Baby Leopard Gecko Hasn't Eaten In 10 Days

[Trendkill]

I bought a baby Leo from ***** about 2 weeks ago. The first 3 days I had the Leo it ate 3 crickets and a mealworm (total). For the last 10 days it hasn't touched a thing. I even made a slurry consisting of baby food (chicken), pedialyte, and calcium (no phosphorus or d3). It seems to like the slurry a little bit, but it gets freaked out by the dropper/syringe to the point where it won't eat that either.

The tank has a hide on the warm side and a hide on the cool side. The warm side has a generic heating pad underneath it that has to be monitored closely or it can get way too hot. The problem with this is that it's gotten up to 95 degrees, but the gecko will leave the hide when it does. The other problem with this is that when I have to leave the hide gets down to the mid 70's. I know this temp fluctuation is not good and I am taking care of that today. I also keep a calcium dish (no d3) and a water dish in the tank as well. I use paper towel as substrate. BTW, the baby loves water! It makes several trips to the water dish each night to drink. The gecko is fairly active (loves to climb) and can move quick when needed.

I took the baby to the vet yesterday and he said that he didn't think impaction was an issue, but commented on getting the correct temp. He recommended a heat lamp over a UTH for worries over burning the Leo's belly. His main concern was that the Leo probably has a parasite. He said I need a fecal sample soon or that he would have to use a broad spectrum medication for parasites to be safe and even that isn't a guarantee. The problem is that it's not pooping anymore either. I'm at a loss and this is stressing me out heavily. Could it be as simple as stabilizing the temp? Is there a way to get the little Leo to eat without stressing it out? I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter that gets excited when she sees it and runs over to the tank. Could this be a problem as well?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Your issues can be easily corrected IMO. The extreme temp fluxuations you described can absolutely affect a baby's eating habits. I disagree with your vet's heat recommendation. 95 is fine, 70 is not. You can move the heat pad so it doesn't heat as much of the floor surface. Cold blooded animals thermalregulate by moving to the heat source when they need it. Leopard geckos need belly heat to digest their food. Instead of usng a syringe to feed, try a baby spoon or even popsickle stick and dot a little on it's lips to lick off. Be patient with it They end up with a messy face but it causes no stress. A lot of activity causes stress, affects appetite. Try not to handle it and let it get comfortable in its new home. I'm absolutely against using a broad spectum medication of any kind without a confirmed diagnosis. It just isn't logical and can be harsh on an animal's system when it may not be necessary. Why not wait a few days and get a fecal? When it poops, get the sample to the vet asap. If it's more than a couple hours, bag it and refrigerate. I don't know how long that's good for, hopefully someone else here can say. There may be an emergency vet that would be able to just run the sample if it's over the weekend. Do you know the weight and length of your baby? What conditions were geckos kept at the store where you purchased? What did they feed? They can get parasites from community tanking and filth. Hope this helps

 

[Trendkill]

Sorry for taking so long to post an update. The problem is still the same a week later. I actually manged to get a fecal sample (tiny clump of urates and a milky/clear liquid) The results were negative, but the vet called me and told me that solid feces were the best way to get accurate results and that liquid feces can often come back as negative. My Leo poops twice a day (very small amounts) and it only drinks water. It shows no interest in live food and won't touch the slurry mix. I just noticed earlier today that my Leo's belly looks dark and bruised, and I mean it's entire underside. I can't get to a vet until Monday, but I'm not sure it will make it that long. It may look like I'm squeezing it, but I'm not. I noticed a bump right above it's vent that lead me to believe that impaction may be an issue? Wouldn't it stop pooping altogether if it was impacted?

 

[Trendkill]

Sorry for the double post - I have rectified the temp issue as well. During the day the temp is between 88-92 and at night it's between 84-87. The vet recommended a de-wormer - can't remember what it's called - but I wasn't comfortable getting this without a diagnosis.

 

[Trendkill]

Anybody?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

It looks bad, hopefully will make it to the vet. You really need to KEEP a leopard gecko properly heated. 95 is great for a baby/juvenile. 84-92 is not! There are several good care sheets available on this site, as well as many breeders websites to help you understand their specific requirments. You can compare that with how you've kept yours and see what needs to be fixed. Hope things improve with the vet visit and your little one pulls thru.

 

[OhioGecko]

Try to get your temp to 95, how are you measuring your floor temp?

What are you gutloading your crickets with?

