A little confused.

[Kystaubi]

I was thinking that something else has to be better than fruit baby food, but who knows what she was thinking.

Do you think that I could substitute waxworms for mealworms then for a small batch to start getting him heavier? I looked on the forum and someone said the hill's petfood is optional, I won't be able to get that for it but I can get everything else. The vet did say that I should syringe feed him the wax worms too if he doesn't eat them himself, until he gets some fat on him. I plan on buying a gram scale so that I can monitor his weight every couple days to see if it's helping.

 

[Kystaubi]

This is what I was thinking of making, give me your opinions on this. I just want to make a small batch with the wax worms since I just need to get him going on filling out...not sure how long it takes though. Maybe I could just make a half batch instead of a quarter batch (what I think I've estimated below), and put half mealies half waxworms?

1/8 cup ensure
1/4 jar squash baby food
1/8 cup pedialite
1/2 tab milk thistle
1/2 tab acidophilus
1 pinch of calcium/vitamin powder
20-30 wax worms

 

[Khrysty]

This is what I was thinking of making, give me your opinions on this. I just want to make a small batch with the wax worms since I just need to get him going on filling out...not sure how long it takes though. Maybe I could just make a half batch instead of a quarter batch (what I think I've estimated below), and put half mealies half waxworms?

1/8 cup ensure
1/4 jar squash baby food
1/8 cup pedialite
1/2 tab milk thistle
1/2 tab acidophilus
1 pinch of calcium/vitamin powder
20-30 wax worms

That looks good. I'd go ahead and make the half batch. You freeze the extra so it's not like you'll waste any.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

That's great news from the vet

 

[mindgamer8907]

Here's my two cents: if you've been feeding him reptaid it is likely that his stool would not contain parasites if it was a sample taken after this regimen had begun. Also, given that he is a four gram animal I would take ten drops of reptaid (from the dropper) and 240 drops (from that same dropper, rinsed in another thing of water) of clean water.

This is the proper dosage for an animal his size. All he needs is one drop a day from the reptaid dropper. I noticed that the loose, watery stool is actually a bit of a side-effect this med has on the animal, though I also think the guidelines that come with the stuff mention that this is also a sign of possible overdosing.

I apologize if I exceed my bounds and you are dosing correctly, but you never mentioned how you decided your dosing so I figured it would be a good idea to remind you of the dangers of improper dosages.


Other than that, I may not have heard much good to come from babyfoods mixed with worms but Khrysty knows way more than me and has been teaching me the ins and outs of owning a gecko so good job on the gecko soup stuff. Also, definitely talk to that breeder, she's selling highly sub-par animals if your gecko is supposed to be several months old by now and looks like that. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Kystaubi]

I was giving him more than a drop, I would say that daily I was giving him about .1cc, or to the first line on the syringe, but I also was feeding it to him by dropping it on his nose so he wasn't actually eating THAT much of it. I'm new to owning a leo, and I don't know anyone personally who has one to get much advice from other than these forums.

I hope I didn't do anything to hurt him by giving him a bit too much, but I think I only dosed him for 5 days. I'm not going to give him any more of it though now that I know he isn't sick from parasites-----unless since you said it wouldn't show up, is there a possibility that he still might have parasites? I'm going to try giving him the gecko soup while monitoring his weight to see if he's gaining. If he isn't I'm definitely going to go back to the vet, she said she would like me to go back so she can check on him anyways.

And I got him from a local pet store, however one of the women who work there said she bred them herself, so I guess that would count as a "breeder". I think that he might just be an unfortunate one that's having a hard time, unless that doesn't happen?


How fast do leopard gecko's usually gain weight? Would I see an improvement fairly quickly?

 

[Khrysty]

I think that he might just be an unfortunate one that's having a hard time, unless that doesn't happen?

Sometimes one or two geckos don't get adequate nutrition because they're the "runts" so to speak and the bigger ones bully them and don't let them eat. In a situation where geckos are kept in large groups that usually happens, so I'm really not surprised yours is the way it is.

How fast do leopard gecko's usually gain weight? Would I see an improvement fairly quickly?

It really depends on the animal. It took our pet store rescue about a month or so before we noticed any real improvement. Here's her story: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=55726&highlight=pet**+rescue

I also have some animals who gain weight rather quickly (you notice a change in about a week, sometimes less) once they really start eating.

 

[Kystaubi]

Thanks for all the help and advise so far. I just got out of work so I'm going to go get the rest of the ingredients for the gecko soup and make that. I'm wondering if I should try to offer him other food, such as crickets or mealies while I'm supplementing him with the soup? And how much would you recommend to give him a day, since he's only 4g? I was thinking about .1cc/ml twice a day until he starts to get bigger....

