Why has my female leopard gecko stopped eating?
Question: “For context: my partner and I recently bought an adult, female, leopard gecko from a breeder at a reptile expo. She looked perfectly healthy, aside from being a little over weight, and her breeder said she had a couple batches of eggs before and that she is only three years old.. We were not interested in breeding her, we just wanted a pet.
She was eating crickets from our tongs alright after a week of us having her, but for the past three weeks she has flat out refused to eat. We have tried crickets and meal worms, but she tries to get away from them when we hold them out to her like she’s afraid of them or just plain not interested. She still seems fine and she shed the other day (she ate the shed), but even though her tail hasn’t gotten thin yet I am really nervous about why she’s suddenly decided to go on a food strike.
The set up we temporarily have her in is a 40 gallon. We plan on moving her into a larger tank very soon. She has a heat lamp, two hides, fake plants, and a water dish. We keep her on the floor of our room and it’s always at least 70 degrees in our room even when her lamp is off.”
Answer: There are a few things that may contribute to your female leopard gecko not eating, and not only can these affect male leopard geckos too, but they are usually normal and harmless behaviours. Given the time of year, it is likely that she is going into partial brumation, this is backed up by the drop in air pressure in winter, the drop in temperature and the fact she isn’t losing weight. You can find videos on this topic by clicking here.
The other thing that can cause your gecko to lose their appetite is moving into a new home. I would have imagined this occurring when you first got her, rather than 3 weeks into ownership, which leads me to believe she is experiencing partial brumation. However, if you have just brought a gecko home and they aren’t eating immediately, that is also normal. Click to check out 20 Reasons Your Leopard Gecko Isn’t Eating, as well as What To Expect From A New Leopard Gecko.
