Care Guide

Our cats and dogs have trained us to think that all of our pets regardless of what species they are need to eat several times a day. Like people, when your dog or cat does not eat for several days, typically their is something wrong that needs to be corrected usually through some degree of medical intervention. Because of this, a lot of first time reptile owners think that the same would apply with their new Leopard Gecko. This could not be farther from the truth. Generally speaking, reptiles in general have an incredibly slow metabolism rate when compared with mammals and because of this, eating on a daily basis or even a weekly basis is not an absolute requirement for a happy and healthy Leopard Gecko. 

We have first hand experience with completely healthy Leopard Geckos with all of their care requirements being met go off of food for several months and bounce right back without a single hiccup or change to their wellbeing. Although not eating for several months is not exactly ideal, the point is that if your gecko goes off of food for several days or weeks, it is not time to panic just yet! It is not uncommon in the slightest for a healthy Leopard Gecko to not eat for an extended period of time, especially adults, for several reasons, and a majority of those reasons do not require veterinarian intervention and usually just need slight adjustments to their care and a little bit of patience. 

For new owners dealing with their gecko not eating for the first several weeks, often we see that the owner's first instinct is to want to intervene and force feed their gecko insects or a pre made first aid formula for reptiles. Please do not do this! Attempting to force feed your gecko is only going to stress them out more, which in turn only discourages them even more from wanting to eat and the potential to inadvertently injure your gecko will raise exponentially. The only 3 reasons a Leopard Gecko should ever be force fed is 1. They are physically incapable of eating on their own. 2. They are near death. 3. You are under the recommendation of your veterinarian to assist feed your gecko and are under their supervision or guidance. 

Leopard Geckos are very scent oriented, and when

Brumation is the state of inactivity that cold blooded animals experience during the winter months or when temperatures are low. In the wild, brumation can last up to 4-5 months and once the temperatures start to rise, so will the animals activity level as well as their appetite. In a captive setting, most refer to this time as a 'cool down' period. There are two types of cool downs, one that is by design and intentional and one that is naturally triggered by the environment that they are exposed to. 

A cool down that is the unintentional product of your Leopard Gecko's environment is typically triggered by two things. 1. Your home's ambient air temperatures usually dip down at least a few degrees during the winter months and 2. If your Leopard Gecko is exposed to any sort of natural sunlight through a window or glass door in your home, your gecko will detect that the days are getting shorter. Your gecko is very in tune to their environment, and with slightly colder air temperatures coupled with slightly shorter days, they will naturally start to slow down their activity level as well as their appetite. 

Some breeders choose to put their reptiles through a formal cool down and attempt to replicate what they would experience in the wild. This usually includes taking away heat and bringing the temperatures down into the 60's or 70's as well as not offering food during this time. This cool down period usually lasts around 8 weeks. This is not required to put your Leopard Gecko through a formal cool down period.