What To Do If Your Crested Gecko Is Not Eating

The truth of the matter is, your gecko likely IS eating, but you are not around to witness it or are not looking for the correct signs.

The goal is to create an environment for the gecko where the amount they eat will sustain a healthy growth rate of your gecko.

For young geckos, this is particularly important as they are in vital growing stages. Our geckos are raised eating Pangea crested gecko diet every 3 days and gut-loaded bugs 1-2 times per week. By their first birthday, our geckos are typically 25-40g in weight, with most existing around the 35g range. For people in warmer climates, some may reach higher weights sooner, and for those in colder climates, it may take longer to reach mature size.

To guarantee your gecko has the best chance of eating and growing you should ensure that:

• Your enclosure size reflects the gecko’s current size;

  Too large of enclosures CAN be a bad thing for small or stressed geckos, especially if they are in a new, unfamiliar environment. Many new keepers will set up a beautiful, elaborate enclosure before they bring their gecko home - which sounds great in theory, until you cannot tell if your gecko is eating or your gecko starts to lose weight.

  Try downgrading to a smaller enclosure (like a 6-32qt quarantine bin, depending on your gecko’s size) with a ventilation screen and holes. Geckos sometimes will be stressed or have a difficult time locating food in larger enclosures. This can happen if they are put in too large of an enclosure for their current size, or if they are upgraded and become overwhelmed. New animals should be kept in sterile quarantine with paper towels for at least 30 days, optimally 90 days. This gives you adequate time to pick up on any signs of illness and ensure your animal is healthy before they are added to their more elaborate enclosure.

  Although 18x18x24 enclosures are a wonderful choice for an adult gecko, many juvenile geckos may not thrive in this size due to not being able to adequately find their food or expending lots of energy for the amount of food they are consuming. Too large of an enclosure for young geckos can lead to malnutrition and growth stunting (becoming lanky/undersized adults).

Your temperature/humidity is within range;

• Crested geckos do best when offered humidity fluctuation and moderate temperatures. Too high/low of temperature and humidity can cause stress and a reduction in food intake. A spike in humidity overnight (80%+) is achieved by a heavy enclosure misting, followed by a drop to around 40-50% humidity during the day. Constant high or low humidity can lead to respiratory distress, shedding issues, dehydration/over-saturation, and death. One of the leading killers of crested geckos next to heat and dehydration is over-saturation (too much humidity/moisture).

  Your ambient temperatures should fall ideally between 70-78 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are looking to raise your temperatures by a few degrees, we recommend using a UVB bulb (6% or shadedweller) and/or a full spectrum grow light bar. This is a safe way to provide a temperature gradient without adding a potentially dangerous heating element to your enclosure. Geckos will be less active and eat less when kept cold, but will also eat less due to heat stress if kept hot. Ambient temperatures in the mid ’80s can kill a crested gecko quickly if they are unable to escape the heat.

• You are offering proper diets & amounts;

  Crested geckos should be getting a complete and balanced crested gecko diet FIRST and insects second. Examples of complete crested gecko diets are Pangea, Repashy, and Lugarti. These diets contain the essential vitamins and minerals to aid in the proper growth and long-term health of your gecko. You can play around with the consistency of food to see what your gecko prefers. Most geckos prefer a thick smoothie to a ketchup-like consistency.

  Do not offer insects until your gecko is reliably eating their crested gecko diet. Crested geckos will hold out and not eat if they know they will be given bugs eventually. Hold out, stay strong. A healthy animal will not starve itself.

  Do not resort to hand feeding as geckos can become reliant and also hold out and refuse to eat from a dish if they know they will be fed. Hand feeding should be done as a last resort if your gecko has lost significant amounts of weight and you are instructed to do so by a veterinarian.

  Geckos should be offered a small, thin layer of crested gecko diet in a shallow dish in order to observe any lick marks in the food. We offer .25 oz reusable silicone feeding cups in our store that seem to entice them to eat, as they are able to walk up to the dish and eat without climbing on the lip of a dish and getting inside (like they would with the plastic disposable dishes). We have had several people come and tell us that their geckos are consistently eating after switching to our dishes after they previously had seemingly barely touched their food before.

• You are using the proper substrate;

  A gecko that is presumably not eating should not be kept on loose substrates. If you assume your gecko is not eating, the first thing that should be done is to put down a layer of paper towel so that any feces your gecko passes can be easily spotted. If you notice any poop, you can be sure that your gecko is eating. It is difficult, if not impossible to spot a tiny spot of feces in an enclosure lined with dirt. A layer of paper towel will ensure feces are spotted promptly, and can also be taken to a veterinarian for a fecal test in a timely manner.