Brumating? Hunger strike? You tell me.

[Andyrc]

Hey guys. Quick question if any of you have experience with a gecko not eating. Which, I'm sure many of you have. The temps where I live have been considerably low over the past few weeks and I'm wondering if that could be a factor in all this. The other day I decided to switch from mealies to superworms in an attempt to offer a larger variety of foods to my critter. He has always had a HUGE appetite and would eat more than his fair share every day. (He's a little under a year old.) I offered him the superworms. He showed little interest and actually seemed a little repulsed by them. He was quickly turned off and from that moment on he has been on a hunger strike. I've switched him back to his mealies which he quite enjoyed before, but he won't even touch them anymore.

I'm just trying to figure out if he is not eating because my offering of superworms somehow upset him... He's kind of a sensitive creature, and will sometimes appear upset when I move things around in his habitat contrary to his liking. I was also thinking it could be a temperature issue. Since it's still winter and my house has been on the chilly side I thought maybe he's just brumating? What are other signs of brumation other than not eating? I find it strange that the moment he decided he was no longer interested in food coincides with an attempt to change his diet. I've tried feeding him a few waxworms to kick start his metabolism and hopefully get him eating again. He gobbled them up, but still shows no interest in eating anything else.

The temps in his cage seem fine. His warm side is showing at around 90 degrees and his cool side int he low 80's. Lately he has been acting a bit strange as well. He is either dead to the world asleep, or trying desperately to escape his habitat. Which was not normal for him before he started this hunger strike.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Samantha12]

When one of my females was young, she suddenly went off mealworms and superworms and never looked back. She simply refuses to eat them. Maybe he'd prefer crickets or roaches? It might be brumation, but I've never had any of my geckos go through it. Around this time, my adult males will start eating less merely because of the breeding season.
As long as his tail stays plump, I wouldn't worry.

 

[ebuch]

I have had a few geckos (not like, hundreds like some of the folks here) go from juvenile to adult and it's usually around the year mark, they really stop eating every single day and only go for it when they're hungry. Monday they'll eat plenty, Tuesday and Wednesday, not interested, then Thursday or Friday they are back at it again. I also had them go off meal worms without warning. Give them a few days, throw them some crickets, it'll send them into a frenzy, and after a week or two of crickets they like meal worms again. I've also had the temperature situation, even if it's just a few days if the temp drops I think it worries them. If it's cold they can't digest their food, they need the external heat to move that process along. So whenever I move one, or something happens like a light goes out, or a heat pad and it's a day before I can replace it, or I have to use a substitute before I can get things to normal they always act strangely. It's like the environment is where it should be but they aren't quite back there yet.

Two weeks ago South Carolina had a major ice storm and we lost all electricity. From Midnight to 5 o'clock in the afternoon the next day. I couldn't get them to +++++ (I know the store manager) where they let us in despite it being cold and house my 5 geckos in their wellness section over night. I got them back the next morning and even though they were back to normal, the 8 hours that they were cold, plus the back to back transport stressed them out enough so that they're just now starting to get back to normal. They are small, simple and rather dumb creatures, things get a certain way and they get used to it that way. You change things and they have to adapt. On top of that even though reptiles can recover from just about anything it takes them a little longer than us. One of my females was dull for a week and a half after getting back and they're just now normal. Just a thought. The gecko had to take a couple weeks to get used to the lower temps, now he's getting used to the normal temps. Eating is probably the last thing on his mind. But if it's a full grown gecko and goes more than a week without eating anything I'd call a vet. At least try some crickets first.

 

[Andyrc]

Hey guys, thanks for your replies. I just wanted to give an update and let you know what's going on. I've tried offering him food but he still hasn't eaten a thing all week. I've noticed he's been acting very strange lately. He spends nearly all of his time now trying to escape his cage. He's always scratching on the glass and looking for some way to get out. I've tried offering him food but it's like he's so focused on escaping that he completely disregards everything I'm offering him. I've even tried taking him out of his cage and feeding him somewhere else but he's always just so intent on going somewhere else that he doesn't even take notice of the food that's in front of him. There hasn't been any noticeable weight loss, but I am worried that he's not getting any of the essential vitamins he needs through his diet because he's not eating anything.

He's never acted like this before. He always had an ENORMOUS appetite and loved eating. He never tried escaping either. Any ideas as to what's going on? How can I jump start his appetite again?

 

[Ozy]

http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/70912.htm Please fill that out, that would be very helpful

 

[Andyrc]

Oops, I apologize. I should have filled this out from the beginning.

