How to Force Feed a Juvenile Leopard Gecko

Leopard geckos are one of the largest of all geckos, growing up to 9 inches in length. While adults will develop a yellow skin with brown spots, your juvenile gecko will have a striped pattern that fades as it matures. If your juvenile leopard gecko has quit eating for a long period of time and has begun to lose weight in its tail, you may need to force-feed the reptile. While you should never pry open the animal's mouth, you can encourage it to eat with a specially-made formula.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken baby food
  • Pedialyte
  • Calcium/D3 supplement
  • Bowl
  • Spoon
  • 1/2 cc needleless plastic syringe or eyedropper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create a food paste formula to feed the leopard gecko. Place 2 tbsp. of mashed chicken baby food in a bowl. Mix in 2 tbsp. of Pedialyte, which will help make the mixture more of a liquid and also rehydrate the gecko. Add a calcium/D3 supplement into the mixture. This supplement can be purchased from most reptile stores and should be added following the manufacturer's directions.

    • 2

      Use a 1/2 cc needleless plastic syringe or eyedropper to suck up the liquid formula.

    • 3

      Gently pick up the gecko and hold it in your hand.

    • 4

      Place a drop of the formula on the end of the gecko's nose, being careful not to cover its nostrils. Be patient. The gecko will smell the chicken food and will use its tongue to lick the formula from its nose. Wait about 10 seconds so the gecko can swallow the food, then place another drop on its nose. Repeat this process until the entire syringe is empty.

    • 5

      Continue feeding your gecko with a syringe until it begins eating on its own. While adults should only be fed every other day, feed your juvenile leopard gecko daily.