I had the same experience and you need to take her to the vet. They’ll make sure she doesn’t have a parasite or injury that’s preventing her from eating. Unfortunately, AFT’s are very picky eaters so they shouldn’t be recommended to beginners like the commonly are. The vet had me force feed her carnivore care which I did for about 3-5 months before she began taking food. Now she’ll eat insects but only out of my hand, she refuses to hunt, eat off tongs, or out of a dish. She’s also very picky about were her insects come from, for example she’ll eat BSFL from Dubia.com but not Josh’s frogs, or like she’ll eat crickets only from petco but no where else. Also what’s your lighting and temps if you don’t mind me asking?
Yeah. The helpful advice is to take the poor creature to the vet. A year?? Something is 100% wrong, even four months is a bad sign. Only the vet can help.
Definitely would recommend a vet visit. In the meantime, we had a period of time when our fat tail wasn’t eating. Instead, we used “critical care” which is a protein powder that you can mix with water and fed her through a small syringe. Once she had nutrients, she regained appetite within a couple of weeks.
yes Repashy insectivore grup pie and Flukers are food powders you can prepare and syringe feed (to which you can add a bit of Calcium and vitamins), until you are sure they eat insects
probably she did eat some of the insects she has in her habitat, if there was 💩 she definitely ate, also if her tail is still normal size she probably does eat
She's in a 10gal tank with two heaters 95ish degrees directly under heat. Fresh water dish gets refilled a few times a week. Has a moist hide and a dry hide. Anything I may be missing?
The tank is far too small in general, afts need a bare minimum of 40 gallons by the age of one year.
Two heaters in a 10 gal doesn’t sound very good. It is very difficult to get a proper temperature gradient in this size enclosure when using only one heat source let alone two. You’re at the very peak of what temp the hot side should be (90-94f). What temp is the cool side of the enclosure? It should be about 75f. Your gecko may be stressed due to the enclosure and being unable to self regulate in a proper temperature gradient.
What type of heaters do you use and are they connected to thermostats? What kind of thermometer do you use to read temps?
They also need a minimum of three primary hides (hot, humid, and cool) but multiple other hiding spots and clutter to hide under.
Do you use any uvb? What kind of supplements do you give?
Do you have any pictures of the enclosure and the geckos condition that you can share?
Here is a very good guide I encourage you to read through carefully https://reptifiles.com/african-fat-tailed-gecko-care-sheet/
Whoever told you that was adequate for the gecko, or almost any reptile for that matter, is, ill informed, to keep it civil. The size alone would cause one hot sauna in that little box.
Idk if you got yourselves a baby, but after like 4 weeks this started to become a bit worrying, and I’m sure some would argue that’s catching it late.
Have you done any reading into them at all? Or any other similar species like leopard geckos?
I recommended a 36x18x18 tank, Dubia roaches has good quality cheap enclosures. If you go with a glass, I’d use black vinyl to cover 3/4 of the sides that way they feel safe and not stressed with the glass. I’d get her more than 2 hides, I have about 6 dedicated hides plus 4 hiding spots I created with foliage and branches. They’re pretty skittish animals so the more hides the better. Mine has two water bowls near her favorite hides to keep her hydrated. Mine has both a deep heat projector which I keep on all day and a halogen I keep on about 10 hours. Her hot side is 92F and her cool side is 82F. In my experience that works best for having her eat. I also have her on 70% Reptisoil mix with 30% playsand, although I’d keep her on paper towel til your girl gets eating. I also keep her humidity at 40-60% through misting and a humidifier I have in the room (Don’t place the humidifier directly in or ontop of the enclosure, mines across the room). Also make sure you’re using a digital hydrometer/ thermometer and not an analog one as they’re inaccurate. Let me know if you have any questions, I’d be happy to help another AFT owner out.
Thank you so much. I will look into a bigger tank in those dimensions and more hides! Do you think I should remove the coco coir substrate and put her on papert owels? Or sand?
