Long poop! Laying flat and other stuff :-D

[RBFesquire]

Hi Guys,

my first ever post so be gentle.

We got a Bell Albino about 2 weeks now and it is acting a little strange, possibly. This is my first ever one so I am probably over reacting but I though I would ask anywho.

It is about 3-4 months old now I believe. It was on bark substrate for a week or so until I read it was not advisable, so we removed that and put her on vinyl. The temp in the viv is about 88-90 degrees, and around 78-90 on the cool. This drops around 10 degrees at night. We have have an UTH and a 25 watt day glo light/15 wat night glo. Anywho. I feel as if the tank is set up ok now

She has been off her food. Only eating about one cricket every other day. Until yesterday and the day before none were consumed. She has had about 3 little poops, a watery one then... the whopper. It was about an inch long. Kinda solid/squidgy, but not watery, and was a whitish colour throughout. I could see crickets legs in it, but like I say it must have been from days ago. I shall post a photo when I get the pic on the computer. There were no sign of worms or mights and did not smell in the slightest.

Anther thing she does is lay FLAT out on the tank in the morning, in between her hot and cool house. I mean everything. Legs sprayed out like a chicken.

She seems to be alert but she is getting a little thin. She is also not that easy to handle as we are still taming her. When she is out we put her in a large cardboard box to prevent her from scooting off. And she does scoot very fast.

I have never seen her eat though. I know how much she eats because I find the uneaten food and remove it just to monitor. But I have never ever seen her eat and it is kinda worrying.

Any help (especially with the really long poop) would be much appreciated.

Ta!

 

[Dimidiata]

What type of calcium and vitamin suppliments are you using and how often? Also, turn the cool side down a bit, it only needs to be 78-80. What hides do you have? you need a warm, cool, humid. The splayed out laying sounds like MBD imo, wich would mean a calcium issue, no bueno.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Leopard geckos sleep in weird positions with their legs stretched out, so maybe you just caught her sleeping?? The "long poop" might have been undigested shed. Sometimes, they throw it up, so it isn't even poop. This happens when they cannot digest it properly, because it was too cool where they laid on. The worst thing would be parasites, so if you are worried and she really gets thinner (the tail), wait for a real poop sample (if it's watery, place alu foil on her poop spot, so you can catch it) and take it to the vet for a fecal stain under the microscope. Those stains are about 16-23 bucks. Don't bring the whole gecko in yet; find out first whether or not it has parasites at all.

If you've only had it for 2 weeks, it might still be stressed out from shipping, but that's quite a while and it should get better now.

Chrissy

 

[RBFesquire]

I must admit we haven't given her the vits tbh. We thought the calcium we were dusting the food with had d3 but it doesn't:-( she has calcium available.

She has a cool and a warm hide but no humid hide. We do spray the viv every other day. She is sprightly at times but seems really lazy.

Thank you.

 

[RBFesquire]

Hi Chrissy.

I was thinking shed, but she doesn't look like she is shedding at all. Her skin seem the same colour and no excess. It looks as if i may go down the parasite route though. Also as sam says throw some vits in there too

Thank you.

 

[andrew5859]

You wont see her shed much if at all. They tend to be very secretive about it. They will eat their shed after it comes off. This is where the humid hide comes into play helping the loose skin come off easier. Misting the enclosure will do no good and will just irritate the gecko getting it wet. She will be able to come and go into the humid hide as she pleases to shed or quite a few of mine like their humid hide more than their other hides.
As Chrissy suggested get a fecal and take it into the vet and that will be able to give you a better idea of whats going on.

 

[roger]

What type of calcium and vitamin suppliments are you using and how often? Also, turn the cool side down a bit, it only needs to be 78-80. What hides do you have? you need a warm, cool, humid. The splayed out laying sounds like MBD imo, wich would mean a calcium issue, no bueno.

Umm why are u making a diagnosis of MBD? What experience have you got to make a determination like that when you havnt seen the animal??

 

[grboxa]

Umm why are u making a diagnosis of MBD? What experience have you got to make a determination like that when you havnt seen the animal??

+1 Agree. My male is in a bigger tank and has a corner ramp cave so I tape a zoo-med reptile lighting facts card you get at reptile expos onto each exposed side so no light enters the cave and just lift the card for viewing. I like it because I can peek in on him whenever . Which leads to me my point, I catch my male sleeping all the time in plain view and can tell you that the layed out flat part is common with my leopard gecko along with some other hilarious positions, especially after a feeding of silkworms. He just sprawls out right on top of the UTH, and my leo certainly dosent have MBD. So I would also say that's hardly a good reason to jump to conclusions like possible MBD.

 

[SparkRaptor]

Umm why are u making a diagnosis of MBD? What experience have you got to make a determination like that when you havnt seen the animal??