Are you using a light for a heating source?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Oops Thad, you beat me to it I was about to edit my post asking if it was floor or ambient temp and how is it measured.

 

[Trendkill]

I use a digital therm with a probe directly on the floor above the heating pad. I thought that you were supposed to drop the temp slightly at night? I have kept the temp above 90 the last couple days, though. I do not use heat lighting with any of my geckos. I use the ambient lighting from my home and they know when it's time to come out. The crickets are gut loaded with wheat bran, dry oats, baby rice, and orange slices for moisture for 48 hours and I only fed it small crickets. A small mealworm was the last thing it ate and I'm wondering if the outer shell was too hard to digest?

It's out right now standing in the middle of the tank with it's eyes closed. it's been biting at the air or trying to scream (no noise) and then it's body shakes violently like a dog after a bath. It has it's eyes closed almost all of the time when it's out and about. I'm wondering if this is part of the problem?

As I'm writing this it just crawled onto it's hollowed out log hide. I have no idea how it came up with the energy for that!

Which care sheet is the correct one? I see differences in each one, especially regarding the heat issue.

 

[gothra]

It's out right now standing in the middle of the tank with it's eyes closed. it's been biting at the air or trying to scream (no noise) and then it's body shakes violently like a dog after a bath. It has it's eyes closed almost all of the time when it's out and about. I'm wondering if this is part of the problem?

It might want to vomit. I've seen geckos that do the open mouth and shake right before they vomit.

With regard to temperature, I think having the warm end at 92 is fine for a healthy gecko (I kept all of mine at 93). But when one is not eating, I tend to bump up their temps to around 95 as others had mentioned. I don't know why your gecko stopped eating, but there are things that I'll try before it gets to the vet on Monday. Try cover up its tank, so it can't see any activity outside. Get a couple crickets, pull off most legs and cut short the antennae, and put them right in front of its hide. Leave it in there see if it'll eat overnight.

Since you need a fresh stool sample, I suggest you dropper/syringe feed it a little bit of slurry. You have to be very patient when doing this - squeeze out one drop and dap it on its lip. When it starts licking, squeeze another drop on its lip and so on. Do this in a dim area so it doesn't freak out with the light. When you get a fresh stool sample, put it in a zip-lock bag and keep it in the fridge (not freezer) until you can get to the vet. Its best if its within 24hrs; anything over 48hrs is no good.

 

[Trendkill]

First off, I would like to thank those who responded. Unfortunately, my baby Leo died overnight. It was behaving very odd yesterday and I feared the worst. It usually stayed in it's hide unless it needed a drink, but yesterday it wouldn't go near it's hide. As a matter of fact, it made sure that it stayed on the coolest side of the tank most of the time. I think the little fella knew it was over.

@Gothra - I had the temp around 95 the last few days (too late I'm sure). I tried feeding it live food again (crickets - no back legs) and it didn't even look at them. The only thing it ever seemed to really want was water. I had been feeding it the slurry, but it began to reject it after a few days. Anytime I would drop it on it's lip it would shake it off or rub his face in the paper towel to wipe it off. Even when it first ate the slurry, it's poop was still clear/whitish color.

I just found out that a couple days ago my baby Leo was trapped under it's hide for who knows how long before the hide was removed. I understand that my 2 year old daughter got into the tank and managed to lift up the hide, to look at the gecko I'm sure (she loves the geckos). The gecko evidently moved and my daughter dropped the hide on top of him. I'm beginning to think that this is the reason for the dark bruising/bleeding on it's underside. It would also explain why it seemed to be doing ok, then overnight it was on it's deathbed.

I'd love to have a necropsy done to find out for sure if it had any parasites, but I think that may be a bit too expensive at the moment. I think being trapped under the hide is what killed it, but it stopped eating for a reason and that is what is bugging me. I'll be armed with better knowledge if I dare take on a baby gecko again, but that will be awhile because I am quite aggravated about a gecko dying in my care.

Thanks again to those who responded.

 

[LeopardGeckoGirlie]

First of all I'm very sorry for your loss, but in the future I'd make sure your daughter can't get to the gecko unattended. Again very sorry for your loss

 

[Trendkill]

Thanks. She shouldn't have been able to get to the geckos at all. She was somehow allowed into a room that has a child proof knob cover. Would never have happened on my watch.

 

[gothra]

Sorry to hear your gecko didn't make it. It sure is a sign that it is dying when it lay down in the open in the cool end away from all its hides. I had a few deaths before, and all of them did that before they died.