how long can a leopard gecko survive not eating?
JameZ asked:
ok so i ran out of mealworms and didnt feed it for like a week im scared because mealworms are soo hard to get these days
i might try to get some this week but like i told u it been like a week already soo will it survive ?
ok so i ran out of mealworms and didnt feed it for like a week im scared because mealworms are soo hard to get these days
i might try to get some this week but like i told u it been like a week already soo will it survive ?
Possibly Related Classroom Projects From
DonorsChoose.org
Powered by Social Actions
Tags: Gecko, Leopard Gecko, Mealworms
mealworms
dont worry they can survive weeks without food although they would be in pain and be starving. if he asnt eaten for a week then thats ok but no longer than that.
my friends gecko got lost in the house and was found alive six months later!
Caffeinated Content
So why have you waited so long already? Go get some food for your gecko. Letting him go without food for a week is enough. It’s inappropriate to let them go longer just because you “ran out” and weren’t responsible enough to go get more. Please go get some more food.
“Might try” isn’t good enough. You need to go get food today. Be responsible. Letting your pet starve is not an option. It’s cruel.
mealworms
He’ll be ok for a little while. How long depends largely on the condition and age of the gecko. A really young gecko needs to eat almost daily or its growth can be stunted, and it can even die.
An adult gecko with plenty of fat reserves in his tail could probably survive for months- not that it would be good for him. Thats what that fat tail is for-its saved up fat to live off of in lean times. If his tail is skinny, its far more critical to get food. The tail of a well fed gecko should be fairly fat in the middle.
My advise- if you cant find mealworms, give him something else- a few crickets, a pinky mouse(if he’s big enough to eat one), or any other good feeder insect. Variety is good for them anyways. A leopard gecko should be very near adult size before eating a pinky mouse.
My adult male only eats a couple large roaches a week, or a few large crickets a week, or a small handful of mealworms a week (depending on what I give him that week), and he is nice and fat, and about 4-5 years old. But thats an adult in great condition, not breeding, and living alone, so he doesnt use much energy. Energy usage is a factor too. Breeding animals, as well as growing ones, need far more food.
Hope this helps.
Website content
i find it quite shocking that you say you might get some this weekend. they don’t just eat meal worms so im sure you could have got him something else.if you run out again try to get crickets or wax worms.
I found a small, little lizard in my backyard today (22/2/09), & i don’t know what to feed it! I have put it in my old fish aqauriam, and thats it! it is small, and looks a bit like a leopard lizard, or leopard gecho!! plz help me
ok, on the owners defense for not having food for his gecko….
i have been trying to find food for my gecko but the only place in my town or nearby towns is petco, and everytime we go the crickets are dead and or have maggets on them… so we have not been able to feed our gecko anything but a few crickets (we bought dead ones and tried to find th most living one to feed her) in almost two weeks. I just learned that they can eat other things and am going to get food for her. but my point is sometimes it is hard to find food for them i am not going to feed my gecko crickets with maggets in them, and she will only eat live things…
i have a leopard gecko and sometimes i forget to feed it. one time i had to go away for the summer and i just dropped 20 crickets in…3 months later, you could tell allthe crickets were eaten in the first week or so, and it was still alive. leopard geckos can live a loooonggggg time without eating. its their nature. in the dessert, sometimes they go months and months without eating. so its okay. a week is nothing compared to 3 months of not eating and still being very healthy.
my gecko went a week with out eating, because long story short. i didn’t get my paycheck on time and nobody would give me money to feed her. but, she’s eating now. and has to go couple days with out eating again because my boyfriend is away and she is at his house.