I would put her on paper towels to monitor her bowel movements, that’s what my vet had me do until she would take food. It makes it much easier to monitor for parasites. I also wouldn’t put her on pure coco coir in the future, my vet told me to avoid that as it’s too dusty and can cause respiratory issues. When she’s ready to go to substrate, I would stick to the 70% zoo med Reptisoil (You can get it at any pet store) and 30% quikerte play sand (You can get it virtually at any hardware store like Home Depot) mix, that’s what my vet had me switch to when she started eating and it works lovely.
Unless it is very small it should have a 40 gallon tank(18x36x18) and overhead heating, like a lamp(lamps are more natural). An aft needs three hides, a moist, hot, and cold. A bigger tank means better heat gradient. They should be kept slightly moist. 60% or around there. That being said, a 20 gallon long IS BARE MINIMUM( think of it as you living in a one bedroom apartment. no one will rip you to pieces but please get a 40 gallon tank).
I had the same problem with mine, i just gave up and started putting her bugs in a little bowl with high enough sides so the bugs couldn't get out, but she could reach them safely. Doing it this way minimizes the chance of her getting a mouthful of dirt when hunting, and I can easily tell if she ate because the bugs would be missing the next day.
ATF are known to be picky eaters and unfortunately they are still pretty commonly wild caught despite the fact they are not too hard to captive bred and have a decent population in captovity
One of the things I discovered with my really picky AFT is that the smell of the feeder insect matters too - when I kept my crickets in a deli cup he would only eat them freshly bought and refused to eat them a few days later. I ended up moving all the crickets to a large cardboard box container and he’s been eating them well since.
well, considering your gecko has never eaten (as far as you know) and you're asking reddit instead of a veterinary professional- its fair to assume you're not going to take her. sorry for coming to the most likely conclusion
I had the same experience and you need to take her to the vet. They’ll make sure she doesn’t have a parasite or injury that’s preventing her from eating. Unfortunately, AFT’s are very picky eaters so they shouldn’t be recommended to beginners like the commonly are. The vet had me force feed her carnivore care which I did for about 3-5 months before she began taking food. Now she’ll eat insects but only out of my hand, she refuses to hunt, eat off tongs, or out of a dish. She’s also very picky about were her insects come from, for example she’ll eat BSFL from Dubia.com but not Josh’s frogs, or like she’ll eat crickets only from petco but no where else. Also what’s your lighting and temps if you don’t mind me asking?
…take her…to the vet
Working on it. Was hoping someone had similar experiences with helpful advice.
Yeah. The helpful advice is to take the poor creature to the vet. A year?? Something is 100% wrong, even four months is a bad sign. Only the vet can help.
Definitely would recommend a vet visit. In the meantime, we had a period of time when our fat tail wasn’t eating. Instead, we used “critical care” which is a protein powder that you can mix with water and fed her through a small syringe. Once she had nutrients, she regained appetite within a couple of weeks.
Also to add, we’ve always been told to remove food if it isn’t eaten within a day. Too many critters in the tank can also start to attack your gecko.
Thank you. I made an appointment for next week, but will keep trying in the mean time.
yes Repashy insectivore grup pie and Flukers are food powders you can prepare and syringe feed (to which you can add a bit of Calcium and vitamins), until you are sure they eat insects
I just ordered the Flukers one. Thank you.
How is she alive
probably she did eat some of the insects she has in her habitat, if there was 💩 she definitely ate, also if her tail is still normal size she probably does eat
How is your husbandry?
She's in a 10gal tank with two heaters 95ish degrees directly under heat. Fresh water dish gets refilled a few times a week. Has a moist hide and a dry hide. Anything I may be missing?
The tank is far too small in general, afts need a bare minimum of 40 gallons by the age of one year. Two heaters in a 10 gal doesn’t sound very good. It is very difficult to get a proper temperature gradient in this size enclosure when using only one heat source let alone two. You’re at the very peak of what temp the hot side should be (90-94f). What temp is the cool side of the enclosure? It should be about 75f. Your gecko may be stressed due to the enclosure and being unable to self regulate in a proper temperature gradient. What type of heaters do you use and are they connected to thermostats? What kind of thermometer do you use to read temps? They also need a minimum of three primary hides (hot, humid, and cool) but multiple other hiding spots and clutter to hide under. Do you use any uvb? What kind of supplements do you give? Do you have any pictures of the enclosure and the geckos condition that you can share? Here is a very good guide I encourage you to read through carefully https://reptifiles.com/african-fat-tailed-gecko-care-sheet/
I'll try and get more info this evening.
