Calcium Overdose??

[GeckoDude94]

Hey guy's,

Been a long time since I've been on here. One of my gecko's has refused to eat for the last 2 weeks and has gotten very small but still looks very healthy except for all of her joints look swollen/dislocated looking. Clear eye's, no runny nose or secretions from the mouth. The pet store tried to tell me that she may have a calcium overdose. Is this a possibility? We just started a repta-boost supplement. She is taking this and not refusing it like all other methods.

Thanks,

Roby

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I've personally never heard of a calcium overdose in geckos. I mean, I think you'd have to basically pour it into them to achieve that (if it's possible - I don't know). Actually, swollen limbs is a sign of a calcium deficiency called Metabolic Bone Disease. Did she have a calcium supplement before?

~Maggot

 

[GeckoDude94]

All I have used is a calcium dust on the crickets or meal worms I feed her.

Thanks for the reply.

Roby

 

[Embrace Calamity]

What supplement and how often? How long have you been doing it? As a note, don't listen to what people say at pet stores. They might mean well, but chances are very good that they're not experts. Many people (including myself) have taken bad advice from pet store people and ended up with injured, sick, or dead herps.

Do you have any pics of her by chance?

~Maggot

 

[GeckoDude94]

Read some info on MBD and it explains her condition word for word. Going to start hand feeding her that repta-boost twice a day and hopefully start to see some improvements.

Thanks again for the info.

Roby

 

[GeckoDude94]

I have dusted the crickets since I got them 4 years ago. I usually dust them about 50 percent of the time. It is Rep-Cal calcium.

I can snatch a couple pics tomorrow.

Roby

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I don't think you need to bother with the ReptaBoost. That's for dehydrated and malnourished reptiles. It doesn't have that much calcium in it (0.60%), as opposed to Repashy Leopard Gecko Calcium which is 16-18%, so if you just give her the ReptaBoost, her condition will only get worse. She needs calcium. Buy this: T-Rex Leopard Gecko Calcium Plus Supplement Reptile Food Supplements And use it every feeding. If you do that, she'll become healthy again.

What are the temps and how are you measuring them? Low temps can result in them being unable to properly utilise supplements you give them.

EDIT: And this is a good example of what I meant about pet store people. If you'd done what they said and she does have MBD (hard to say for sure without pics, but if you're saying that sounds exactly what she looks like, it's a safe bet), it would have gotten worse and she'd eventually have passed.

~Maggot

 

[GeckoDude94]

The only issue is she will not eat any solid food. That's why I am starting to feed her a liquid. heat is about 80-82 during the day and 72-75 at night.

Roby

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Those temps are way too low, so she probably couldn't even absorb the calcium you were giving her or digest the food, which might be why she's not eating. Are they on the warm side or cool side? And are you using a digital or analog thermometer?

She needs calcium though. Hopefully if you bump up temps, she'll start eating again. In the meantime, I'd suggest buying the calcium (make sure it's the stuff I showed you, because most of them don't have vitamin A, which could result in another deficiency that causes other problems) and mixing it with the ReptaBoost.

~Maggot

 

[GeckoDude94]

There on the warm side and I'm using a digital thermo. I will also bump up the heat. What wattage do you recommend?

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Wattage depends entirely on the temps in your house, the size of the enclosure, air circulation, etc. I'd suggest getting an under tank heater if you don't have one, so that way she's got heat from below and above (make sure to follow the directions and warnings). Shoot for 88-93 on the warm side. And temps at night shouldn't drop below 80. I keep my warm side temps in the mid 80's at night, and she usually stays over there. Some people don't even provide a temperature drop at night.

~Maggot

 

[GeckoDude94]

Ok I see. Thanks a ton for your help! I'm going to try all this and hope for the best.

Roby

 

[Embrace Calamity]

No problem. It doesn't sound like it's too advanced, so if you make sure to correct the temperatures and give her calcium, she should recover. If you can get some pics, I'd still like to see to make sure it looks like MBD, if you don't mind.

~Maggot