17 year old female with thin tail

Hi everyone, I have a 17 year old female Leopard gecko (named Godzilla haha) whos health has recently been declining. In my 17 years of keeping her shes always had a extremely clean bill of health. Her temps are 90 on the hot and around 75- 80 on the cool with both a uth and a heat lamp (for if her tank gets cold in the winter), she gets a warm soak once a week and has never had much of a problem with shedding. I keep her on reptile carpet and feed her a variety of crickets, small dubia roaches and mealworms all are dusted with repti cal and vitamins as well as gutloaded.

I took her into the vet a few months back for an eye issue that has since healed 100% while there we did an ultra sound since she was looking a little too chubby only to find that not only did she have some pretty large folicles (it was in the breeding season in February) but also has xanthomas (cholesterol build ups) around her liver. She was eating and pooping fine since the vet visit until today when I came back from a trip to find that my poor baby Godzilla hasnt eaten in a week and has a noticeably thin tail. The mass has gotten a little bigger and Im worried it has something to do with her going off food. I have already emailed her vet and am waiting for a reply, though due to a transportation and money issue I dont think i can take her in this week. Is there any way I can boost her appetite and maybe get her to eat again to put some fattness back in her tail for the time being? Im quite worried age and ailment is catching up to my poor girl. :main_huh:

Congrats on getting her to age 17! That may be the reason for her condition. You can hold her and gently poke a feeder at her mouth to see if she'll eat it. Otherwise, you may have to wait till you can get her to the vet.

Aliza

I apologize if this isn't a common practice but for when a male of mine got a dangerously thin tail I mixed chicken baby food with pedialite and used a syringe to feed him it. He loved it so I didn't need to force feed, which I would never suggest either try cutting a mealie or a cricket open and dab the insides around her nose and mouth as well. Worked for a stubborn princess for me

Thanks for the suggestions! Im picking up some baby food and some jumpstart today. She has a lot of energy for not eating as much and shes pooped just fine the other day so Im taking that as a good sign. Ill definitely try the cut up mealie.