Rescue Gecko

Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

***Survey Below***
The story:
I overheard co-workers talking about a sick lizard. She didn't want to deal with him anymore(he was a school project).
They were going to throw him into a compost pile in the snow...
needless to say I had to help him..
He is really skinny and you can tell he hasn't had enough moisture to shed his skin correctly.

I understand a vet would be the best course of action however the closest reptile vet is over two hours away. I'm all he has for now.
At this point any advice on what I can do to help him would be much appreciated.

I redid his enclosure and now he has a moisture house which he LOVES. I soaked him a little bit and a little bit of skin has come off.

He's eating and is overall a lot brighter than he was 2 days ago.

I put my hand in his enclosure and he climbed up right away. He's actually been on the sheets under the covers with me on the heating blanket. Under covers. He's very content.

I asked for advice on another platform and everyone was rude to me
about the Vet thing. It was either I try or he was dead anyway.

About your leo:
- Sex:
I don't want to check this. It's sick and I don't want to flip it over. But I'll call him a he..

- Age/Weight:
Unknown age/ No exact weight. EXTREMELY SKINNY.

- How long have you owned your leo:
2 days.

- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Random person at my Work.

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo :
Today was the first day.

- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
I'm not sure. It seems to be a lot happier and brighter than the first day.

- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals:
Pooped yesterday. Was just the white parts. Very Small.
At this point I'm just happy he pooped at all.

Problem:
This guy is seriously malnourished. It's very weak and it's skin has some problems. I'm assuming not enough moisture before. Wrong temperatures..
overall bad husbandry.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- 10 gallon glass tank. Paper towels as the substrate. (It was sand)
Two houses: One dry rock with hole heating pad underneath. The other is a Tupperware with moss on the bottom(a moisture hut. He LOVES this spot and hung out there for hours when I first made it for him.
Heat source is a ZooMed heat pad on one side. I do have lights but ONLY A UV light for vitamin D also a red light for nighttime. I don't want to hurt his eyes. I read that it's actually not that great for them:"; eye problems etc.. the pad should be sufficient because they absorb through their tummies.
No cage mates.
2 gauges one for temp one for humidity.

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- I have gotten him live small crickets, and meal worms.

- How are you feeding:
He hunts the Crickets and the mealworms are in a Dish.

B) Supplements (describe how often)
I bought Flukers Repti+Boost. I read online it will help him gain weight.

- What are you gut loading food with
I have no idea what this means..

Neon Aurora · Feb 27, 2017

Sounds like you're doing pretty well, although there are a few things I would change.

-Ditch the UV light. They don't need it and they can be dangerous.

-Instead of using those temperature gauges, you should use a digital thermometer with a probe or infrared temperature gun to measure the temps of the floor surface above the heat pad. This should read 90 F. Since most heat pads gets way hotter than 90 F, it's very important you have a way to regulate it. This can be either a thermostat or light dimmer.

-Don't use a red light at night. They can see red light and it disrupts their day/night cycle. If you need extra heat at night, you can use a ceramic heat bulb.

-Are you dusting his food with a supplement? I recommend Repashy Calcium Plus every feeding.

-Gutloading means feeding the feeders. You feed your crickets/mealies nutritious veggies so your gecko also gets that nutrition.

Eavlynn · Feb 27, 2017

Thank you for rescuing that poor baby. I'm sorry you were given such a hard time on another forum.

Eating is a fantastic sign. With any luck, his low weight is due from neglect and not an underlying issue. After a few nice warm soaks, that little gecko should be shed free and much happier.

It sounds like you have a decent set up. I don't typically use heat lamps on my geckos, but they also stay in a warmer room around 80F. Also, gutloading is feeding your insects before you feed them to your gecko. I give my mealies carrots, potatoes.

Keep up the good work, you just made the future a lot brighter for this little gecko.

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Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

I would like to post some photos of him..
These are the photos I got of him the day before I picked him up.
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Day 1: This is just before I changed his substrate. I made him that moist box and he spent almost all of day two there. The last one on the paper towel is later that night.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

The night I first posted: You can see on his face how much old skin was on there.. it was causing his lips to curve up, block his eye.. I've also noticed that he is missing toes. Will he be okay with no toes? He gets around now... he likes to sit under the covers like that.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

This afternoon: I let him soak in some lukewarm water. I managed to get off ALL the excess skin. There was skin on the inside of his mouth which was causing that crust on his lips. The skin over his face came off.. it was covering one nostril and part of his eye. I got everything off his feet which is how I noticed toes are gone. I definitely saved a few toes..after I got the skin off I could see the redness.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

I know it's only been a couple days but I definitely think his eyes are a little brighter. He has pretty green alligator eyes.

I've named him Shredder.

Edit:
I think he realized we are helping him. He opened his mouth to allow us to get that skin in his mouth.

Eavlynn · Feb 27, 2017

That poor baby! My girl Daisy wasn't far from that point when she came in. She's now happy healthy and plump, though she has metabolic bone disease.

As bad as Shredder looks, he could come through this and be alright. A few missing toes is no big deal at all. You did well getting the shed off of his toes when you did.

