New baby gecko, need help with type of morph

[WHYISPY]

He's about 3 and a half inches long and is a baby, just bought him today. He explored around the tank and fell asleep next to the water dish. Going to feed him a couple of small dusted crickets but I am switching him to a staple diest of mealworms and I'm going to feed him crickets as a treat just because I live fairly far away from my pet shop. I bought about 10 crickets with the gecko and they were all alive. Well, I checked on them about 5 hours from when I bought them and now almost all of them are dead. Now I go to Pet Kingdom which is pretty much a zoo itself. But maybe it's just the crickets or how hot is here but I just feel better with meal worms and they are much more easier for me.

http://s982.photobucket.com/albums/ae302/CRABfis/?action=view&current=3.jpg#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs982.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae302%2FCRABfis%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3D6.jpg

 

[SC Geckos]

Looks like a normal, but that's the problem with buying from the pet store. (I am assuming a pet store buy) My concern is that he/she looks VERY thin. I would get that little guy off the sand and on damp paper towel for the substrate with a dark place to hide from that super bright light.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I second what Brad says - that poor little guy is SUPER thin. Healthy geckos don't tend to fall asleep out in the open. He might need some serious TLC to survive getting so skinny. Makes me mad that people sell unhealthy animals like that :/

 

[SC Geckos]

WOW! The picture from the top view looks even worse then the first. That poor little guy (sorry to say) looks like he/she is on deaths door step. Was that gecko active at all when you bought? Poor thing is skin and bones.

 

[WHYISPY]

I second what Brad says - that poor little guy is SUPER thin. Healthy geckos don't tend to fall asleep out in the open. He might need some serious TLC to survive getting so skinny. Makes me mad that people sell unhealthy animals like that :/

We bought the little guy from a breeder here in San Diego. When we bought him he was the only lizard just laying out in the middle, which is why I chose him. He was the only one out of his little hide. I'm not sure of the feeding times he has, but I'm taking a trip to another breeder I know and buying some live meal worms to feed him tomorrow because it's almost 9pm here. Since it's his first time here, should I dust it and gut load them? or just feed the worms to him as is. I can only feed him crickets as a treat because of a problem that lies within my household. Since he was labeled as a baby I'm thinking of feeding him mealworms everyday and dust them every other feeding until he gets a bit more "bigger"

 

[WHYISPY]

Well aside from the health problems I've come to learn about. Does anyone know the morph? I'm going to try my best to nurse the poor guy back to health.

 

[SC Geckos]

What morph did "the breeder" sell him as?

 

[packs_fan]

I agree with the above posts a very unhealthy looking gecko and to me also looks to be a normal morph.

 

[WHYISPY]

What morph did "the breeder" sell him as?

A "Pakistan Baby Leopard Gecko" as I remember the label on the tank. The odd thing is now that I think of it, he labeled everything in detail from boa's to crested's to dart frogs, except the Leopard Geckos.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Since it's his first time here, should I dust it and gut load them? or just feed the worms to him as is. I can only feed him crickets as a treat because of a problem that lies within my household. Since he was labeled as a baby I'm thinking of feeding him mealworms everyday and dust them every other feeding until he gets a bit more "bigger"

I would try dusting them but its not as important as getting some calories into him at this point. I wouldn't feed him too many at a time - smaller the better. He needs small meals and needs them often. You might need to hand feed him or make some of Marcia's slurry to help him eat if he doesn't have the energy to catch them himself.

Let us know the location and name of that "breeder." No one with a shred of conscience or pride in their geckos should have let that poor little guy leave their house let alone have taken money for him. Makes me feel bad for the ones they still have.

 

[SC Geckos]

I'm not sure of the feeding times he has, but I'm taking a trip to another breeder I know and buying some live meal worms to feed him tomorrow because it's almost 9pm here. Since it's his first time here, should I dust it and gut load them? or just feed the worms to him as is. I can only feed him cricketsasa treatbecauseof a problem that lies within my household. Since he was labeled as a baby I'm thinking of feeding him mealworms everyday and dust them every other feeding until he gets a bit more "bigger"

I would try to feed him a few waxworms dusted every meal with vitamin and calcium because they are much easier to digest in the condition hes in. If he eat a few meals then you can switch to his regular diet of mealworms.

 

[WHYISPY]

I would try dusting them but its not as important as getting some calories into him at this point. I wouldn't feed him too many at a time - smaller the better. He needs small meals and needs them often. You might need to hand feed him or make some of Marcia's slurry to help him eat if he doesn't have the energy to catch them himself.

Let us know the location and name of that "breeder." No one with a shred of conscience or pride in their geckos should have let that poor little guy leave their house let alone have taken money for him. Makes me feel bad for the ones they still have.

It's a privately owned store and the reason I refer to them as a "breeder" is because of the sheer number of exotic animals there.

Heres there website petkingdom.com

Just remember, if anyone want's to sue them you can use my picture. But anything else is a no.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

While it ticks me off I'm no extremist. I just want others to know to stay away from that store and be able to recommend other people do as well. IMO - If they're keeping and selling animals they have a responsibility to know what a healthy animal looks like and not sell unhealthy animals.

