advice needed on a hatchling gecko

[Sarah]

hoping someone might give me some advice please, i have a thick tail gecko that hatched last Saturday, he started shedding about 2 days ago but hasnt finished his shed and has not shown any interest in a baby cricket, should i be worried .This is my first go at breeding them .

 

[Rocket]

From personal experience, and the help of others, this could be a sign of the onset of Metabolic Bone Disease. In such a young gecko, this suggests that poor amounts of calcium were absorbed and used by the gecko when growing. Further signs of this are seizing of the joints and toes, floppy movements, further bad sheds and refusal to feed.

However, if it begins feeding, hit it with the calcium....hard. If it becomes a good feeder, you can save it, as I did with a baby Barking who is now a yearling and going strong.

It may not be MBD, but then again, it could be. Good luck!

 

[Sarah]

thanks for your reply, i hope he doesnt have MBD but i will continue to keep a close on it .

 

[junglepython2]

I'd soak him in lukewarm water and manually shed him as well.

 

[GeckoJosh]

Just spray him twice a day, bathing will just stress him more

 

[Sarah]

thanks for your replies, i will start spraying him twice a day he looks to delicate to try and manually pull the skin off, just not sure why he wont eat though.

 

[shellfisch]

I am NOT experienced by any description, but my son had 2 Smooth Knob-Tails hatch a month ago, and while one started eating within 2-3 days, the other took a little longer...5 or 6 maybe?
I was worried but he wasn't. He said they have reserves from the egg yolk they digest.
The one that didn't eat straight away seemed to be almost scared of the crickets, but it eventually got the idea.

Don't worry too much

 

[Sarah]

thanks Michelle this little thing seems to be scared too , it doesnt make any attempt to catch it .

 

[JoceyFisch]

Hi Sarah.. I'm no expert but I have 2 babies atm (the ones ShellFisch referred to) and they are in the same tank together and one of them didn't quite get what he was supposed to do with the cricket and would shy away from it while the other one would charge and eat it the moment I put it in there.

After a couple of feeds he seems to have gotten the picture but I do have to keep the other one away from his cricket as she will get to it first. He knows what to do know but he is just a bit slower than the other one.

Be persistant and I hope everything works out for you and your baby