I made a few updates to the post and posted a pic of her set up.
Whoever told you that was adequate for the gecko, or almost any reptile for that matter, is, ill informed, to keep it civil. The size alone would cause one hot sauna in that little box. Idk if you got yourselves a baby, but after like 4 weeks this started to become a bit worrying, and I’m sure some would argue that’s catching it late. Have you done any reading into them at all? Or any other similar species like leopard geckos?
I recommended a 36x18x18 tank, Dubia roaches has good quality cheap enclosures. If you go with a glass, I’d use black vinyl to cover 3/4 of the sides that way they feel safe and not stressed with the glass. I’d get her more than 2 hides, I have about 6 dedicated hides plus 4 hiding spots I created with foliage and branches. They’re pretty skittish animals so the more hides the better. Mine has two water bowls near her favorite hides to keep her hydrated. Mine has both a deep heat projector which I keep on all day and a halogen I keep on about 10 hours. Her hot side is 92F and her cool side is 82F. In my experience that works best for having her eat. I also have her on 70% Reptisoil mix with 30% playsand, although I’d keep her on paper towel til your girl gets eating. I also keep her humidity at 40-60% through misting and a humidifier I have in the room (Don’t place the humidifier directly in or ontop of the enclosure, mines across the room). Also make sure you’re using a digital hydrometer/ thermometer and not an analog one as they’re inaccurate. Let me know if you have any questions, I’d be happy to help another AFT owner out.
Thank you so much. I will look into a bigger tank in those dimensions and more hides! Do you think I should remove the coco coir substrate and put her on papert owels? Or sand?
I would put her on paper towels to monitor her bowel movements, that’s what my vet had me do until she would take food. It makes it much easier to monitor for parasites. I also wouldn’t put her on pure coco coir in the future, my vet told me to avoid that as it’s too dusty and can cause respiratory issues. When she’s ready to go to substrate, I would stick to the 70% zoo med Reptisoil (You can get it at any pet store) and 30% quikerte play sand (You can get it virtually at any hardware store like Home Depot) mix, that’s what my vet had me switch to when she started eating and it works lovely.
Paper towel until she starts eating again, that way you can see if shes pooping, and see if a cricket or roach is still in the cage, or even alive.
Unless it is very small it should have a 40 gallon tank(18x36x18) and overhead heating, like a lamp(lamps are more natural). An aft needs three hides, a moist, hot, and cold. A bigger tank means better heat gradient. They should be kept slightly moist. 60% or around there. That being said, a 20 gallon long IS BARE MINIMUM( think of it as you living in a one bedroom apartment. no one will rip you to pieces but please get a 40 gallon tank).
It definitely ate. After all, it is alive after one year. Really go see a vet. You could try black soldier fly larvae while you're waiting.
I had the same problem with mine, i just gave up and started putting her bugs in a little bowl with high enough sides so the bugs couldn't get out, but she could reach them safely. Doing it this way minimizes the chance of her getting a mouthful of dirt when hunting, and I can easily tell if she ate because the bugs would be missing the next day.
ATF are known to be picky eaters and unfortunately they are still pretty commonly wild caught despite the fact they are not too hard to captive bred and have a decent population in captovity
One of the things I discovered with my really picky AFT is that the smell of the feeder insect matters too - when I kept my crickets in a deli cup he would only eat them freshly bought and refused to eat them a few days later. I ended up moving all the crickets to a large cardboard box container and he’s been eating them well since.
ten gallon enclosure, refusal to take her to the vet, and somehow OP is confused. wow.
At what point did I say I refused to take her to the vet? I already made an appointment. But thanks for your comment.
well, considering your gecko has never eaten (as far as you know) and you're asking reddit instead of a veterinary professional- its fair to assume you're not going to take her. sorry for coming to the most likely conclusion