Gargoyle Gecko Losing Weight? Why And What To Do Explained
Geckos are cute, loveable pets to have around the house. But what about monitoring their weight? What happens when they start losing weight, and what should you do?
Gargoyle geckos can lose weight from a lot of different factors such as temperature, change in diet, dehydration, and parasites. What you can do is monitor your gecko and make changes to their diet like giving them more fulfilling food. If the problem persists, take them to your local vet.
The rest of this article will cover the reasons they are losing weight, what you should do, and if you should be worried.
Contents
Reasons Why A Gargoyle Gecko Will Lose Weight
Possible reasons why your gecko can lose weight include changes in temperature, changes in their diet, dehydration, and parasites living inside them. All of these are easy to fix with a few precautions.
For starters, a gecko won’t lose too much weight from temperature. Temperature impacts their metabolism, so a colder temperature slows it down while a higher one speeds it up. For example, low temperatures such as 68 degrees Fahrenheit will slow down their metabolism.
Slowing down their metabolism means they won’t eat as much. However, they should not lose a significant amount of weight from this. Similarly, high temperatures means they move and eat more, so you may have to give them more food to compensate.
Changes in their diet will also impact their weight. If you’re drastically changing their diet, their weight will change too. They’ll take time to adjust to a new diet, so it’s better to ease them into it rather than give it to them all at once.
Dehydration is a key factor to a gecko’s weight. If they’re not drinking enough, they will start to lose weight. Be sure to buy a water container big enough to last a while for when you’re not checking on them.
Parasites living inside geckos sound scary, and although you shouldn’t panic, you should still take it seriously. The parasites are causing weight loss because they’re eating the nutrition.
What You Should Do
What you should do is monitor your gecko’s weight using a scale. From there, if you notice their weight is going down, narrow down the possible factors. Check their water first. Are they drinking it, and are you replacing the water enough?
Be sure that your gecko’s water is in good supply at all times. This will prevent dehydration, and it will prevent significant weight loss. Another way is their food supply. Be sure not to drastically change their diet at any time, even after buying them from the pet store.
As for parasites, you can get a worm guard powder, and an immune support at Amazon.com. If you don’t want to buy products online, go to your local pet store and ask them for their recommendations. Or you can take your gecko to the vet.
Look for the following symptoms in your gecko to see if they have parasites: weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea.
Why You Shouldn’t Be Worried
Your pet losing weight shouldn’t worry you. Take the precautions listed to make sure the weight isn’t being lost from the common causes. However, if none of those precautions work, that means you’re dealing with an unexplained weight loss.
If none of the precautions work, make sure to get your pet to the vet right away. From there, your vet will examine what’s going on with your critter and pinpoint what the problem is. Don’t panic, panicking will make matters worse.
Get your pet to the vet as soon as possible if your gecko is suffering from an unexplained weight loss condition. They will get you the professional help you need, so there’s no reason to worry!
Conclusion
Gargoyle geckos will lose weight from multiple causes, including the following: changes in temperature, changes in their diet, dehydration, and parasites living inside them. All of these causes of weight loss are preventable and fixable.
By monitoring your gecko’s weight with a scale, you can determine if they’re losing significant weight or not. After, narrow down the cause by making sure their water is full, their diet hasn’t changed drastically, and looking for signs they have parasites.
To treat parasites, you can buy products online, go to your local pet store, or go to the vet. Losing weight should not worry you initially, but if it persists, then take your pet to the vet and see what the problem is.