We got a Gecko fro my son in mid February. It was less than a year old. At first, it was very active and ate well. The past 7-10 days it hasn't eaten an it sleeps all the time. It is not a leopard Gecko, and doesn't have the fat tail ti begin with. Any suggestions on what could be wrong.
My Gecko has been sleeping a lot and not eating
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TigressSnow
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can you post a photo? to upload a photo scroll down while in the reply to thread page to manage attachments, at the top right there is an upload button, once you upload it you have to insert inline (bottom right corner of new page) then hit done and post your reply 
if you cant do this or dont have a camera/photo, could you describe the looks of the gecko? does it have a crested head and eyelash like spikes? is it a very thick bodied gecko all around except its tail? this will help me figure out what could be wrong
if you cant do this or dont have a camera/photo, could you describe the looks of the gecko? does it have a crested head and eyelash like spikes? is it a very thick bodied gecko all around except its tail? this will help me figure out what could be wrong can you post a photo? to upload a photo scroll down while in the reply to thread page to manage attachments, at the top right there is an upload button, once you upload it you have to insert inline (bottom right corner of new page) then hit done and post your reply
Here is a picture. We had a Leopard Gecko for about three years and he passed. He was older when we got him. I just want to make sure we are doing the right things, so it doesn't happen again. Thanks for the help
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Well, he didn't make it. Got the call from my son that he passed away. When I took him out of the tank, the bottom of his belley had a dark spot on it. The first one we had the passed had the same dark spot. Do you know what could have happened?We want to get another one, but we don't want to make any mistakes. Please help us do it right this time.
Thanks
boa-constrictor
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So sorry to hear about your leopard gecko . But the symptoms sound like impaction to me. What were you feeding them?
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. But the symptoms sound like impaction to me. What were you feeding them?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TigressSnow
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If it was indeed impaction, there are a few possible causes. If you have them on any loose substrate and let them hunt, they are very voracious feeders and could miss and eat a mouthful. The other could be too large of a feeder insect, but my geckos have always ignored too large so I'm not familiar with that case. Impaction does generally take a long time to cause a gecko to pass away from my experience, how long has it been since he passed a poop? The other thing I can think of that causes lethargy and lack of appetite is too low of a temperature, most geckos need a hot spot of 90 by belly heat- AKA a heat may on 1/3 of the tank bottom. By the white stripe on your geckos back it looks to me like he was an African fat tail but it is possible he is just a leopard gecko, as he resembles one. He may have been unwell to start with if he didn't have a fat tail, geckos can also carry intestinal parasites that can cause lethargy then death, but I have no experience. I hope this is making sense to you, I'm very sorry about you and your sons loss, geckos can be long lived and great pets when in peak condition. Did you get him from a pet store? If you live in a larger city or are willing to drive I'd suggest looking for a leopard gecko breeder in your area. The animals will be very well taken care of and are generally (if you just want a normal morph leopard gecko) are cheaper then pet stores. Best of luck! If you have any more questions I'm happy to answer or clarify
Christywoowoo
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If you do get another one, make sure the enclosure and everything in it is thoroughly cleaned. If it was illness or parasites (though it sounds like impaction) then a new gecko can catch it from the contaminated enclosure
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He was eating small crickets and wax worms. We were rotating between the two.So sorry to hear about your leopard gecko
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boa-constrictor
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Oh. How odd, then. I was going to say that if you had been feeding him mealworms or other hard-bodied insects, then the chitinous exoskeleton of the mealworms could've built up and caused impaction. But... since both of those arent very hard bodied at all... I just dont know. The only other thing I could think of is some sort of parasite like others suggested. Best of luck!
If it was indeed impaction, there are a few possible causes. If you have them on any loose substrate and let them hunt, they are very voracious feeders and could miss and eat a mouthful. The other could be too large of a feeder insect, but my geckos have always ignored too large so I'm not familiar with that case. Impaction does generally take a long time to cause a gecko to pass away from my experience, how long has it been since he passed a poop? The other thing I can think of that causes lethargy and lack of appetite is too low of a temperature, most geckos need a hot spot of 90 by belly heat- AKA a heat may on 1/3 of the tank bottom. By the white stripe on your geckos back it looks to me like he was an African fat tail but it is possible he is just a leopard gecko, as he resembles one. He may have been unwell to start with if he didn't have a fat tail, geckos can also carry intestinal parasites that can cause lethargy then death, but I have no experience. I hope this is making sense to you, I'm very sorry about you and your sons loss, geckos can be long lived and great pets when in peak condition. Did you get him from a pet store? If you live in a larger city or are willing to drive I'd suggest looking for a leopard gecko breeder in your area. The animals will be very well taken care of and are generally (if you just want a normal morph leopard gecko) are cheaper then pet stores. Best of luck! If you have any more questions I'm happy to answer or clarify
we use the cage carpet from the pet store. He had pooped 2 days before he passed. We had a heating pad on the bottom of the tank. The more I have read, we really didn't have a cool moist spot for him. The heat pad covered most of the bottom of the tank.
what is the proper way to clean out the tank to get ready for a new one?
TigressSnow
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I use vinegar and baking soda to scrub the tank thoroughly then rinse twice
TigressSnow
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Also, from your response your care and set up sounds great. He must have had parasites or another illness. I've had healthy animals (different species) within 24 hours go from perky to gone these were unfortunately wild caught specimens so they may have had a heavier parasitic load. As I mentioned, do a good vinegar scrub then rinse with hot water, it's how I disinfect my tanks and bins. Best of luck with your next gecko, and give looking up a breeder a shot!
these were unfortunately wild caught specimens so they may have had a heavier parasitic load. As I mentioned, do a good vinegar scrub then rinse with hot water, it's how I disinfect my tanks and bins. Best of luck with your next gecko, and give looking up a breeder a shot! Visit our friends
