanks sitting on a wooden shelving rack and there is no space between the wood and the bottom of the tank, I wouldn't feel safe putting a UTH on it.
I never found out what the bump is under her armpit, I do believe it is a fat storage pocket.
I also have clay on the bottom of the tank, If I did use a UTH could I keep the clay on the bottom and remove the slate. It is a thin layer of clay about 1/6 of an inch
 
I know that UTH are supposed to be safe, but I have all my tanks sitting on a wooden shelving rack and there is no space between the wood and the bottom of the tank, I wouldn't feel safe putting a UTH on it.
Click to expand...

If its thermostatically controlled, you have no problem. A heatmat wont get hot enough to ignite wood. In anycase, you dont heat the entire floor surface, just a third (gradients still apply) so most of the mat is exposed to air which should greatly reduce the risk of overheating.

Slate I understand, should warm up, act as a heatsink, good idea, but clay seems unnesesary. Being easy to keep clean is a major considering when choosing substrate.

Purple light is fine, but beware that heating a tank from above (depending on size) may make creating a gradient difficult. THe smaller the tank, the smaller the gradient.
Again, UTH is better. You could still use a purple globe to see them, but perhaps a smaller 25watt. (less heat)
 
Yes I have clay as a base substrate, and the peices of slate over the clay. So eve if I don't raise the tank at all it is still safe to use under the tank? i know you only put it under a 1/3 of the tank.
 
It should be yes, but again I reccomend using a thermostat, if its not inbuilt.
you dont mention the wattage of your mat or the temp it reaches.
 
I have been keeping leopards geckos for 5 years. I use heat mats in both vivariums and they are totally safe. BTW on the ground I use kitchen towel.
 
Hello,
I saw her eat a waxworm last night! I think she got bored with her mealworms. I did change her dish to one that is easier to see into and lower. Thanks for all the help. I will keep an eye on her still, but she seems better. I will also be getting her a heat mat soon!
 
Glad to hear she's doing better. Are you sure she is not gravid?
A gravid gecko will be less inclined to eat, the nearer laying it gets (not much room inside) :)
 
She has never been near a male, and I had asked on a gecko forum before and I was told that a female that is not exposed to a male will not lay eggs. I never checked because of this.
 
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