southern marbled gecko not eating

[collywolly]

Hello,

(first post ) I caught a southern marb. gecko in the wood pile on Saturday 22-11-08. I have placed it in an enclosure approximately 0.25 cubic metre in size an recreated the environment where I caught it ( leaves bark etc ) . I have been catching a variety of moths of an evening and putting the moths in with the gecko, but he doesnt appear at all interested in eating them. while I'm sure he wouldve been initially a little stressed I am becoming slightly concerned ......any suggestions ???? thanks in advance

 

[Rocket]

It's simple, release it.

 

[collywolly]

thanks for your help !!!

 

[Vixen]

Release the poor thing, its obviously going to be stressed in captivity and illegal at that,

 

[collywolly]

perhaps you could tell me why it is illegal ?

 

[Trouble]

It is illigal to be keeping any native reptile you have caught in the wild without a licence. . . Even with the appropriate licence, there has to be a reason to which you are keeping it in captivity.
If you wanted a gecko, simply get your reptile licence, and purchase one from a breeder.

I hope the poor thing wasn't too stressed. Good work for letting it go (if you did )

 

[bugman2494]

If it was caught in Victoria, then it is not illegal to catch these from the wild. They are considered common and do not require a license to keep. I think you may need a heat source. A heated rock will be used by the gecko to warm itself up - become active and start hunting. Food include crickets, moths, small spiders etc

 

[collywolly]

many thanks bugman2494, pity there isnt more of your kind on this site

 

[MrBredli]

If it was caught in Victoria, then it is not illegal to catch these from the wild. They are considered common and do not require a license to keep. I think you may need a heat source. A heated rock will be used by the gecko to warm itself up - become active and start hunting. Food include crickets, moths, small spiders etc

Are you sure about that? You may not need a license to keep them, but i doubt it is legal to take them from the wild? Correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[thesilverbeast]

collywolly, it IS illegal to keep them from the wild.

If you do want a pet one however you do not need a licence. The only thing is that they must be obtained legally (which is purchased from someone who bred them or got them from a pet shop/breeder ect.). The good thing is that they are relatively cheap too. they are only around 30-40 dollars which is pretty affordable.

Having said that, some advice for your situation.

How big is the little fella? When you let us know the size i can tell you what size cricket to get.

But crickets will be your best bet at getting it to eat. You can get them from most pet shops for under 10 dollars a tub. Immobilise the crickets by removing the back legs to give the gecko an easier meal. If you want to know for sure if its eating, kill a cricket by squashing its head leaving the body in tact. place in in the enclosure and if its gone then it has been eaten.


I have given you advice in the best interests of the animal. I suggest you follow the advice of others and release it. If you will not release it and understand the legalities and still wish to keep him. then we cannot stop you and the animals best interests must be looked after so follow what i said to get him to eat and it might work.

 

[Kirby]

whether its legal or not, it isn't doing well in your care, release the poor thing.

 

[Chrisreptile]

If it was caught in Victoria, then it is not illegal to catch these from the wild. They are considered common and do not require a license to keep. I think you may need a heat source. A heated rock will be used by the gecko to warm itself up - become active and start hunting. Food include crickets, moths, small spiders etc

Yes, Mabled Geckos are considered common in Victoria and you don't need a licence for them, but it is still illegal to take them from the wild. Blotched and Eastern Blue Tongues fall under the same category.

 

[sigridshurte]

trust me colly they are not being snappy AT ALL they are just stating the facts about the rules.
just let it go before it dies, legal or not it doesnt sound like it is adapting to captivity very well.

 

[bugman2494]

I actually sourced my information off the internet. A site showed that they were caught from the wild and they actually bred in captivity. The guy that wrote this article/journal said it was perfectly legal to take from the wild.

I actually agree with Chrisreptile...he sounds like an expert...also agree with sigridshurte,m if its not doing so good in captivity you should release it before it dies

 

[bugman2494]

Also how do you edit your profile...as it age, my location etc?

Edit: idiot question by me...i found it

 

[gecko-mad]

sourthern marbled geckos are not illega to take from the wild and are sometimes considered a pest!
feed it some crickets, what i feed mine with the occasional moth.

 

[notechistiger]

gecko-mad, please get your information correct. I just spent two minutes looking it up. I quote from the DSE website:

"A Licence is not required to keep wildlife listed in
Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Regulations 2002.

A licence is not required to keep, possess, breed,
buy, sell or dispose of wildlife taxa listed in
Schedule 5 (Part A or Part B) of the of the Wildlife
Regulations 2002 for private purposes, as long as
the wildlife have come from a legal source."

Link: http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/CA256F310024B628/0/B26F8AF7E3D97226CA257193007930EF/$File/Application+for+a+Private+Wildlife+Licence.pdf

"Wildlife must not be taken from the wild or released to the wild without the prior written approval of the Secretary, except as provided for by this licence."

Link: http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenp...571720018C295BF11D1D90BD92089CA2572BF001DE8EA

And may I add, there is NO mention of marbled geckos being a pest.

 

[Acrochordus]

Obviously the gecko isn't doing well because it is stressed out being in a tank rather than where it is surrposed to be, so just let it go, Thanks Tim.

 

[thesilverbeast]

gecko-mad, you are in adelaide. Unless you lived in melbourne previously and know the laws for VIC then you are only stating the law in SA and that is probably different to VIC law.

 

[AUSGECKO]

Let it go for the animals sake and for yours, You will enjoy Reptiles much more if you get them from a reliable and legal source as you will generaly have far less problems with captive bred animals. If your still unsure whether it is legal to take from the wild or not (Which it is) ring your states DEC office to confirm.