Baby Leachianus hasn't eaten yet

[90sman]

Hello,
I purchased a baby leachianus at the reptile expo last sunday and he has yet to eat. From what I read this is normal, but I can't help but worry about my baby. I have him in a secure, vertically oriented exo terra like 10 gallon. Three sides of the tank are covered with forest background.
There is some vertical cork bark in a corner where he spends most of his time during the day. He is quite active at night, just hasn't eaten yet. I've seen him drink from a bowl however.

Temperature is around 80 during the day, and 77 at night. Humidity hovers around 80%. He has been presented with repashy every night since I got him, I also have tried papaya and banana with no luck. I'm hoping he'll come around soon so I can stop worrying, but in the mean time can somebody give me some reassurance?

p.s. I can post a picture of the setup later if it will help.

Many thanks,
90sman

[OctagonGecko729]

Yep its pretty common for leachianus to go off of food for a while when they enter a new environment. They are pretty territorial so throwing them into a new enclosure kind of trips them up for a little while until they establish it as safe.

[godzillizard]

No worries, it's the norm for leachies. The only thing I can say from what I've gathered is that your humidity is too high. These are fine scaled geckos, & thus are more highly susceptible to mold & fungi. I suggest you get the humidity down to ~60-70% during the day, with more ventilation, then mist nightly to boost the humidity overnight. This does a few things, 1st, it better simulates the fluctuating humidity as found on the islands. 2nd, it acts as an appetite stimulant for the little guy, like an evening rain, it better vessels the airborne food particles to his/her olfactory center, making appetite skyrocket. Also, the best way to minimize potential mold & fungi infections is to interrupt their life/breeding cycle-if it's always warm & moist in there, the enclosure acts as a petri dish. I keep all my rhacs this way & have yet to have a single infection. Don't worry about the lil bugger! They do best with minimal interaction at this size, as they are hard wired to fear predation. He/she will eat as soon as he/she feels secure, so be sure to place the food dish within reach of his/her favorite hide, so they don't have to expose themself to snatch a bit of grub. Leachianus NEED a safe, secure place to hide in order to thrive. Also, it's a bit warm for my liking, as I keep all my rhacs in the low 70s, with a small surface basking area (no more than 1/8 of enclosure floor, but accessible while hiding) temp of 78-80. Anything over 80 for any length of time will do more harm than good, IMO/E. These guys prefer a more temperate than tropical climate, with the exception of egg laying & ceratophagic cycles (shedding & eating it).

Congrats! & don't hesitate to ask questions! These guys are not very well documented, especially as far as captive husbandry goes

[90sman]

Thank you both for the replies.

I came home yesterday & was pleasantly surprised to find him at the bottom of his cork bark licking up the previous days food. Unfortunately it was a little dried out, but I think he got some. There seems to be a little bit eaten from last night so the good news is his appetite is there!

Do you think I should give mango, papaya, or banana as an option too?

In regards to the temperature/humidity changes you suggested:
The main reason it was so high was because of the hood lamp which from what i've read they do not need. But I can't imagine them not needing any heat source at all, so I've just been flipping that on for a bit each day. It seems to increase the ambient temperature too much, so it's never on for long :/
What do you do for your leachianus' heat source? I also have a heating pad, but it is at the bottom of the cage, I'm wondering if I should move it to the side back corner where he hangs out. I just don't want him to cook, as they are temperate reptiles like you said.

And I am still working on the whole not worrying thing, this is my 400$ baby, i'm in it for the long run lol

[jtmoney528]

Originally Posted by 90sman

Thank you both for the replies.

I came home yesterday & was pleasantly surprised to find him at the bottom of his cork bark licking up the previous days food. Unfortunately it was a little dried out, but I think he got some. There seems to be a little bit eaten from last night so the good news is his appetite is there!

Do you think I should give mango, papaya, or banana as an option too?

In regards to the temperature/humidity changes you suggested:
The main reason it was so high was because of the hood lamp which from what i've read they do not need. But I can't imagine them not needing any heat source at all, so I've just been flipping that on for a bit each day. It seems to increase the ambient temperature too much, so it's never on for long :/
What do you do for your leachianus' heat source? I also have a heating pad, but it is at the bottom of the cage, I'm wondering if I should move it to the side back corner where he hangs out. I just don't want him to cook, as they are temperate reptiles like you said.

And I am still working on the whole not worrying thing, this is my 400$ baby, i'm in it for the long run lol

I would stick to MRP, with nothing added to it! I have never used a heat source for any of my rhacs and I have grown 14 leachianus now from tiny little hatchlings to full adults.

You do not have to do this but if I see a new gecko has not eating for a week or two weeks I will hand feed once to get them going then leave them alone. Also just in general I like to kind of leave my geckos alone for the most part, I do only the amount of handling needed to check on them and clean cages. I find they do a lot better that way because they feel more secure, but that is just my opinion.

For the temps, I do 70-72 at night and generally 76-77 during the day. Humidity ranges between 60%-70%. I always provide a water bowl in the enclosure mainly for humidity purposes.

[Ivan M]

Originally Posted by 90sman

Thank you both for the replies.

I came home yesterday & was pleasantly surprised to find him at the bottom of his cork bark licking up the previous days food. Unfortunately it was a little dried out, but I think he got some. There seems to be a little bit eaten from last night so the good news is his appetite is there!

