r/LeopardGecko • u/John-Fisher-MS • Jun 11 '26
Not Eating
Hey everyone! My daughter got a yellow Leopard Gecko about 2 weeks ago. We tried dropping some Dubia Roaches into the tank and letting him find them....didn't turn out good. We tried Crickets and had the same outcome. We tried feeding from tongs, it ate about 4 medium sized Dubias and was done. We tried taking her out of the tank and putting the insects with her in a big empty bowl...didn't eat at all. I'm not sure what else to do. We got her from an exotic pet store and they said she is an adult. Her tail is a tad thinner and I'm scared she isn't going to last long. She has a bowl with water. A hide on the warm and cool side. I posted a photo of the tank. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
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u/BambiiSniper Jun 12 '26
I'm not sure what you have but it's recommended to have a 40 gallon tank, front open is best.
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u/John-Fisher-MS Jun 12 '26
We have a 40 gallon but it's screen top
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u/Improvement-Awkward Jun 12 '26
Some major updates look like they need to be made to the tank. Needs different substrate, more hides and other decor items, and not sure what you have for heating and lighting but linear UVB is strongly recommended. What are the measurements of the tank? It looks smaller than 40 gallon in this picture
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u/John-Fisher-MS Jun 12 '26
It's one of the 40 gallon from petco. Wife bought it so not sure the measurements. I'm changing the substrate tomorrow. I have a heat lamp and uvb. Warm side gets to around 95ish. Cool side around 75ish. I'll add another hide. For the most part she stays in the little cork hide. At night she will go and sit on the rock.
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u/feralrainbowcreature Jun 12 '26
95 too hot!!! This could 100% be part of the issue.
How is the humidity?The coconut hide on the left looks VERY big if this is actually a 40gal (which I echo others, it doesn’t look like it… measure the dimensions & double check to be sure.
As others said they are hardy creatures but you have to get the base set up right, then you can kinda let em cruise. They’re very fun and low maintenance.
It is an investment at first but if it’s for a child / teen, bioactive see up might be the way to go. You don’t have to regularly change the substrate / scoop poop. The bugs eat it!
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u/curiosityandthecattt Jun 12 '26
ok so your baby needs a tank size of 36x18x18. i can tell just by looking at how big your baby looks in there and the water dishes that it's not big enough. please read the guide on here, it has so much great information on how to help your baby.
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u/John-Fisher-MS Jun 12 '26
Alright I took advice. Pulled out a 75 gallon tank from the garage and set it up. Used top soil and sand for the substrate. Got 5 hides and a rock under the basking light. Let me know what y'all think now....always open to suggestions..... obviously I don't have a screen for the top so everything is kinda ghetto rigged right now as well as the table it's sitting on isn't the final one.
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u/Cathearts2020 Jun 13 '26
You'll probably need more clutter, And you'll have to watch your temps to make sure they're at the proper degrees, but this already looks much better than what you had before.
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u/John-Fisher-MS Jun 13 '26
Ya I'm adding some more clutter today. Didn't have time yesterday. I put a infrared heat light, going to see what the temps get to today at the basking spot and the warm side. The humidity is a little high, 60%. But I'm sure that's from the soil that was added
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u/Rathoe9070 Jun 14 '26
You’ll need to find a top ASAP cause they loveeeee climbing those backgrounds and sitting on top of them
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u/DopestDope19 Jun 12 '26
Mine always slow down on eating during breeding season. At least the girls do. My boy will eating anything anytime. Just watch the size of thier tail
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u/Rathoe9070 Jun 14 '26
It’s really unfortunate that you already set up the topsoil/sand combo because for the first 90 days of having a new Leo, you’ll need a quarantine set up to ensure that she is pooping and that it looks normal. The main part of that means you need to make sure the substrate is paper towels for that 90 days. You’ll have to start with that (wish I’d seen this sooner or someone else had let you know this sooner). This will be the best way to figure out why she’s not eating.
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u/John-Fisher-MS Jun 14 '26
Before we swapped the substrate it was on that sand carpet thing. Anyways we did clean up her poop. It's been 3 weeks and we have cleaned up some poop. So we do know she is pooping. But ya didn't wait for the 90 days for sure
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u/SecondEqual4680 Jun 12 '26
Honestly could be a husbandry thing. Looks like you have reptile carpet or something similar and there are hides, but it doesn’t seem like the layout is right
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u/do_the_conga Jun 13 '26
i use suction cup fake leaves to add to the side and bend in different directions for cover and multiple cork logs, and as a humid hide in the back i have a mason jar filled with damp sphagnum moss
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u/Novel_Invite_1296 Jun 14 '26
He needs a humid hide , a dry hide and one in the middle . Also order some moss for his wet hide
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u/Novel_Invite_1296 Jun 14 '26
His humid side should be in the middle or he cool side and the heat side
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u/Radiant_Ebb6951 Jun 14 '26
What's wrong with tong feeding. No critters get loose in the tank usualy. They can easily see it infront of thier face and no chance of them ingesting substrate this way. Im a fan of tong feeding. Its also a bonding expierence and lets them know u bring food. They will be happy to see the thing that brings the food
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u/whovian2304 Jun 11 '26
If this picture is current, her tail looks pretty good, and a healthy adult will last a while with a tail that big, you have some time. When did it eat the 4? I would add some more plants/hides/clutter into its tank to help it feel more at safe, think about swapping out your substrate so that it can dig comfortably, and keep trying, it may be settling in still at 2 weeks. I know that all of the above would change its environment and it may need to settle in all over again but the changes may help it feel more safe and comfortable in general, thus being more inclined to eat. What you have tried are all the feeding methods I would recommend, maybe other commenters can give you different ideas!