Anything else I can do?

[Daylight_Thieves]

So I've gone to the vet and was given medicine for parasites for Bandit, but he still doesn't really want to eat anything. The meds are to be given once every 14 days and I'm getting restless because he doesn't seem to be getting any better after the first dose. I keep food in his tank but he doesn't seem to notice it or eat it, that I've seen and he hasn't pooed in a few days. He is becoming more lethargic, but I think that it might be because he's not eating... He also seems to just close his eyes for minutes at a time while standing up and when he does start to go after a cricket, he will suddenly stop, stare off into space, and then just "fall asleep" standing up...

I do give him soaks in warm water and keep the temps at the right levels but I'm getting concerned. He's only 5gs and he has a thin tail. I need to find a way to get him to eat SOMETHING and any other tips on things I could do would be REALLY helpful!!!! I hate sitting around waiting for medication to kick in when he seems to be suffering....

 

[acpart]

He's very small to be going through so much and it's possible it's going to be too much for him. Meanwhile, though there is a recipe for a "slurry" that you can mix up to feed him (do a forum search or a google search for "gecko slurry"), you could also get some chicken baby food, warm it up, put a dab on his nose and see if he'll lick it off.

ALiza

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

The strain of what he is going through is making me even more antsy to do something... I am very worried that he will not make it so I will try doing the baby food since I don't have blender at my disposal- my mom would KILL me if I put mealworms in hers lol.

Thanks for the tip and any other ideas are also great too!

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

Progress Report

The chicken baby food works WONDERS!!! HE ate about .1mL and became way more perky afterwards... like I had a hard time holding him long enough to get him back in his cage.

How often should I feed him that stuff? Can I try to feed him some more in a few hours? Because some how I don't think that .1mL is quite enough for him, especially if he has a parasite that takes half of the nutrients...

 

[T-ReXx]

The baby food is a good idea. Putting a few drops of unflavored Pedialyte on his nose for him to lick isn't bad either. At that size dehydration is a real issue, and Pedialyte will help hydrate as well as add electrolytes to his system, possibly galvanizing a feeding response.

Also, a single dose of dewormer isn't going to have an immediate affect. It's going to take a few weeks, depending on the load he's got.

Good luck.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

Try assist feeding her for a while...



Jake

 

[T-ReXx]

The chicken baby food works WONDERS!!! HE ate about .1mL and became way more perky afterwards... like I had a hard time holding him long enough to get him back in his cage.

How often should I feed him that stuff? Can I try to feed him some more in a few hours? Because some how I don't think that .1mL is quite enough for him, especially if he has a parasite that takes half of the nutrients...

You don't want to stress him out to much, so I'd give him 5-6 hours between "feedings" to relax. Other than that, give as much as he will take.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

The baby food is a good idea. Putting a few drops of unflavored Pedialyte on his nose for him to lick isn't bad either. At that size dehydration is a real issue, and Pedialyte will help hydrate as well as add electrolytes to his system, possibly galvanizing a feeding response.

Also, a single dose of dewormer isn't going to have an immediate affect. It's going to take a few weeks, depending on the load he's got.

Good luck.

Instead of pedialyte can I use gatorade that is mixed with water and virgin olive oil? He seems to like the cherry flavored gatorade...

Also, I will wait until dinner time (for me) before I feed him again! And can I have a little cap full of the baby food in his cage if he wants to eat more in between feedings?

 

[T-ReXx]

Instead of pedialyte can I use gatorade that is mixed with water and virgin olive oil? He seems to like the cherry flavored gatorade...

Also, I will wait until dinner time (for me) before I feed him again! And can I have a little cap full of the baby food in his cage if he wants to eat more in between feedings?

Diluted Gatorade is fine. I'd skip the oil. As long as he takes it that's all that matters, I just suggested unflavored Pedialyte since it has little taste and geckos are usually more likely to accept it than the flavored stuff.

You can try leaving some in the cage, but leos rarely eat non-living food on their own. Just be sure it doesn't spoil, change it out daily.

 

[acpart]

Once he seems a little more perky, try holding him and pushing a small mealworm into his mouth. Often the babies will instinctively bite and maybe will keep going and eat the mealworm. In the long run, this will be better for him than baby food. If that doesn't work and if you can stand to do it, squish the mealworm and try feeding him some of the guts.

Aliza

 

[gothra]

While you're feeding the babyfood and pedialyte, you can also add a bit of calcium into the mix.

 

[bzlizzy]

or maybe you can slide the mealworm into half and let him lick the guts or juices from the halved worm. so that he will learn that the mealworm is actually food as the exoskeleton of the mealworm is tasteless.

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

Progress Report

As of the end of today he has eaten a total of . ml of baby food and an eyedropper full of diluted Gatorade and he just a few minutes ago pooped... It's a good sign that 1- no impaction and 2- the parasites aren't eating everything he's got in his stomach. The poop doesn't look too good (not like it should) but because of the de-worming meds I can understand the difference in color and whatnot.

Needless to say, I am feeling oodles better now that I can get him to eat something... I've tried force-feeding mealworms before and it doesn't really work well... I will try slicing the mealworm in a couple of days if he begins improving but right now I want to stick with something I KNOW he'll eat... I will add calcium powder to the food though, I didn't think about that. I do have a capful in his tank, however, so I don't think he's lacking in that too much...

Thank you all for your advice!

 

[BrianBrown]

ive had the EXACT same thing wrong with my gecko, he took the meds, wont eat and now i think i will try the baby chicken food and gatorade, mine is twice the weight of yours is though. Where can i find this chicken food?

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

ive had the EXACT same thing wrong with my gecko, he took the meds, wont eat and now i think i will try the baby chicken food and gatorade, mine is twice the weight of yours is though. Where can i find this chicken food?

I just got baby food... The brand I got is Beech Nut... Try to get the baby food that is for really young babies so that it is pureed well. Also, make sure to put water in the gatorade because otherwise it'll be too sweet for them to eat...

Hope your boy feels better!

 

[Alex G]

ive had the EXACT same thing wrong with my gecko, he took the meds, wont eat and now i think i will try the baby chicken food and gatorade, mine is twice the weight of yours is though. Where can i find this chicken food?

They mean baby food as in for human babies, chicken-flavored. Not chick food You can find it at any supermarket in the baby section.