FWD: Q about feeding a baby Leo

Axe · Jul 2, 2002

This was sent to me by a user, so I've forwarded it here to the forum so others can help.

Hello Everyone, AWESOME website here btw. I purchased Archie about a month ago from a local pet store ( I was told he was a month old at the time). I fell in love with him on site... always wanting a Gecko and loving tigers and such I thought he was the perfect combination and started making arrangements to take him home. I did not think of doing research BEFORE I bought Archie so I did not know what I should be looking for.

He is not very big in fact tiny compaired to others about his age. My concern is he was not eating very well at all and I took him to my trusted Vet and they gave me a few ideas. I tried all they gave me and he still would not eat. So we decided to try meal worms again.

The owner of another local pet store ( That raises baby leos, and I did not know that at the time) told me to pinch their heads off and holding Archie letting him smell and taste the worm would then eat it ...... OK so he ate 2 YAAAAA... but for the next two nights after that I did the same thing and he wanted nothing to do with them. And then finally 3 nights after I feed him the first two .... he ate 1 ok size one and 2 small ones.

Is this normal for little ones to not eat every day?

My vet and I have been doing everything we can thing of and find to try to get him into shape. I would appreciate it if anyone has any suggestions. I also have a pic of him but have forgotten how to use HTML sorry about that. I can always email them to whomever would like to see little Archie.

Thank you very much for your responses.
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And I'm going to post my response here so you all can see, and offer any other advice you may think of.

Thanks for the compliment on the site, those are always welcomed

But I will try to answer a few of your questions here

Just firstly, with regards to not eating very much... has he pooped at all since you've gotten him? and if he has, did your vet do a fecal examination to check for any parasites? This would be the first thing I'd look at. Pet stores do not generally have as good a reputation for keeping their animals as clean and seperate from other species as they should, so it's possible another animal has passed Cocciddea or some other kind of parasite over to your baby. If it's not been done so yet, the next time you see him poop, pop it in a bag, and make sure to get it down to the vet.

What size of tank is he currently being kept in? And what are the conditions inside the tank? (substrate, temperatures, any hides, etc.) Do you have a photograph of the enclosure you could send me so I can get a better idea of how it's set up? One thing though, if he's on sand, get him off it STRAIGHT away. This is most urgent. Leopard Geckos shouldn't be kept on sand until they're fully adult, certainly not for leos younger than 12 months old. Paper towels or newspaper (the kind you buy from art stores without any actual print on it) is the best for a young leo. Sand can cause impaction, which will lead to your leo refusing to eat, and eventually, sadly, death if it's not caught early enough, and on such a young small leopard gecko, an operation to rectify the situation is almost impossible.

Leos, ideally, should eat every day. Make sure you're not giving him full size mealworms, as these can be a little intimidating to a small leo. Now I raise my own mealworms, so I've got all sizes from newly hatched (only 1 or 2mm long) up to full size, right before they start to pupate (about an inch long). It's probably best to give about 1/4 to a 1/2" long mealworms to a leo your size. That may not sound very big, but just feed more of them (as he'll take them). And crickets, try to get hold of two week old crickets.

If you can't find them that small locally, try one of the online suppliers. We have a supplier near here we order from. We order crickets and mealworms by the thousand when we do need to use them. Mealworms come in a tub ranging all sizes, so you could simply pick out the smaller ones to feed to your leo, and allow the larger ones to turn into beetles, and reproduce, giving you more mealworms for the future. Crickets, are pretty much evenly sized, you order the size you want, and they will be that size/age. Two week old crickets should be good to start. And a thousand of 'em will last you a LONG time with just one leo, so try to find a local pet store that carries them that small, and buy a smaller quantity. Say, a hundred or so.

Leos are like humans, or any other animal. They have good days and bad days, and sometimes may not want to eat, but it does sound like you might have a little problem. Try giving some Pedialyte in an eye dropper. Just pop a drop on the tip of its nose, and he'll lick it off. Just go with the plain flavoured, as they seem to prefer that to the many other exotic flavours available. This will put some good nutrients and electrolytes inside him, and help to ensure he doesn't become dehydrated - at such a young age, it can be hard to provide him with a moist hide box that he'll actually use, so you will probably want to mist a part of the tank each day too. This will help him drink and it will aid when shedding. But as I said, if he's on sand, take that out first. Wet sand is a deadly mixture for a young leo. Wet sand will stick to him, and his hands/face, more than dry sand, and there's more inclination to lick it off and accidentally swallow it.

You could also try an insect puree. Mash up all kinds of bugs (crickets, mealworms, waxworms) til they're an almost liquid consistency, and use a syringe to feed into its mouth (obviously taking the needle off the end first). Your vet should be able to provide you with one of these. We always make sure to get a couple when we go to the vets for when they're needed around the home with our lil guys. As with the pedialyte, just put a drop on the nose, and wait for him to lick it off. Force feeding should be a last resort, only to be used if you feel his life is at risk.

How fat is his tail? Does he seem to have a little weight to it at all? I've had adults in the past that have gone 3 or 4 months without eating a thing, but have had VERY little weight-loss. Although, this should not be the case with one so young, there are always exceptions. If the tail is very thin, I would definitely try both the pedialyte and the insect puree. The puree, and the smell from the cocktail of different kinds of insects should intice him to eat at least a few mouthfuls. Don't stress him out. If he takes three or four drops of the puree on his nose, then stops, simply put him back in his enclosure, let him settle for a couple of hours, and then try a little more. Same if he doesn't take it at all. Don't stress him out, just try in small doses. Give it a try for five minutes, if he's not eaten, put him back in his enclosure, and try again in an hour or two.

Remember that leos are primarily nocturnal animals, so you may have better results later on at night (around 9pm-midnight), or early (and I mean early) in the morning before they go to sleep for the day, say around 4-6am. But, that said, some leos are more active during daytime hours, especially younger ones that are still growing. Or, you could be able to simulate night, by going into a dimly lit room. Just have one small desklamp or something there to give you enough light to see what you're doing

Best of luck with the lil guy, and let me know if you have any more questions, and don't forget to E-Mail me a photo of his enclosure if you have one.
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So, if anybody has anything to add, please post it here, and I will make sure they see the responses

[Edited on 2/7/2002 by Axe]

JEFFREH

Rafiki · Jul 5, 2002

nope Axe, think you covered just about everything, now we wait for the response from the original e-mailer

JEFFREH

Axe · Jul 5, 2002

Yup.. fingers crossed everything's ok!

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FWD: Q about feeding a baby Leo

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