MBD, how?

About your leo:
- Sex- Male, 99% certain.
- Age & Weight- 5g, D.O.H: 10th September 2015...
- How long have you owned your leo- Since the day it hatched.
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): We bred him.

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo- Usually every clean which is every 4/5 days normally with this baby.
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.- More lethargic though I suspect due to the bending front legs.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.- Has always been quite weak, never lifeless but not as strong as our other hatchlings.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)- Same as normal.
- When was the last time he/she went- Yesterday.
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on- Two days ago I was cleaning, feeding and weighing all the hatchlings from this season and I noticed that our little DB hatchling has got what appears to be MBD... The gecko is lethargic and the front legs appear to be bending around, making it difficult to walk.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size- 9ltr.
- Type (ex. glass tank)- Plastic Tub.
- Type of substrate- Kitchen Roll.
- Hides, how many, what kind- 3 hides: 1 warm, 1 cool, 1 moist.
B) Heating
- Heat source- Heat Strip.
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)- Warm 90f, cool room temp(usually around about 64-68f).
- Method of regulating heat source- Pulse thermostat.
- What are you using to measure your temps- Digital thermometer.
- Do you have any lights (describe)- None.
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)- N/A.
- Describe health, or previous problems- N/A.

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)- Mealworms, gutloaded, about 10 every 2 days as that's all he'll eat.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)- Left in a dish in the enclosure.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)- Habistat Natural Calcium(Pure Ca without Phosphorous or D3) & Komodo Leopard Gecko Dusting Powder(Multivitamin + D3). The pure Ca is in a dish in the enclosure at all times, the gecko has been seen licking the calcium. The Komodo powder is dusted with every feed. This is exactly the same with all our other geckos, his care is identical to theirs...
- What are you gut loading food with- Veggies, Fruit, etc. whatever we have in the house really!

I have found that some geckos seem to have a problem absorbing calcium and/or vitamin D3. This may not be "fixable". One thing you can do is to dip your finger in water, then dip it into the vitamins with the D3 and rub some on the gecko's nose so it licks it off. Do this maybe once a week (don't want to give too much D3) and see if there's any improvement. If not, it just may be a gecko metabolically not destined to survive.

Aliza

acpart said:

I have found that some geckos seem to have a problem absorbing calcium and/or vitamin D3. This may not be "fixable". One thing you can do is to dip your finger in water, then dip it into the vitamins with the D3 and rub some on the gecko's nose so it licks it off. Do this maybe once a week (don't want to give too much D3) and see if there's any improvement. If not, it just may be a gecko metabolically not destined to survive.

Aliza

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Thanks for that Aliza, honestly that's sort of what I was expecting. This little gecko is from our own DB female who also produced two other babies with problems, she's quite small and "slow" herself as well... So she will not be bred again, but it's a shame as we were hoping to keep this one.. My fiance was so happy to hatch a DB. We'll have to see how he goes.

I have retired several leopard gecko female breeders (and one male) who produced too many offspring with problems. In general, as I'm sure you realize now, it's crucial that the breeders be in top condition to be even considered as breeders. Good luck with this one.

Aliza

acpart said:

I have retired several leopard gecko female breeders (and one male) who produced too many offspring with problems. In general, as I'm sure you realize now, it's crucial that the breeders be in top condition to be even considered as breeders. Good luck with this one.

Aliza

Click to expand...

I was 50/50 on breeding her in the first place but had originally put down her behaviour to being a DB and so being light sensitive(she keeps her head low a lot) or just genetic lineage(size). But now I am 100% on not breeding her again. The male is healthy as could be, he's produced healthy babies apart from the ones from our DB girl. So I am sure it is the female, and not him.

Thank you for your advice, the gecko is no better but it's not got worse either. So I guess we'll see how he goes for a bit and make a decision a bit further down the line.