 

[Khrysty]

Thanks for all the help and advise so far. I just got out of work so I'm going to go get the rest of the ingredients for the gecko soup and make that. I'm wondering if I should try to offer him other food, such as crickets or mealies while I'm supplementing him with the soup? And how much would you recommend to give him a day, since he's only 4g? I was thinking about .1cc/ml twice a day until he starts to get bigger....

When I feed the soup I just give them as much as they'll take. I use a syringe or an eye dropper (depending on which I have handy_ and let them lick it off until they stop. I always kept a dish of worms in 24/7 with them in case they decided to eat on their own.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Also, given that he is a four gram animal I would take ten drops of reptaid (from the dropper) and 240 drops (from that same dropper, rinsed in another thing of water) of clean water.

This is the proper dosage for an animal his size. All he needs is one drop a day from the reptaid dropper. I noticed that the loose, watery stool is actually a bit of a side-effect this med has on the animal, though I also think the guidelines that come with the stuff mention that this is also a sign of possible overdosing.

I apologize if I exceed my bounds and you are dosing correctly, but you never mentioned how you decided your dosing so I figured it would be a good idea to remind you of the dangers of improper dosages.
QUOTE]
This is what is on the information guide that comes with the bottle of Reptaid:
Dosing
1. The basic guideline for dosage is .1ml(.1cc) per 100 gram animal weight per day. This is equal to about 1 drop from the eyedropper.
2. If your animal weighs 50 grams, then cut the dosage in half. Since .05ml is a very small amount of fluid, you can draw that much Reptaid in the syringe and then draw in some water so you have more fluid to inject into the reptile's mouth.
3. If you are treating babies or pygmies, then you administer drips from the syringe WITH the needle. These are tiny tiny drips from the orafice of the needle.

We are talking about a 4gm animal here!!!! Also stated on the information sheet is: PLEASE READ BEFORE USE

 

[Kystaubi]

Well, I didn't know how much he weighed before, and this is my first leo. So, sorry that I didn't get it right? At least I'm trying to do something about it. Anyways...

What color is the gecko soup supposed to be? Does it normally change color a little while after making it?

 

[roger]

So I've had my young leopard gecko, I'm guessing he was around 2-4 weeks old when I got him, for 5 weeks now. He shed about 2 weeks ago, and is looking like he's about to shed within a couple of days again. I went in the pet store and looked at the other leos that were in his group of hatchlings (a woman who worked there had bred them in her own personal care and was just selling them there for whatever reason) and one (I think the 2nd one is gone) was a lot healthier looking than mine. I didn't see it up close, but it looked a lot bigger, the tail at least twice the size.

My leo went through about a week and a half to two week hardly eating period, and then started picking up slowly (by week 3 he was eating at least three mealies a day). I tried crickets but he didn't seem too interested in them at this time. I reintroduced crickets at about week 4, and he seems to like them. He was up to 6 crickets a couple days ago, but now hasn't eaten in 2 days. I think this is because he is about to shed, but I'm not sure.

He never eats right when I feed him, he just hunts them when they catch his eye for some reason. I haven't seen him eat more than one thing in a row, or be very aggressive with anything. It's recently warmed up in the area I live, so now the temperatures are pretty perfect, as he seems more active and exploratory than at first.

I guess basically, I'm confused about why he isn't interested in his food, and I'm wondering if this is affecting his size and growth. His tail isn't fat at all, and he seems to be a really picky/lazy eater. I've been keeping his cage clean and temps right. Any suggestions would help, or opinions on why he isn't getting bulky, or what I can do to get him to be more interested in eating his food. I have some repta-aid coming in the mail if I need to try it, also.

Your giving him warm enough temps on the warm side right ?? Should be between 90-100 degrees

 

[Kystaubi]

Your giving him warm enough temps on the warm side right ?? Should be between 90-100 degrees

Yes. The temps during the day are between 94-98 usually on the warm side. The cool side was at around 77-80. The Vet said that I should keep it warmer now, so I've added my heat lamp to help keep it up to around 85 room temp in the tank.

 

[Kystaubi]

Update:

Today was day 3 of gecko soup. He's seemed a little more active with climbing around and all over everything in the cage. He also has been hanging out in his humid hide 80% of the time.... he kind of uses all 3 hides but hasn't been in the warm one a lot, so I've been keeping the heat lamp on to increase the room temp/cool temp to around 83-86, since he's been eating the soup. He's pretty full today, he's been getting better with eating it.

 

[Khrysty]

Update:

Today was day 3 of gecko soup. He's seemed a little more active with climbing around and all over everything in the cage. He also has been hanging out in his humid hide 80% of the time.... he kind of uses all 3 hides but hasn't been in the warm one a lot, so I've been keeping the heat lamp on to increase the room temp/cool temp to around 83-86, since he's been eating the soup. He's pretty full today, he's been getting better with eating it.

That's good, I'm glad he's doing well. Make sure you also keep live food available for him in case he decides to want to eat anything else, ok?