It takes a long time and a lot of neglect to get an animal to this point. It's going to take just as long, if not longer, to get him back on track. Has he pooped for you yet? Having been on sand previously, I'd keep an eye out for signs of impaction. If he doesn't poop right away, don't immediately panic, his body is likely using everything he takes in to help replenish what he's lost.

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Leo844 · Feb 27, 2017

Thats amazing. I hate it when people are cruel and abusive to animals. You are an amazing person for helping him! To check his gender, you could just put him in a clear plastic/glass container and look underneath.

Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

That's a great idea!!!

Yes, he did poop! It was a sad little white poop. But I am just glad he did.

Leo844 · Feb 27, 2017

Although, since you don't know his age, if he is still a juvenile, you might not be able to tell yet. They aren't fully sexually developed until full grown

Neon Aurora · Feb 27, 2017

That geckos has severe MBD. If you really can't get to a vet (which would be best because they can give him calcium injections), you need to be really sure to supplement him properly. Maybe even mix a bit of supplement with water and use an eye dropper or syringe on his nose for him to lick off.

Is he eating? Many times geckos with MBD to his degree don't have the jaw strength to actually eat. If this is the case, you'll need to make him a slurry (I can provide a link if you want) until he is strong enough to eat again.

Eavlynn · Feb 27, 2017

Littlegecko said:
That's a great idea!!!

Yes, he did poop! It was a sad little white poop. But I am just glad he did.

Sounds like you got some urate from him, so he's hydrating, which is great.

After taking a closer look at the photos, it very possible that he could have issues with MBD that may come to light as he gains strength and recovers. I'd keep a bottle cap full of calcium in his tank. If he does have issues with MBD, don't be discouraged. It won't slow him down much at all, he may just need help shedding.

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Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

Okay Neon.
I'll do it right now. I have some calcium.

Neon Aurora · Feb 27, 2017

He will be permanently deformed, but geckos with MBD can still live okay provided they can eat and move around.

Golden Gate Geckos Information This is a good slurry you can make him to get his strength back. He probably needs it.

Don't forget about other nutrients as well, such as Vitamins (D, A, etc).

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask more questions. Recovering a gecko in that condition is not going to be easy, so the help of the forum people will probably be really useful. =)

Just wanted to check if you noticed my earlier recommendations? This guy really needs perfect husbandry to get better faster.

Leo844 · Feb 27, 2017

Have you measured him yet? Is he over 8 inches?

Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

With his tail I estimate about 6-7 inches.

Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

Neon,
Yes. I am going to implement all your suggestions.
I already bought the Repashy Calcium Plus.
The gauges are next on my list.
He does move back and fourth from the cool side to the warm side so I think he is a good temperature.

I am going to mix it with his supplement when I feed him tonight.

It makes me sad no one cared about him. I don't know how people can let animals get into this condition.

I dont mind mind if he is deformed.
I'll make sure he always gets his skin shed completely. I definitely pulled off at least two layers off the tip of his tail.

Why is the UV light bad? I wasn't concerned with his temp. But what I read was that they still need Vitamin D, but it's also bad to have them in front of the window. I got the UV so I could turn it on a couple hours a day.

Neon Aurora · Feb 27, 2017

Vitamin D is in the Repashy Calcium Plus. UV lights are bad for leopard geckos because they are often too strong. Leopard geckos are nocturnal so are evolved to very low levels of light and don't bask. They can go into complete darkness in nature and avoid damaging UV rays. In artificial settings, this is harder. They can get eye damage and sun burns. It's an unnecessary risk because their vitamin D is supplied in their diet.

Not trying to be pushy or criticize you, but I really highly encourage you to get a thermostat or light dimmer. Light dimmers are $7 at home improvement stores and will make your UTH safer and keep his temps at the proper level. Every UTH I've ever had gets much hotter than 90 F.

I'm glad you rescued him, and with proper care, I think he will recover well. It really is upsetting the neglect and abuse reptiles endure just because they are less valued than mammal pets.

Littlegecko · Feb 27, 2017

Oh don't worry!
I genuinely wanted to learn why. I'm not offended at all.

I am getting the thermostat stat and I'll show my husband the light dimmer and the ceramic bulb.

I understand what what you mean.. I have fishies and rats also. It kills me when people don't take care of them because "it's just a fish" my stupid fish are as spoiled as fish can be!

Leo844 · Feb 27, 2017

Females get from 6-7 inches. He might actually be a she unless she isn't a adult, but the odds are she is a adult, and that it is also a she XD lol

Eavlynn · Feb 27, 2017

Reptiles and fish are deemed throw away pets by many. When I started my rescue, I didn't foresee the amount of critically ill animals we would acquire. Rescuing reptiles has been heart wrenching, but also the most rewarding thing I've ever done. It may not seem like you're making a difference in the grand scheme of things, but you're making a world of difference for those animals that manage to find their way to you.

I look forward to tracking Shredder's recovery. Like Neon Aurora, I think he'll be just fine given enough time. MBD isn't a big deal if taken care of properly.

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Eavlynn · Feb 27, 2017

Leo844 said:
Females get from 6-7 inches. He might actually be a she unless she isn't a adult, but the odds are she is a adult, and that it is also a she XD lol

In cases of severe neglect, size is no longer a reliable tool for sexing. It's hard to say how old this gecko is, or how big he/she would be, had it received proper care.

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