adopting a leopard gecko with MBD

[NewbieRose]

Hello all, I am new here. I have several special needs animals and am considering adopting a leopard gecko with metabolic bone disease. According to his current owner he is about 2 years old and 6 inches long (stunted due to malnutrition). He needs to be hand fed every other day.

I work at a vet clinic that sees reptiles but don't have much reptile experience and have never had a gecko before. I am hoping someone can give me some info on the care of geckos in general and specifically geckos with MBD. Does anyone have a gecko with this condition??

Thank you in advance!

 

[acpart]

I have a care sheet here: http://geckcessories.wordpress.com

That won't give you MBD specific info, but it's a start for general care. Your vet clinic should be able to start him off with a high calcium dose in the best way for it to be delivered which may be in liquid form or via injection. The 2 most important things to keep in mind, in my opinion, is that first, he may die anyway because he's just too far gone and second, if he survives he may be permanently disfigured (I imagine from what you've posted so far that this won't bother you, I just want you to keep it in mind).

Do some searching on these forums because I think it's come up before.

GOod luck,

Aliza

 

[Untide]

I have a little girl with MBD. She seems to be doing VERY well on her own. What I do to make sure she gets what she needs is I dust waxworms. They are nice and fatty which helps keep her weight up and she loves em. The dusting keeps her calcium needs up. I crush a superworm so that it can't move (More often then not I end up killing it but I am aiming for it to run around in a circle.) sometimes she eats it sometimes she doesn't I don't really give her crickets unless I rip off most their legs and antenna (I know weird to rip off antenna but they have less chance of feeling her and scooting away if their antenna is cut short ^_~) Rather then giving her a small dish of calcium I actually have a large flat dish she can easily access. Only problem is she walks through it when she sheds and I am worried the calcium would cause her to have problems shedding but none so far. I don't hand feed her or anything since I know she is eating.

 

[NewbieRose]

Thanks for the info. According to the owner he is a good eater and actually have a tendancy to overeat and regurgitate. Also he has trouble shedding on his feet because his legs are deformed/twisted. I was not too keen on the idea of feeding crickets so am glad to hear they can live w/o them, she did say there are two other types of worms he will eat. What kind of suppliments will I need to give this guy other than calcium?

If he is 2 years old now do you think he will get much larger? Also he is in a 10 gallon tank, is that suitable for him? Like I said he is about 6 inches.

 

[rubym]

You will want to dust his food once a week with a multi vitamin also. At 2 years old, I wouldn't think that he would grow any larger. If he is the only gecko in the tank a 10 gal should be fine. I have a couple " special " needs geckos and with a little extra attention and TLC, they are wonderful little guys. Best wishes.

 

[NewbieRose]

I have made it a habit to adopt special needs animals as they always make the most wonderful pets Right now I have a special needs cat, cockatoo and guinea pig among my other 'normal' pets. My cockatoo is sure a bit of a challange, but I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Thank you for all the info. Now...what do you feed the food? LOL couldn't you feed the worms etc a higher calcium/vitamin food to make up for his deficiency?

 

[Alusdra]

Make sure to have this guy thoroughly checked out- if he has MBD but a voracious appetite there might be something else going on that is causing the vomiting and thus the MBD. Since you work at a vet's office that sees reptiles they should have the experience to figure out what it is, if anything. Make sure to get a fecal and maybe blood (if they know how to do it).

I have an almost 9 year old who had MBD- his legs are curled up under him, too, and his face looks like Kermit- but he can still climb up on things and get around quite well. A feed dish and water bowl that have sloped ramps up to them is a good idea, though (I had to make one, I don't know if there is one commercially?)

 

[lytlesnake]

I too have found that dusted waxworms are the way to go. I have 2 hatchlings from this year that have MBD, and that's all either one of them wants to eat. The geckos are improving, and I'm hoping they're young enough that they'll make a full recovery soon. I'll dust their waxies with some multivitamin tonight.

If the gecko will eat phoenix worms that's even better, but some geckos don't like 'em. You can also give the gecko Calcionate Syrup, and of course "The Slurry" is excellent.

 

[Superior]

You could try feeding phoenix worms. I have heard that there high in calcium...