 

[WHYISPY]

While it ticks me off I'm no extremist. I just want others to know to stay away from that store and be able to recommend other people do as well. IMO - If they're keeping and selling animals they have a responsibility to know what a healthy animal looks like and not sell unhealthy animals.

Again, I really had no idea about his health conditions and bought him just because I really liked the look about him (which is what you look for right?) But isn't it a good thing I purchased him? In a way, wouldn't I be saving him from starving himself thin at the store? That or it's just an excuse I'm coming up with to help cope with the fact that my lizard is seriously unhealthy.

 

[WHYISPY]

I would try to feed him a few waxworms dusted every meal with vitamin and calcium because they are much easier to digest in the condition hes in. If he eat a few meals then you can switch to his regular diet of mealworms.

Thanks, I'll be sure to pick up a few waxworms when I get my Meal worms. I'm switching to a staple of mealworms just because it's not only easier than crickets, but he's fairly unhealthy at the moment and I'd rather feed him something that he doesn't have to chase around with an emtpy body.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Again, I really had no idea about his health conditions and bought him just because I really liked the look about him (which is what you look for right?) But isn't it a good thing I purchased him? In a way, wouldn't I be saving him from starving himself thin at the store? That or it's just an excuse I'm coming up with to help cope with the fact that my lizard is seriously unhealthy.

On one hand, it's way better for the individual gecko that you have him and will try to give him the individual care he needs to try to get better. Bear in mind that there may be an underlying problem, such as parasites, an infection, or a genetic abnormality that is causing him to be so skinny. Despite your best efforts he may not recover. All you can do it try your best and be content in knowing that you have done so. I don't want to discourage you - there's also a good chance that he will perk up with a bit of TLC and you'll have a wonderful pet and know you were able to do an awesome thing by saving his life

On the other hand, I don't like to reward pet stores by allowing them to profit off of unhealthy animals. I don't condemn them for having a sick animal. Young animals sometimes have issues pop up and they may not have starved the gecko or even had him in a situation that was unhealthy for him (albeit unlikely). They may be the victim of a genetic abnormality. What they DID do that was wrong is sell the unhealthy animal. They should have taken that gecko out of the cage and tried to rehabilitate it, given it away to someone who had the experience to treat it or put it down. The fact they sold it and handed off a problem they should have taken responsibility for is unethical at best.

I seriously hope the best of luck to you and your new friend! Let us know how he does - my fingers are crossed for a quick and miraculous recovery!!!

 

[WHYISPY]

On one hand, it's way better for the individual gecko that you have him and will try to give him the individual care he needs to try to get better. Bear in mind that there may be an underlying problem, such as parasites, an infection, or a genetic abnormality that is causing him to be so skinny. Despite your best efforts he may not recover. All you can do it try your best and be content in knowing that you have done so. I don't want to discourage you - there's also a good chance that he will perk up with a bit of TLC and you'll have a wonderful pet and know you were able to do an awesome thing by saving his life

On the other hand, I don't like to reward pet stores by allowing them to profit off of unhealthy animals. I don't condemn them for having a sick animal. Young animals sometimes have issues pop up and they may not have starved the gecko or even had him in a situation that was unhealthy for him (albeit unlikely). They may be the victim of a genetic abnormality. What they DID do that was wrong is sell the unhealthy animal. They should have taken that gecko out of the cage and tried to rehabilitate it, given it away to someone who had the experience to treat it or put it down. The fact they sold it and handed off a problem they should have taken responsibility for is unethical at best.

I seriously hope the best of luck to you and your new friend! Let us know how he does - my fingers are crossed for a quick and miraculous recovery!!!

Thanks a bunch for your help a support, I'll try and upload picture of him or her to my profile whenever I notice a change. Hopefully the poor little thing doesn't have anything living inside it and that he or she lives a long happy life.

 

[GodzillaGecko]

Whyispy just remember never refer a petshop as a breeder. They don't breed anything 99% of the time. And I have to agree with everyone else on this...I would never go to that shop for anything. I'd probably spit on the shop passing by but that's just me. Its good you have the little guy and are willing to give it the proper care. Hopefully it just needs to eat and gain the weight it lost and have no other issues.

 

[WHYISPY]

Whyispy just remember never refer a petshop as a breeder. They don't breed anything 99% of the time. And I have to agree with everyone else on this...I would never go to that shop for anything. I'd probably spit on the shop passing by but that's just me. Its good you have the little guy and are willing to give it the proper care. Hopefully it just needs to eat and gain the weight it lost and have no other issues.

This might be a wierd question but, do you have a picture of your gecko's feces? I found his restoom corner and I notced he has something green in it. There's no blood, just green stuff white stuff and something yellow. I just want some reference pictures just to make sure he's okay. I doubt he's impacted because I don't see any spot on his belly, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[CNest]

Wow Petkingdom sold that? Its been a little while since I was last there, but they usually have pretty healthy animals and clean cages. The only ill animals I've seen them have were dropped off by customers, who couldn't care for them any more and were clearly labeled as such, and not for sale. They use to have pretty knowledgeable workers. I guess it has gone down hill since the last time I was in there.