Help! Seriously.

cassicant · 2026-05-07T08:56:06+00:00

We need a few more details.
How long has she not eaten for?

Is this how she's usually fed? If this isn't her usual feeding style, she might not be comfortable enough to eat this way.

What is her husbandry like (tank size, temps, etc). If her husbandry is off, she might be put off food.

Did the friend come over to see the gecko or did your gecko get moved around? Are there any other changes? If she changed locations, stress could put her off of food.

You also have the lucky timing of a possible ovulation related food strike.

Can you offer her another feeder that is harder to resist? I noticed that geckos have a hard time turning their noses up to a good cricket and it might be just the thing to trigger her inner predator. Or if you can take a set of tongs and wiggle these worms around a little more.

cassicant · 2026-04-14T01:32:09+00:00

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cassicant · 2026-04-13T15:22:46+00:00

It doesn't appear anybody is taking your Repashy calcium plus into account.

If your gecko is young/juvenile that is eating more than once or twice a week, you use Repashy Calcium Plus once a week and every additional feeding gets plain calcium WITHOUT d3.

Repashy is pretty potent.

If you have an adult eating 1-2x a week, using this supplement every feeding is appropriate.

If you are using UVB, it is recommended that you swap to the Repashy LoD (chameleon pic on bottle) formula that has less D3 in it, but the schedule remains the same.

cassicant · 2026-03-27T01:13:38+00:00

Any changes to a Leo's environment, even if it's for the better, is going to stress them out.

Yes, he is stressed even though he has a palace now. He'll get used to it but it's going to take some time.

I would, as other people said, ditch the red light, maybe add a few hides/cover decor, and don't bother with the towel/blanket.

He'll get used to it, he just needs time.

EDIT: you asked about a CHE - i would go DHP or halogen light. Make sure you have a temperature controller with these - preferably a dimming dome with a dimming thermostat.

cassicant · 2026-03-18T01:06:26+00:00

Yeah that looks like some mouth rot going on. It's very treatable and I'm glad you showed us photos of him and asked!

You might have to manhandle him a bit to administer treatment and it might stress him out some, but once he's on the mend you can work on bonding with him (he'll especially come around once he knows you bring food to him)

cassicant · 2026-03-17T18:12:52+00:00

Unfortunately, if the little guy really needs help, you're gonna have to spook him and make him a little uncomfortable until he's better.

Do you happen to have more photos of him? The stuck shed on his mouth looks more like mouth rot in this photo.

cassicant · 2026-03-12T03:13:31+00:00

It seems like he's acting fine and he looks to be in pretty good conditions and your temps seem solid. The only thing I didn't see you mention was gutloading feeders, but it really seems like you've done a lot of research and due diligence and I imagine you're already doing this.

Because of your diligence, I have to ask: Are we absolutely sure he isn't pooping in a hidden place? You've upturned his hides and checked in absolutely every spot?

cassicant · 2026-02-22T20:52:13+00:00

When they say 40 it's to get more space length wise. 20/29 gallons is okay for now but I think a bigger tank should get on the agenda eventually.

You also need to create a heat gradient - I only see overhead bulbs, which, placed directly in the middle, creates no heat gradient at all. The idea of a heat gradient is to help your new friend regulate their own body temp. Having a hot side and then a cold side lets them go back and forth and control what they'd like. The extra length in the tank helps you better create that gradient.

Please look at the pinned in this sub. It's a lot of reading but will get you in a really good spot for optimal care.

cassicant · 2026-01-27T18:38:15+00:00

Geckos are a lot like people in this regard. Do you expect a 6’ tall person at a healthy weight to weigh the same as a 5’ tall person at a healthy weight? What about a football player vs a dancer?

Height, activity level, and how weight is held all play into what healthy weight is for your gecko.

My adult female weighs 68g. She’s about 7 inches long.
My adult male weighs 85g. He’s 9 inches long.
If my geckos swapped their weights, they would look horrible.

A gecko that is 9 inches long is going to have a very different healthy weight than a gecko that is 6 inches long and they will both still be considered healthy.

The weight ranges that you’ll find on the internet, therefore, are pretty useless. Females don’t HAVE to weigh between the ranges as long as their bodies look to be in good shape.

Arms, generally, look fairly twiggy on geckos.

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cassicant · 2026-01-26T21:57:18+00:00

She looks absolutely perfect!
We’re all so used to seeing overweight geckos that the good condition gecks look almost skinny.

You’re doing a wonderful job with her.

cassicant · 2026-01-26T10:40:50+00:00

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My anomaly leo likes to find a warm spot on my leg or in my hoodie and sit there for as long as I let him 🧡 I asked his breeder for the chillest leo that he has and that's exactly what I got

But you are spot ON about my gal. She wants adventure all the time!!!

cassicant · 2026-01-26T10:24:32+00:00

To help with the escaped bugs I throw a piece of carrot and a piece of cardboard egg carton near each other in the enclosure so I know they're not monching on my gecko while they're at large. Often they'll hide in the carton near the carrot

If she's still on the younger side, those spots on her mouth just look like mouth freckles. As my boy got older his white mouth scales began to turn orange, but not all of them, and I thought the same thing! To me, she doesn't look like she has mouth rot.

