back legs quit moving! so scared!

K

kblake88

Guest
My gecko, Lavern, is 3 years old and has never had any health problems until just recently. she shed a few weeks ago and the skin around her face and eyes didn't come all the way off, so she couldn't open her eyes and wasn't eating as a result. Her tail shrunk to half the size. I got on this forum and read that not eating for a little while was ok. But after a couple days I couldn't take it anymore so I took her to the vet. He gave me some liquid calcium to give her daily and told me to wipe her eyes of gently with a wet cotton ball. I did as I was told and she shed the next day and opened her eyes! That was yesterday morning and I gave her her meds at 6pm. She was kinda sleeping this morning but i noticed her tail was moving irregularly. When I went to pick her up for her meds tonight she squirmed a little as usual but her back legs were dragging. She was just pulling herself around with her front legs. I called the vet and he can't see her until tomorrow but I'm not sure I can afford another vet bill. I was hoping someone had some insite into what could have happened? Please give me some advice if you can. Thank you so much.
 
Thorgecko707

Thorgecko707

THORGECKO
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2,085
Location
Northern California
lavern.jpg
 
Golden Gate Geckos

Golden Gate Geckos

Mean Old Gecko Lady
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Location
SF Bay Area
im faster said:
A tail doesn't shrink half the size in only a few weeks.
Click to expand...
I have had geckos' tails shrink to nothing literally overnight... usually stress or temperature induced.

I had a male Bold Stripe that lost complete use of his lower body. I spent hundreds of dollars in vet bills to get to the bottom of it, but without a clue. It got to the point that he could not defecate on his own, and I had to palpate his lower abdomen to get him to poop. He started wasting away, and I had to put him down. It broke my heart.

Check your surface temperatures! Extreme heat can cause the gecko's parathyroid gland to overwork which leaches the calcium out of their blood. The stress from this can cause the fat stores in their tails to mobilize overnight. This can lead to hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) because the liver cannot process all this fat, and clogs up.

I wish I could give you a more definitive explanation, but I can't.
 
LZRDGRL

LZRDGRL

Active Member
Messages
2,807
Location
Southern Illinois
I had a gecko (search for "Andiamo's Story" on this forum, or on my website) that lost complete control of all four limbs. The vet said it looked like stroke and had to euthanize him. The necropsy didn't yield any other findings; all organs seemed okay, so she assumed stroke due to a calcium problem (as Marcia has described above) or bacterial meningitis.

Good luck with your gecko; hope it's not a stroke.

Chrissy
 
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