2nd Opinion? Swollen stomach gz

[AlexT]

bout your leo:
- Sex
Female
- Age & Weight
7 yr & 90 grams I believe the vet said
- How long have you owned your leo
Since it was old enough to ship
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)
Well-reputable breeder

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo
Rarely
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
Seems to me maybe a little slower but still eats normally, slower to poop though

- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
Suffers from a very slight enigma syndrome (does not impact life)

B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
Looks more like a dried prune (gone 3 times since noticed issue
- When was the last time he/she went
Night of the 13th which was 3.5 days from eating a wax worm and a few mealies

C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on
Huge buldge in stomach getting worse every day it has start roughly week and a half ago. Today it was noticed her breathing is getting harder and she started gulping for air (which may have been broguht on by the stress of the vet, but obv. the buldge is impacting her lungs somehow

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size
20 L
- Type (ex. glass tank)
Glass
- Type of substrate
Repti-Carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind
hot and cold, homemade

B) Heating
- Heat source
UTH
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
Warm 94ish F Cool 77 F
- Method of regulating heat source
Theromstat
- What are you using to measure your temps
Temp Gun
- Do you have any lights (describe)
No
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
Giant Mealies 13 or so twice a week (give or take) (fatty tail)

- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)
Left in dish/hand fed

B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
Repashy Calcium Plus / Gut load and in tank

I'd say like a week and a half ago I started to notice a bludge in my gecko's stomach, after thinking it may be a hernia I called the vet, but did not get an appointment until the 14th (today). The budlge gets bigger and bigger everyday. Now once I brought her home I feel like it's kinda taking the shape of a egg, but def. is getting bigger as it has reached the start of her vent/tail. She is now taking (as of tonight) calcium shots to the leg every 3 days and Calcium Glubionate and Baytril orally every day. The vet did seem to be well informed in leos and handled her pretty well, but we were stumped on what could cause it. She is scheduled for surgery Wednesday (a WEEK from tom.), but I honestly don't think she will make it and that was the earliest it could be. The vet and I discussed possible hernia, reproductive problem, cyst of some sort, maybe cancer and many other things...honestly don't think he really knows. Thus, I turn to you guys advice as I sit here panicking that she does not have a week to live. This will be my first every gecko death and I honestly did not expect it to happen before my older store bough geckos. See attache dpictures GRAPHIC

 

[AlexT]

 

[acpart]

I am obviously not a vet. This looks to me like the abdominal hernia one of my geckos had a number of years ago, though, of course, it could also be a tumor or cyst. At the time, my vet told me that if I could "reduce" the bulge, i.e. if I could push the bulge back in with no resistance (understanding that as soon as I move my finger, it would bulge out again) then there were no adhesions and the gecko would probably be able to live with it. He felt that surgery was too risky. He told me I could make a kind of a truss for the gecko with a bandaid by wrapping the bandaid around her belly to hold in the bulge. She lived several years more with it and died suddenly without seeming to get worse. I suppose you could gently push on the bulge and see if it can be reduced and then use a bandaid to hold it in. If it resists your pushing, I think you're just going to have to wait till next week and hope she can hold out till then, or else tell the vet you think it's an emergency and you'd like her to have the surgery sooner. Good luck with her.

Aliza

 

[AlexT]

Thank you so much for your feedback, I actually have seen your posts regarding this material on many occasions and that is what made me think it was a hernia. The vet did not even consider a hernia until I mentioned and then he sounded open to the idea, but ( I quote) still wonder what was herniated. My biggest fear is the rate at which it is growing and starting to affect her lungs. Did you notice or ever heard of a hernia growing? Also, I have never dealt with it before but the shape is becoming more like an oval shape like an egg, would a bound egg pretrude so much like that?

 

[AlexT]

For anyone wondering, she suffered from a really abnormally enlarged ovary which I believe caused a hernia split down the middle causing her insides to fall out. She also was suspected to suffer from hepatic lipidosis, but all that is known is that the coloring of her liver was abnormal. There were signs of multiple hemorging beacuse of all this and her overies were removed and she survived surgery, but sadly passed away in the 24 hr period overnight. This is my first loss and it really is heartbreaking, espically after since she made it through surgery and 2 of my other geckos are up in age as well (and store bought unlike her whcih came from reputable breeder). Maybe I could have prevented it if she recieved surgery earlier on when she was stronger, but there is no promise. Anyways, hopefully this information helps someone in the future. :main_huh:

 

[michael.a.wyton]

I'm very sorry for your loss

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[zakdat]

I'm sorry about your gecko. Thanks for the update though.


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[AlexT]

Thank you all! It is rough seeing an empty tank, but I jsut wanted to provide information to help future problems people may experience so they can make a quicker and better decision to help save their gecko.

 

[Neon Aurora]

Sorry for your loss. =/ These things happen sometimes.