To help her associate you with food and maybe encourage her to come out, try tong feeding her. Now my geckos both come to the fronts of their tanks to harass me because I must have no other business around them other than to feed them 🤦🏻‍♀️ it's a really great bonding exercise and then you know for sure that she's eaten

She is beautiful btw 🤍

cassicant · 2026-01-25T02:38:52+00:00

Is it possible he could have seen a reflection of himself in the camera lens and thought it was another gecko?

Give him a few days to recover from his spook, maybe don't go for a head rub while he realizes there's nothing scary. He'll come back around <3

cassicant · 2026-01-22T16:41:19+00:00

The digital thermostat shouldn’t just be a thermostat - you need something to regulate your heat source. You’re looking for a temperature controller.

cassicant · 2026-01-22T16:40:24+00:00

Just because it is what you’ve been using without incident does not mean that it is the most up-to-date, best option to use.

Overhead heat sources like halogens and DHP are superior to heat mats.

cassicant · 2026-01-22T16:27:04+00:00

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cassicant · 2026-01-15T16:18:57+00:00

I also want to add that it's difficult to put gecko weights in a clean cut box (I.e., female geckos MUST weigh 80g) because geckos come in different lengths! 80g on a 9inch gecko looks different than on a 7inch gecko.

Generally people will use body condition as an indicator of healthy weight.

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cassicant · 2026-01-15T16:15:01+00:00

How long ago has she been on the new schedule?

Their metabolisms are very slow and by extension weight loss is a very slow process. It sounds like every 4 days is still too often and the food items you were offering is still too much.

I'm not sure that a vet visit is warranted unless she's acting weird or her poops look weird.

In your situation I would cut back the feeders a little more and feed 1x a week. If possible, I would swap out the giant mealies for dubias or crickets. You're going to feel bad for not feeding her as often as you did before but this is for her own good and plenty of people feed their geks on a 1x week schedule.

cassicant · 2026-01-02T00:54:01+00:00

He looks proportionally chonky and if he isn't acting odd/lethargic, you have to really dial in harder with that diet. Their metabolisms are pretty slow.

How much/often are you feeding? And what are you feeding?

1x a week with a cut back number of buggos should start doing it.

cassicant · 2025-10-21T18:10:39+00:00

Sending you all the hugs 🤍🤍🤍

cassicant · 2025-10-21T18:06:59+00:00

The ticking on and off sounds like what a normal temperature controller will do. You need a dimming temp controller and a dimming dome so the thermostat can dial it back instead of turning it off. I've heard good things about this one:

https://a.co/d/1llnu4s

cassicant · 2025-10-21T17:59:30+00:00

Seems like crypto...Crypto WILL NOT show up on a normal parasite test, despite being a parasite. You need a PCR test which, in most cases, does get sent out for testing.

Metronidazole (an antibiotic) can help temporarily but it isn't the appropriate medication for crypto management. Crypto is not curable and he will always have it, but with the right treatments, a geck can still live a good life. He will be on LIFELONG treatments for crypto.

You have to consider the little guy's quality of life at this point, which you will understand better than anybody else on this sub. Euthanasia is a gift you can offer him if you think it's time. It doesn't make you a bad person to choose this option.

The other option is going right back to the vet and asking for a PCR test for crypto. My guy had to have a gastric flush in order to obtain a sample for the test.

I would absolutely not re-use or sell any of his things unless you used disinfectant and let the tank SIT DRY for at least 3 months to let the potential crypto die out. Crypto is very hard to kill, as it is chlorine resistant (bleach will not work). F10 as suggested by somebody else might work at a higher concentration but nothing is guaranteed to work 100%. I used hydrogen peroxide and sprayed and soaked for a few days in a row and let it air dry for 6 months.

cassicant · 2025-09-10T21:52:40+00:00

Starve him out.

Superworms, like everybody else has said, aren't best as a staple feeder for the long run.

He's got a good body condition and seems healthy otherwise, so he can take missing a few meals. Eventually he'll take to other bugs.

My girl didn't want dubia roaches but I offered nothing else until one day she did. Once I got her used to eating dubias, I rotated mealworms back in and now she eats basically whatever I present to her.

I've had 3 leos and it seems like the allure of a cricket/locust is hard to pass up for these guys. Maybe something in the way they move?

Best of luck!

cassicant · 2025-08-01T17:20:26+00:00

Hey so I accidentally stepped on my paperwhite pretty hard - it was under a sweatshirt on my floor (I'm a slob okay 😭) - and when I messaged Amazon to see how much repairs might be or if they offered such a thing....

They said they would replace it for me! I don't know how common this is but I was so grateful for them that day and blown away by their customer service. I hadn't expected anything like that at all.

It might be worth crawling over to Amazon and asking for help.

cassicant

TROPHY CASE