How Long Can Leopard Geckos Go without Food?

Hi! I have two female leos (they’ll be a year old in March) and it’s been about fourteen days since either of them have eaten. The temperature in their tank ranges from 90° on the “hot” side and 70° on the cool side. They have a heat mat on the hot side as well. Both are perky and act normally when I interact with them, they’re drinking water and their tails are still nice and fat, but I’m concerned because it doesn’t seem like they’re eating at all. One of them passed stool last night but it was small. Is it possibly because of the temperature outside or the winter season? Please help. :(

Hi Jamie, if your geckos aren’t eating and even going so far as to regurgitate what they do it, then it’s likely that they are sick. Low basking temps due to insufficient heat and/or improper heat measurement methods is most likely, but there are also other potential causes. Unfortunately, YouTube is not a very good source for reptile information, because few “pet tubers” actually have the credentials to be considered trustworthy sources of information on reptile husbandry. Please read our leopard gecko care sheet at https://reptilesupply.com/blogs/care-sheets/how-to-care-for-your-leopard-gecko, and we also recommend visiting ReptiFiles’ comprehensive care guide at https://reptifiles.com/leopard-gecko-care to reassess and fix your husbandry where needed. Meanwhile, we recommend taking your geckos to an experienced reptile veterinarian for a general check-up.

Hi Sophie, a 9-month-old leopard gecko is still a growing juvenile, and juveniles are less tolerant of long periods without food than adults. In an emergency your gecko can probably tolerate up to a week without food, as long as water is available. However, this is a special case — not advised as routine practice. You should continue to feed your gecko daily. Offer 2 appropriately-sized bugs per 1 inch of your leopard gecko’s length, or however much they can eat in 15 minutes.

Purchased two 6 month old leopard geckos, each has their own habitat. I have watched every video on YouTube and am confident the heat and habitats are fine, but, they have not eaten in 12 days now. I change the millworms for fresher ones and introduced 1 to 2 locusts. At one stage one of the locust was eaten but was regurgitated an hour later.
Shall i continue to wait? Or is there something i can do ?

Hi I have a 9 month old leopard gecko and I wanted to know how long the gecko can go without food