RBFesquire asked for help and said any help would be appreciated. Dimidiata said it sounds like MBD, he never said the gecko did have MBD, he merely stated a possibility to try to help RBFesquire out.
I think Dimidiata gave a good suggestion saying it might be MBD, because my 2 geckos that i bought from a breeder last year were born with MBD in their legs, and the description RBfesquire gave sounded like the way their legs would go before they recovered and got better. Everybody has different experiences, and you do not know if Dimidiata has experience with MBD or not. So why can't he go out and give a suggestion to try to help someone out that asked for help.

 

[gothra]

+1 as Chrissy said. I'd like to add your gecko is still settling in and is stressed, so I wouldn't try to tame her by taking her out in a cardboard box. The best is to leave her alone in her new home until she get used to your presence.

 

[Dimidiata]

RBFesquire asked for help and said any help would be appreciated. Dimidiata said it sounds like MBD, he never said the gecko did have MBD, he merely stated a possibility to try to help RBFesquire out.
I think Dimidiata gave a good suggestion saying it might be MBD, because my 2 geckos that i bought from a breeder last year were born with MBD in their legs, and the description RBfesquire gave sounded like the way their legs would go before they recovered and got better. Everybody has different experiences, and you do not know if Dimidiata has experience with MBD or not. So why can't he go out and give a suggestion to try to help someone out that asked for help.

Could not have put it better myself. I did NOT repeat NOT NOT NOT say it was MBD , I said it sounds like it, difference. It was a suggestion NOT a diagnoses, now i know some member like to jump on me when the oppertunity arises but please, withhold your excitment. There is absolutley no possible way for us to 100% say its this or that. I was not aware of the laying behavior before though so if this only happens when the leo is laying down then that sounds more then likely. However, splayed legs could also mean the leos bones are wobbled and weak making it hard for the leo to stand and cause their legs to splay out. However the laying behaviour mentioned before sounds more probable. Sorry for attempting to help.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

The way some of mine sprawl out, I've considered getting them a doll house sofa

 

[roger]

Hi Guys,

my first ever post so be gentle.

We got a Bell Albino about 2 weeks now and it is acting a little strange, possibly. This is my first ever one so I am probably over reacting but I though I would ask anywho.

It is about 3-4 months old now I believe. It was on bark substrate for a week or so until I read it was not advisable, so we removed that and put her on vinyl. The temp in the viv is about 88-90 degrees, and around 78-90 on the cool. This drops around 10 degrees at night. We have have an UTH and a 25 watt day glo light/15 wat night glo. Anywho. I feel as if the tank is set up ok now

She has been off her food. Only eating about one cricket every other day. Until yesterday and the day before none were consumed. She has had about 3 little poops, a watery one then... the whopper. It was about an inch long. Kinda solid/squidgy, but not watery, and was a whitish colour throughout. I could see crickets legs in it, but like I say it must have been from days ago. I shall post a photo when I get the pic on the computer. There were no sign of worms or mights and did not smell in the slightest.

Anther thing she does is lay FLAT out on the tank in the morning, in between her hot and cool house. I mean everything. Legs sprayed out like a chicken.

She seems to be alert but she is getting a little thin. She is also not that easy to handle as we are still taming her. When she is out we put her in a large cardboard box to prevent her from scooting off. And she does scoot very fast.

I have never seen her eat though. I know how much she eats because I find the uneaten food and remove it just to monitor. But I have never ever seen her eat and it is kinda worrying.

Any help (especially with the really long poop) would be much appreciated.

Ta!

What about switching up on the prey items.Also try to find a product called ICB plus.it has all the vitamins,calcium the leo needs.Takes the guessing out of supplements.My leos lay like crocs do with the legs and arms spread out.You said that they scoot off pretty good which leads me to belief they are relatively healthy.I wouldnt worry about it too much.Try bumping up the warm end a little to 93-95 and see if that triggers some appetite.

 

[RBFesquire]

Whoa, guys!

Thank you for all of your suggestions. The MBD was a good shout as I was not sure why she was doing it so I gave it a shot. Now, I am no vet but when she is out (something I will stop doing for a while) she is properly fast and he legs have behaved fine. When I get the chance to have he in my hand, her tail is nice and stiff. Althought I am yet to get some vitamins yet.

She may be stressed as I said we had her on bark, then changed her to vinyl. So this may stress her out. Also, we have made changes to her tank. For example, gave her a shallower water bowl, and a shallower calcium dish as she is teeny and I felt the pet shop bought one were too deep for her. This has also given her much more room.

I have noticed she is properly nocturnal (I know, they are) and I may not have got her feeding times correct. I may get in contact with the pet store and see what time they were being fed.

Also a moist hide is in its way too.

Thank you for all of your suggestions. It is hard to diagnose anything without seeing the animal... so I will look at all with a level head and try and get her feeding again!

 

[RBFesquire]

Thats ok mate, I knew you meant to help me. It was much appreciated.

Thank you.