What To Do If Your Pet Gecko Won’t Eat

A growing number of people are keeping geckos as pets. Geckos are interesting and unique animals to have at home, and they are known for being low-maintenance, hassle-free, and easy to care for. Commercial gecko food is readily available, too, which means you don’t exactly need to hunt for insects to feed your pet.

But what if there are problems with your pet gecko? What if it isn’t eating anymore? What do you do?

FIRST THING FIRST:

How Much and How Often Should Your Gecko Be Eating?

As a gecko owner, it is important for you to know how much it should be eating and how often you should be feeding it. This is the only way you’d be able to tell when your pet isn’t eating its food at all and that it’s not just because it isn’t hungry yet.

Geckos mainly feed on live insects. According to the VCA Animal Hospitals, a proper diet for them is made up of commercially cultivated crickets plus a small number of silkworms, roaches, waxworms, mealworms, or other live insects. Make sure you feed these insects well for at least 24 hours before giving them as food. You also need to dust the insects with calcium powder. This way, your pet gets its needed nutritional value from its food.

You also need to make sure your reptile friend has clean and fresh water to drink from a shallow dish. And because calcium is an essential mineral for these animals, you should also give them some calcium powder placed in a separate container.

Young ones feed every 1 to 2 days, while adults feed twice or thrice a week.

How Long Can a Gecko Go Without Food?

You may be wondering how long your gecko can survive without eating and whether you still have enough time to investigate what’s causing the problem. The good news is that reptiles don’t need to eat every day. It is normal for them to go without food for long periods of time, especially during the cold months. In fact, geckos in the wild can last an entire winter season without eating because they have low activity.

As pets, adult geckos can last 10 days to two weeks without food, thanks to the reserved fats stored in their tails.

>>Reasons Why Your Gecko Stopped Eating And What To Do

Geckos can lose their appetite and stop eating for several different reasons. It could be due to their environment, or it could be due to an underlying health issue. It could also be as simple and unalarming as them not liking the food you’re giving them. Fortunately, most of these reasons can be addressed and you can get your pet eating again in no time.

SO HERE ARE THE MOST COMMON REASONS:

Environment is Getting Too Cold

Remember that reptiles are cold-blooded animals and they’re not capable of regulating their body temperature. So, the most common reason why geckos don’t eat is that their environment gets too cold for them. If temperatures in their tank drop below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, especially during winter, their metabolic rate also decreases. And if that happens, their appetite is reduced and they’re likely to stop eating.

What to do:

Fix the temperature of their tank or enclosure to get get them to eat again. Provide supplemental heat or raise the room temperature to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. You may try using a heat mat, but remember that while it will warm the cage flooring, it won’t warm the air circulating around. As such, using a simple heat light would do the trick.

Stressful Environment

Your gecko may be too stressed out to eat. Stress can be caused by many different things, like a transfer to a new tank, the presence of a more aggressive companion in the tank, the presence of other pets in the room, and the tank getting bumped a lot.

What to do:

Identify the stressor and get rid of it. For instance, if one gecko is being bullied by another, then put them in separate tanks. If you have another pet walking around the room, like a dog, place the tank somewhere that your other pet cannot touch or access. Meanwhile, if you just transferred your gecko to a new environment, just give it time to adjust.

Impacted Feces

It’s possible your gecko isn’t eating because it has not defecated and may have impacted feces. This may be due to a hard meal or accidental ingestion of bedding material and other non-food items. Its waste may have also been blocked by urate plugs.

What to do:

Try checking out its tank and see if your reptile pet hasn’t defecated. This is easy if you clean the tank regularly and are already familiar with how much waste your pet eliminates in between cleanings. If you’re sure your gecko hasn’t defecated, try to soak it in a warm bath twice a day, gently massaging its belly. The warm water must be as high as its hips. If this doesn’t work, take it to the vet.

Sickness or Injury

Your gecko may be suffering from a respiratory infection, which may have been caused by a chill, draft, or drop in environmental temperature. It could also be another sickness, such as a blockage in the intestinal tract or mouth ulcers. It is also possible that your gecko has a wound, an eye injury, an abscess, or a problem with its tail or toes. Whatever it is, your pet may be in pain and may not want to eat until this pain is eased.

What to do:

Take it to the vet for proper diagnosis or evaluation and for the appropriate treatment to be given.

Dislike of Food

Geckos can also be picky eaters and yours may just not like the food you’re giving it.

What to do:

Try to give it food that stimulates its appetite. Safe food includes those mentioned above. Just make sure these insects are not too large for your gecko to eat. They’re the right size if they are smaller than the space in between its eyes or smaller than the width of its mouth. It is also important to give it live insects. The motion of the insect attracts its attention. Dead insects, on the other hand, could house internal parasites and may be ridden with harmful bacteria.

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There are a few other possible reasons why your gecko is not eating. The moment you notice the lack of appetite and you cannot tell what may be causing it, the safest thing to do is always to take it to the vet for a proper health assessment. There are veterinarians specializing in exotic pets and who would know what course of action to take.

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