2 problems with african fat-tailed gecko...

[SpartanNamor]

So, I'm an amateur owner, and I own a 2 year old male fat tailed gecko. He seems to have 2 problems with him right now.

First off, he has what appear to be indentations on the spot right behind his eyes, which I happened to notice today. these indents are quite large, and occur on both sides, and have the same shape. I thought it might be metabolic bone disease, but he doesn't seem to have any other symptoms of it.

Second, I noticed a few days ago 2 red dots on him. One was right on top of his tail, and the other was slightly above where his tail and body meet, on the top. But, today I also noticed that now there is now a small cluster of these red spots on his tail, as well as there being a red "band" of sorts directly on the line where his tail and body meet. These spots appear bright red, and do not bleed.

Any form of help would be appreciated greatly. Also please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong so I can fix it.

(I took a picture of the spots when I first noticed them, I might update the picture with the several spots on his tail. Also, he hasn't had any access to his UVB light in about a week due to expenses, and I figure that may be the root of the problem. Also the tail spot may be hard to see.)

 

[acpart]

I can see the tail spot. From what I can see, it looks more like an abrasion than just a spot. If that's not the case, maybe a few more pictures? The first sign of MBD is rubbery joints, and I don't think the indentations behind the eyes would signify MBD. If anything, it sounds a bit like dehydration. Although UVB isn't bad for an AFT, they are nocturnal so, depending on where they are when the light is on, they may not benefit much. I'm assuming you're also supplementing with calcium and vitamin D3? If those "spots" are abrasions, maybe he got them rubbing his shed off? I'm not sure otherwise.

Aliza

 

[SpartanNamor]

I can see the tail spot. From what I can see, it looks more like an abrasion than just a spot. If that's not the case, maybe a few more pictures? The first sign of MBD is rubbery joints, and I don't think the indentations behind the eyes would signify MBD. If anything, it sounds a bit like dehydration. Although UVB isn't bad for an AFT, they are nocturnal so, depending on where they are when the light is on, they may not benefit much. I'm assuming you're also supplementing with calcium and vitamin D3? If those "spots" are abrasions, maybe he got them rubbing his shed off? I'm not sure otherwise.

Aliza

Thanks for the info. Yes, I recently figured out he need more calcium and d3 supplements, so he is receiving those. Also, how would the dehydration be possible? He always has plenty of fresh water throughout the day, so is he just refusing to drink?

 

[acpart]

Not a clue! No way to know whether or not he's drinking unless you see him and I'm not saying for sure that it's dehydration, it just may be a possibility.

Aliza

 

[SpartanNamor]

Not a clue! No way to know whether or not he's drinking unless you see him and I'm not saying for sure that it's dehydration, it just may be a possibility.

Aliza

Weird, I do often see him drinking from his water bowl. Also update on the whole thing, he seems to be getting better, the red spots are all gone, and his head indents seem to be getting better, so I think I'm doing something right. Also yes, I finally got enough money to get a night heat lamp for him, and he only started improving after that. And unfortunately for me, I was misguided on what a UVB bulb actually was. So, I need to get some more money to also get him one of those. Other than that, thanks for the help.

 

[acpart]

I don't think you really need UVB since the gecko is nocturnal and doesn't need much UVB. Save your money and invest it in a good supplement that has calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamins.

Aliza

 

[SpartanNamor]

I don't think you really need UVB since the gecko is nocturnal and doesn't need much UVB. Save your money and invest it in a good supplement that has calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamins.

Aliza

I already have a sort of mixed multivitamin thing on his food. It's a Repashy calcium and vitamin supplement mix. And unfortunately, there seem to be more problems. From some research I did, he seems to be seriously underweight. The average weight should be around 50 grams, and he is only 23 grams. Should I be worried? and if so, what do I do about it? To add more to it, those red dots have begun to reappear on his tail, and there are 4 of them. (also he has only been eating mealworms for a while)

 

[acpart]

So the spots coincide with shedding? Could he be rubbing his tail and getting little abrasions? Will he eat crickets or super worms as well as mealworms? Remember that "average" means that some are above that weight and some below. If he's eating regularly then the only thing you can do is to keep feeding him. If you want, you can make an appointment with a reptile vet to have him looked at just in case.

Aliza

 

[SpartanNamor]

So the spots coincide with shedding? Could he be rubbing his tail and getting little abrasions? Will he eat crickets or super worms as well as mealworms? Remember that "average" means that some are above that weight and some below. If he's eating regularly then the only thing you can do is to keep feeding him. If you want, you can make an appointment with a reptile vet to have him looked at just in case.

Aliza

The spot's don't coincide with shedding as far as I know. He seems to be shedding normally. He will eat mealworms, crickets, but I'm not sure about superworms cause he never had them. And i do feed him regularly, about 2 dusted mealworms per feeding, once 2 days. Also the spots seem to have disappeared.

 

[acpart]

Next time you see spots, check him under a magnifying glass to see if they are moving. If they are, it's mites, which are really not common with AFT's. Then do some googling.

Aliza

 

[SpartanNamor]

Thanks a lot.

 

[NearMeGeckos]

Can you post a picture of him? How often and in what amount are you feeding what?