How long can they go with out food?

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Womagaunt

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Hey guys,
so my question is how long can Leaf Tailed geckos go without food, im thinking of buying one but every holidays my family and i go away for about 2 weeks should he be alright or will i have to get someone to look after him?
Thanks WomaG
 
Two weeks is a fair amount of time without food and water. You can't get someone to at least fill there water dishes. I'm confident they can go for two weeks without food though.
 
Two weeks is a fair amount of time without food and water. You can't get someone to at least fill there water dishes. I'm confident they can go for two weeks without food though.
yeah, i will defiantly be leaving a water bowl in there just wanted to know how long the can go with out food thanks :D
 
I would be concerned with over heating over summer.
Who is going to mist the enclosure?
Can you be sure the gecko will drink from a water bowl?
 
I would be concerned with over heating over summer.
Who is going to mist the enclosure?
Can you be sure the gecko will drink from a water bowl?
I will probly get a neighbour to come over and fill the water bowl and mist the cage, my house is fully tiled so we are going to put him in the laundry , so he should be fine, do u think he could go without crickets? Thanks :D
 
I would be concerned with over heating over summer.
Who is going to mist the enclosure?
Can you be sure the gecko will drink from a water bowl?
That's rite, I forgot it was summer in Australia. There are all kinds of things that can happen, bulbs blowing, equipment malfunction/failure, etc. when I go away I only leave my reptiles for two days before I go home or have someone check on them.
 
Mmm you really want someone checking every few days even if they don't feed it. Just in the chance that something might fail while you're away and for water.
Sorry to kind of bombard the thread but can a beardie be left without food for a week or so? (i dont have one by the way)
and does the same go for most geckos? like knob tails if I were to get some?
sorry again OP
 
I keep geckos ,I go away on holidays for about 3 weeks each year, and I get my mate to spray them when go away. For a 2 week holiday if they get feed on the last night before you leave they should be fine. As far as heating goes you shouldn't really need it during the summer unless its a cold summer and if you're really worried about it just get your neighbour to turn it on and off depending on the temp. If your enclosure has a hot and cool end then the gecko will move back and forth depending on what makes it feels confutable ,remember most leaf tails don't like to much heat ,I would suggest you get a thermostat and set it to somewhere around 28c at the hot end. It all depends on what enclosure you have ,whether its glass ,wooden or what ever.
 
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Mmm you really want someone checking every few days even if they don't feed it. Just in the chance that something might fail while you're away and for water.
Sorry to kind of bombard the thread but can a beardie be left without food for a week or so? (i dont have one by the way)
and does the same go for most geckos? like knob tails if I were to get some?
sorry again OP
yeah i have left my beardies for over two weeks got back and they were fine, just get a big bowl and fill it to the fim with water, i also put a bowl of lizard food/pellets in there for them to eat while i was gone :D i presume knob tails we be fine as well :D
 
Womagaunt
just curious are you a snake or a lizard fan?
 
i would not leave my geckos for 2 weeks with no food. if your neighbour will be chacking on them then get them to feed them and mist the enclosure/ give them water.
 
yeah i have left my beardies for over two weeks got back and they were fine, just get a big bowl and fill it to the fim with water, i also put a bowl of lizard food/pellets in there for them to eat while i was gone :D i presume knob tails we be fine as well :D

Thanks very much womagaunt, appreciate it! :D
 
will geckos eat said pellets though?

yeah i have left my beardies for over two weeks got back and they were fine, just get a big bowl and fill it to the fim with water, i also put a bowl of lizard food/pellets in there for them to eat while i was gone :D i presume knob tails we be fine as well :D

on another note, perhaps increase feeding the leaf tails over a time period so they have ample fat reserves just in case? With it being summer the main concern would probably be temperature and humidity though, at which case i think you've got that covered
 
Hey guys,
im thinking of buying one but every holidays my family and i go away for about 2 weeks should he be alright or will i have to get someone to look after him?

Why don't you wait to get the gecko until after your summer holidays,
or are you talking about every school holiday period?
I personally would not leave any of my animals without access to regular fresh food for that period of time.

i presume knob tails we be fine as well :D
No, they require access to a moist hide that most set-ups without interaction, would not be able to sufficiently provide for 2 weeks.
 
Why don't you wait to get the gecko until after your summer holidays,
or are you talking about every school holiday period?
I personally would not leave any of my animals without access to regular fresh food for that period of time.


No, they require access to a moist hide that most set-ups without interaction, would not be able to sufficiently provide for 2 weeks.
most school holidays aha
 
Mad_at_arms a solution to the moist hide problem would be to buy a mister and set to spray for 5 seconds every 5 days. You have that option if you get the the monsoon water mister by exo terra but its a bit expensive.
 
Southern Leaf tails have pretty slow metabolism so I wouldnt be too concerned about leaving mine for 2 weeks as a once off, as long as they were feeding well previously of course.
If you could have someone drop in on them once or twice in that period and throw a few crickets in and mist them that would be ideal.
 
Southern Leaf tails have pretty slow metabolism so I wouldnt be too concerned about leaving mine for 2 weeks as a once off, as long as they were feeding well previously of course.
If you could have someone drop in on them once or twice in that period and throw a few crickets in and mist them that would be ideal.
Thanks GeckoJosh, yeah someone will be coming over to mist the cage and give it a few crickets when im on holidays :D
 
Then what are you worried about? They will be fine just ask the person who's looking after them to send you a vid or pic to make sure there ok and that they are looking after them properly.
 
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