About your leo:
-sex Not sure, I think it might be a female though.
- Age & Weight Less than a year, I would say about 9 months?, not sure on the weight
- How long have you owned your leo This leo in particular I have owned for about two months now.
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) A friend

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo Every day
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. Lately she has been acting strange, trying to escape her habitat and she stopped eating completely.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. She's never had any problems under my care in the past.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)Fecals look normal
- When was the last time he/she wentA few days (Since she's not eating)
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on

I've noticed he's been acting very strange lately. He spends nearly all of his time now trying to escape his cage. He's always scratching on the glass and looking for some way to get out. I've tried offering him food but it's like he's so focused on escaping that he completely disregards everything I'm offering him. I've even tried taking him out of his cage and feeding him somewhere else but he's always just so intent on going somewhere else that he doesn't even take notice of the food that's in front of him. There hasn't been any noticeable weight loss, but I am worried that he's not getting any of the essential vitamins he needs through his diet because he's not eating anything.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size Exo-Terra Medium Low - I believe the meaurements are 18x24
- Type (ex. glass tank)glass tank
- Type of substrate Tile
- Hides, how many, what kind She has at least six hides in there (Three main hides are warm, cool, and humid) Most are wooden hides and a few rock hides. She also has one coconut hide in there.
B) Heating
- Heat source UTH
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) Warm side is in the low 90's, cool side low 80's
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps? Temp gun/probe digital thermometer
- Do you have any lights (describe) Low watt day bulb (Emits little to no heat)
C) Cage mates None
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)I've always offered mealworms, until she stopped eating and I tried switching to other things... She won't eat anything lately though. Mealies were here staple before the hungers strike started.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish)I often just drop the food in front of her and she would gobble it up.
B) Supplements (describe how often)Calcium each feeding. Calcium + D3 once a week, and multivitamins once a week
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) Exo-terra brand calcium dust and +D3, zoo med reptivite
- What are you gut loading food with ​All sorts of fruits and veggies.

 

[Dinosaur!]

perhaps you actually have a female? and she is ovulating? i know that a few of my girls quit eating when they are ovulating. maybe we could help with the sex if you could post some pictures of your gecko's vent area, and a good picture of her belly (so we can see if she is ovulating)

 

[Andyrc]

I am pretty certain it's a female. Although I'm no expert on sexing. There are no noticeable buldges or pores near the vent. I will try and get a good picture of her belly for you guys as soon as I get home. Do they usually start ovulating this young? And how long does ovulation last?

 

[Dinosaur!]

yeah, i have a 9 month old ovulating right now actually im not exactly sure on how long it lasts, more then a few weeks im sure. hopefully someone else can give you those specifics...

 

[Ozy]

I would guess she's ovulating. Also, I would take out the day bulb. They don't need it and the extra UV can actually burn their skin like a sunburn and hurt their eyes. If there is a window in that room just keep the curtains open or the blinds up and that will be plenty of light. And what you see as her trying to escape, might just be her trying to dig. I would put eco earth in the humid hide to give her something to dig in, and stop handling her so much.

 

[Andyrc]

The bulb I have in there emits no UV rays. It's just a typical low watt house bulb. Sorry, I should have specified that. I live in a basement apartment and it doesn't have much light so I just have it to differentiate between night and day. And I try not to handle her too much. But whenever I stick my hands in the cage to spot clean or change the water she immediately comes out and tries to crawl on my arm. So handling her is kind of unavoidable. Is that okay or should I try to not let her? I'll see if I can set up a hide for her where she can dig and be comfortable. Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try and post a pic of her belly later so you can see if she's actually ovulating. Is there any other behavioral issues I should be aware of while she's ovulating? How long does it typically last? Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[Andyrc]

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to get pics. It wouldn't let me upload them directly to the forum.. So I uploaded them to imgur instead. Here's a link to the pictures.

Gecko - Imgur


What do you guys think?

 

[Dinosaur!]

just a tip, when you upload the pictures to imgur.com, just click on the photo you want in your images tab, then copy the code that is the fourth one down (labelled BBC code), and paste it into your post! wallah! pictures!

as for your gecko, i cannot tell if it is male or female, because the only blurry spot in those pictures is over its vent

 

[Andyrc]

Yeah sorry about that She did not want to hold still for me so I had to put her in a clear container and take a picture from below. It's a little warped cause of the glass but I was mainly trying to get a picture of her belly to see if you guys could tell if she's ovulating or not. Is it possible to tell?

 

[Dinosaur!]

its generally eaiser to tell if they are ovulating by bending them back a little bit, pushing their bellies forward. i cant really tell from those photos though... if you get a better picture it would help, but if you cant, i can give you a picture of one of my ovulating girls, and you can compare it to yours

 

[Andyrc]

That sounds good, if you can send me a picture that would help a lot.

 

[Dinosaur!]

that is my girl whem she was ovulating. i hope this helps

 

[tb144050]

that is my girl whem she was ovulating. i hope this helps

Everytime I see this pic I think, "My girls would bite my fingers off if I tried to bend them that much"...lol

 

[Dinosaur!]

haha! the trick was to use gravity! she hates being looked at like this too, but i just put my thumb in front of her back legs, let her lay across my hand, and was actually holding her pretty much parallel to the floor! its just hard to tell in this picture, but this pic happens to be the best picture of ovulation that ive managed to take! (she bit my thumb moments after this though)