Baby Leo- Critical Condition, Help Nursing

[Cricket]

About your leo:
- Sex- Too young.
- Age & Weight- 2 mo (est.), maybe 8-10g
- How long have you owned your Leo- 1 day
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)- +++++

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your Leo- Infrequently
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.- NA
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.- NA
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)- NA
- When was the last time he/she went- Unsure
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on

I went to P*tco yesterday (I know, bad). I needed some last minute worms for my two adult geckos while their roaches are in the mail. I stopped by to see the baby Leos and there was one very lethargic one sleeping in its water bowl. It had dropped its tail. I felt so bad for it, I needed to adopt it and take it home with me. I was told that it eats, but not as much as the other geckos who were seemingly healthy. However, I don't know the last time it's eaten. I don't even know the last time it's ingested water. I am very worried, because as I mentioned it has no fat storage right now with its dropped tail. I don't know if it was being bullied by the other geckos, or if it was too stressed, or if it has a parasite of some sort. I don't know what has caused its condition, but I need help nursing it back to health.

As I mentioned, I have two other geckos who are very healthy. I have raised both, but they were healthy when I got them too. I was worried my first gecko, Cricket, wasn't drinking her water so I used a dropper and she drank the droplets when they were on her nose or right in front of it. This gecko is not responding that way. In fact, I can't get this gecko to open its mouth at all. I feel bad because I know it's more stressful to not only handle the gecko, but try to force its mouth open. I gave up after stroking the sides of its mouth and putting my nail in between its lips. I didn't want to go too far. I have a larger, shallow water dish in its tank because when I found it, it was lying in the water bowl. I figured it might want to do that again, and it might help boost hydration.

I am going to the pet store again this evening. I don't have time to wait for shipping. I am going to put some pedialyte in its water dish in an attempt to raise its electrolytes. I just really need suggestions. Anything you can give me, any tips, etc. I am extremely worried the gecko will not drink anything in time to feed it mash. I don't want it to die.

Another thing, I live in a very rural area. The only vets are cat and dog vets, and every website I've tried for her vets has literally zero listings for my entire state.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size- 5 gal. for now.
- Type (ex. glass tank)- Plastic carrier, again, for now.
- Type of substrate- Paper towel
- Hides, how many, what kind- One, just a warm hide. A toilet paper roll cut in half.
B) Heating
- Heat source- Heating pad
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)- Hot side, 90. Cold side, 70.
- Method of regulating heat source- I keep the heating pad on at all times, checking to make sure it's not too hot. It's covered with a thicker layer of paper towels.
- What are you using to measure your temps- Temp gun, temp strips.
- Do you have any lights (describe)- I don't want to use a lamp yet because I don't want to warm the Leo too fast.
C) Cage mates- Housed alone
- How many (males, females)- NA
- Describe health, or previous problems- NA

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet- Judging by P*tco, probably crickets.
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)- Trying to feed mealies and dubia roaches.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, etc.)- I've tried hand feeding, placing the food in front of it. No response there either.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)- There is a cap of Reptivite multivitamins with D3, I also dust with this. I alternate to Herpivite calcium without D3 for 5 days (usually), but am unsure in this case.
- What are you gut loading food with- I usually use carrots for both mealies and roaches, and sometimes potatoes for the mealies as well.

Here's a pic:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8dBRlyjPQCRbW85ZE1zcFJvZW9JRGpLcGlMOTBwUXdmMW1N/view?usp=sharing

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GF! The good news is that the gecko doesn't look that emaciated, even without the tail. Since there's no way of knowing if it's just been bullied or if it's got some kind of parasite, it's very important to maintain strict hygiene:
--keep this gecko as far away from you other geckos as possible
--handle it last (i.e. feed the other ones first)
--don't ever put a feeder you've tried to give this gecko back with the other feeders or in the other geckos' cages. If you're feeding crickets and you find an escaped cricket, don't put that feeder anywhere else if you think it could possibly have come from the new gecko's cage
--wash your hands well with soap and water after you handle this gecko

That said, I think this gecko needs time to recover and feel more comfortable. Give it a water bowl and a few non-stressful feeders like mealworms. Leave it alone for awhile. Of course you don't want it to die and in my opinion it doesn't look so bad, but we don't know what's going on inside and there is the chance it just is too sick to make it. Give it a few days to get comfortable and then try dripping some water on the nose. Good luck with it.

Aliza