A new home switches off a gecko's appetite
Leopard geckos are creatures of territory and routine. A journey, a new enclosure, new smells and new hands amount to a genuine upheaval, and refusing food is the standard response to it. It does not mean the gecko is ill, and it does not mean you have done anything wrong in your first week together. Adults in good condition carry a fat store in the tail precisely for lean spells like this one, and most begin eating again once the new place stops feeling new.
Set the stage before offering food
Appetite follows security and warmth, in that order. Confirm the warm side of the floor is at the usual leopard gecko warmth and that there are snug hides on both the warm and the cool side — a gecko that feels exposed will not come out to hunt, however hungry it is. Keep handling down to essential health checks for the first couple of weeks, keep the room's light cycle regular, and let the enclosure become boringly familiar. Every unnecessary disturbance resets the settling clock.
Offering food the settling-in way
Offer in the evening, when geckos naturally stir. Set a few feeders in a shallow dish near the warm hide, or tong-feed one insect at a time at the hide entrance, then withdraw your hand — hovering over a shy gecko makes it retreat, not feed. If you know what the previous owner fed, start with that familiar feeder before introducing anything new; recognition matters to a stressed animal.
Keep a brief log of offers and acceptances. A line like 'offered four, ate one' repeated across a fortnight is real progress in writing, and the log stops memory from turning a normal settling period into a panic.
Keep the new world predictable
Routine is the gecko's map of safety. Keep the enclosure in a quiet part of the home, out of the path of household traffic and away from the vibrations of washing machines and speakers, and keep your own appearances at the glass brief and boring. Feed at the same hour, change the water at the same time, and resist rearranging the furniture inside — every object moved is a landmark lost. A gecko that can predict its evenings stops spending its energy on vigilance, and appetite is usually the first behaviour to return once vigilance is no longer needed.
How long is too long
A healthy adult with a plump tail can refuse food for a couple of weeks without coming to harm, and most eat sooner than that. The picture changes if the tail visibly thins, weight drops, or the gecko grows lethargic, or if refusal arrives with signs such as stuck shed, a swollen jaw or discharge — that combination is a vet visit, not more patience. Youngsters and already-thin geckos get far less leeway and should be checked sooner rather than later.
The handover goes easier when the paperwork travels too: on KinsLe, a Transferrable Profiles record moves with the gecko to its new owner, so its previous feeding habits, favourite feeders and routine arrive with it instead of being lost at the door.