Hello!

I'm new here, and I would start right off with a (complex) problem. I only had leopard geckos until now, but i recently had a gift: a wonderful young Phelsuma Lineata Lineata. I made a quick installation in a smaller terrarium, not quite a rainforest but still he felt comfy. ExoTerra ReptiGlo 5.0, an ExoTerra HeatWave Rainforest, small pebble and bark substrate, some bamboo climbing poles, a small water plate, a little hiding spot and some little plants I had at hand (moss, houseleek). I am preparing another terrarium, almost the same, but with coco fibre/bark substrate and more plants (palm trees).

So my problem is: my gecko didn't eat any crickets since I got him (her?), since Friday. Or max 1 cricket (it was hard to monitor with the crickets hiding all the time). He ate some banana+powder. I tried waxworms too, didnt like them. Tried both crickets and waxworms with tweezers, but he just jumped away when the bug tried to bite him.

The other part: tonight I discovered that he can't climb. Tried to climb an inclined bamboo and only got forward a litle, while pedaling a lot. Same thing with the glass walls. He isn't shedding his skin, so I don't think that's the problem (I read this as a cause many places).

I'm very worried, and I would be very grateful if someone could help me out. Not speaking of my gecko!

Thank you in forward!

[Ned]

It could take a couple of weeks for it to settle in; de-stress and start eating again.

The banana+powder is an encouraging sign though.

When you say a "young" individual, what size it he approximately? If he is very small, perhaps the prey items you are offering are a little too large?

As for the "not being able to climb" this is quite worrying, and can be caused by a number of things. As you have mentioned shedding is one possibility, but more likely old shed caught in the toe pads, or damage to the toe pads by an external object, such as burns from a heat source etc.

Did you mention you had a heat mat (i may have imagined that), but if so I would strongly recommend changing it for a spot bulb. Phelsuma are basking species, and so require heat from above. An un-stated heat mat could certainly cause burns to the very delicate feet, which would fit the problem you describe.

Andy

Thanks for the help! Since my first post, things are much better. I reaaranged the terrarium (coco husk over clay balls, living plants, etc). Shedding time is regular now (couple of hours), she is wandering around most of the time, basking under the new spotlight (I kept the heat mat to keep humidity levels higher). Eating is normal, 5-6 smaller crickets a week (I never see her eat, but the crickets dissapear slowly ), and loves eating the fruit mix off my fingers. And she is definitely a she. Oh, and her size is now 8,3 centimeters (about 3 1/8 inches).

Thanks for the help again!