Do you think I should give mango, papaya, or banana as an option too?

In regards to the temperature/humidity changes you suggested:
The main reason it was so high was because of the hood lamp which from what i've read they do not need. But I can't imagine them not needing any heat source at all, so I've just been flipping that on for a bit each day. It seems to increase the ambient temperature too much, so it's never on for long :/
What do you do for your leachianus' heat source? I also have a heating pad, but it is at the bottom of the cage, I'm wondering if I should move it to the side back corner where he hangs out. I just don't want him to cook, as they are temperate reptiles like you said.

And I am still working on the whole not worrying thing, this is my 400$ baby, i'm in it for the long run lol

As far as a heat source, they do not need it, providing your room temps are in the high 70's low 80's the gecko will be fine. If you are gonna use the heat pad because the room stays cool, meaning in the 60's then you should use a thermostat so that the heat pad never gets too hot and burns your gecko or even worse. These guys are pretty easy to keep and require no UV light or even over hanging lights, just day light coming thru windows is sufficient for them. If you keep them in an area that is very dark a fluorescent fixture on a timer will work. Also they should be fed every other day. One piece of advice i can give is this, try NOT to change his food every other night, these geckos are very much creatures of habit, they DO NOT like changes, and changing the the food they are used to eating can make them NOT eat. I have been feeding mine the original flavor for ever. I wanted to change it to different flavors but after consulting with Steve of Leapin Leachies which i buy my geckos from and get to go to his place when buying leachies, he talked me out of it. If you do want to change the flavor, i would wait until you run out of what you are feeding them steady. Just before you think you are gonna run out i would Start mixing a small amount of what you intend to feed them next with what you are already feeding them. This does 2 things, it starts getting them used to this new flavor, and it also starts to get the bellies used to this new flavor. Changing foods all of a sudden can give them Diarrhea and most likely some stomach discomfort until their systems get used to this new flavor. Hope this helps. When you can post a pic of the enclosure and of course your new baby. Leachies are AWESOME animals that are extremely hardy. In fact you will be more likely to hurt your gecko when introducing another mate when yours is older for breeding purposes than you are yourself for what ever reason. This is why they still demand a high price, there are many variables to them, just because you have a pair does not mean they will be compatible. Best of luck with yours, i think you will be fine, they are tough little cuddly critters.

[jtmoney528]

Originally Posted by Ivan M

As far as a heat source, they do not need it, providing your room temps are in the high 70's low 80's the gecko will be fine. If you are gonna use the heat pad because the room stays cool, meaning in the 60's then you should use a thermostat so that the heat pad never gets too hot and burns your gecko or even worse. These guys are pretty easy to keep and require no UV light or even over hanging lights, just day light coming thru windows is sufficient for them. If you keep them in an area that is very dark a fluorescent fixture on a timer will work. Also they should be fed every other day. One piece of advice i can give is this, try NOT to change his food every other night, these geckos are very much creatures of habit, they DO NOT like changes, and changing the the food they are used to eating can make them NOT eat. I have been feeding mine the original flavor for ever. I wanted to change it to different flavors but after consulting with Steve of Leapin Leachies which i buy my geckos from and get to go to his place when buying leachies, he talked me out of it. If you do want to change the flavor, i would wait until you run out of what you are feeding them steady. Just before you think you are gonna run out i would Start mixing a small amount of what you intend to feed them next with what you are already feeding them. This does 2 things, it starts getting them used to this new flavor, and it also starts to get the bellies used to this new flavor. Changing foods all of a sudden can give them Diarrhea and most likely some stomach discomfort until their systems get used to this new flavor. Hope this helps. When you can post a pic of the enclosure and of course your new baby. Leachies are AWESOME animals that are extremely hardy. In fact you will be more likely to hurt your gecko when introducing another mate when yours is older for breeding purposes than you are yourself for what ever reason. This is why they still demand a high price, there are many variables to them, just because you have a pair does not mean they will be compatible. Best of luck with yours, i think you will be fine, they are tough little cuddly critters.

Also to add to this, some of my geckos will eat the second night every time instead of the first. I do not know if they just like the taste of the food more after it has been sitting for a night or what. In the wild they eat a lot of rotting fruit, so letting it sit for a night could simulate that.

My feeding schedule is:

Feed Monday
Get food out Thursday Night
Feed Friday
Get food out Sunday Night

I have been doing the same cycle for 3+ years now with great success.

[Ivan M]

Originally Posted by jtmoney528

Also to add to this, some of my geckos will eat the second night every time instead of the first. I do not know if they just like the taste of the food more after it has been sitting for a night or what. In the wild they eat a lot of rotting fruit, so letting it sit for a night could simulate that.

My feeding schedule is:

Feed Monday
Get food out Thursday Night
Feed Friday
Get food out Sunday Night

I have been doing the same cycle for 3+ years now with great success.

I have to agree with Justin here, i have some geckos that do exactly the same, they will let the food sit out for a whole day then the next day DEVOUR it.

[godzillizard]

I have to agree with Justin, except I feed my babies & juvies exactly like this, & my adults are only fed once a week, on Friday. Ive found to get a much better feeding response from the adults this way.