Hello all..
I am starting all over from scratch and need some assistance. I will keep my story short.
Have had Azul for about 4 years. He developed mouth rot and took him to vet. Got antibiotics, healed him up according to vet on follow up appointment. Since then, he hasn't eaten much, tail has gotten smaller. He shows interest in crickets just not much. He has a hard time eating (anything) because of his jaw due to the mouth rot as it shrank a bit which is how I noticed in the first place (he had no discharge around mouth or anything prior to taking him in).
Took him to vet again yesterday. He got some sort of protein mix/shake stuff to help with the eating. He ate some, looks more active.
At the vet, she said she felt "hardness" in his body that could be a kidney issue.. We use carpet so I do not think it is impaction. She suggested blood test to know for sure but may lose his tail in the process. Because he has not eaten much lately and his tail is still good sized, we decided to hold off on test and try to fatten him up first in case he did drop his tail. She suggested warm water soaks to help comfort him if it is kidney issue. I wonder if he is constipated from not eating much or eating mostly worms dusted in calcium and vitamin powder.
He has been eating more calcium from his dish lately.
Here is where I need help.
Over the 3 visits to vet, I have gotten mixed information from what I believed to be proper set up.
In addition to those two items...let me ask a question because I have read different things before I got the gecko and even now....
I have two hides (cool and hot). I place the towels in the hot hide when he sheds. He tends to shed there even if I had not placed towels yet. Should I have 3 hides (cool, WET, hot) ?
Up until a few months ago, he has been fine. Temp in his cage fluctuates a bit and there was probably a short period where my son was not as "on top of it" when it came to cleaning his cage and such. This is probably how he got the infection in the first place....by us being a bit sloppy...which is what I am trying to fix now with my questions.
I ordered a Rheostat to help with the temperature and take the fluctuations out of it. We are now on a schedule to clean his cage regularly and have reminders set up to do so.
Basically we are tightening up our end of the care but those items listed above are gnawing at me.
Any thoughts, opinions, firsthand experience accounts will be helpful.
Thank you for reading and thank you for sharing your experience.
I am starting all over from scratch and need some assistance. I will keep my story short.
Have had Azul for about 4 years. He developed mouth rot and took him to vet. Got antibiotics, healed him up according to vet on follow up appointment. Since then, he hasn't eaten much, tail has gotten smaller. He shows interest in crickets just not much. He has a hard time eating (anything) because of his jaw due to the mouth rot as it shrank a bit which is how I noticed in the first place (he had no discharge around mouth or anything prior to taking him in).
Took him to vet again yesterday. He got some sort of protein mix/shake stuff to help with the eating. He ate some, looks more active.
At the vet, she said she felt "hardness" in his body that could be a kidney issue.. We use carpet so I do not think it is impaction. She suggested blood test to know for sure but may lose his tail in the process. Because he has not eaten much lately and his tail is still good sized, we decided to hold off on test and try to fatten him up first in case he did drop his tail. She suggested warm water soaks to help comfort him if it is kidney issue. I wonder if he is constipated from not eating much or eating mostly worms dusted in calcium and vitamin powder.
He has been eating more calcium from his dish lately.
Here is where I need help.
Over the 3 visits to vet, I have gotten mixed information from what I believed to be proper set up.
- I was told he needs a UVB light (when first diagnosed with mouth rot i.e Stomotitis) - I always thought one was not needed. I figure because of the Stomotitis, is why it was suggested)
- I was told he needs a moisture source constantly (most recent visit. different vet than first two visits though it was at the same clinic) - I have always misted a couple days a week and have usually only provided moist towels when shedding.
In addition to those two items...let me ask a question because I have read different things before I got the gecko and even now....
I have two hides (cool and hot). I place the towels in the hot hide when he sheds. He tends to shed there even if I had not placed towels yet. Should I have 3 hides (cool, WET, hot) ?
Up until a few months ago, he has been fine. Temp in his cage fluctuates a bit and there was probably a short period where my son was not as "on top of it" when it came to cleaning his cage and such. This is probably how he got the infection in the first place....by us being a bit sloppy...which is what I am trying to fix now with my questions.
I ordered a Rheostat to help with the temperature and take the fluctuations out of it. We are now on a schedule to clean his cage regularly and have reminders set up to do so.
Basically we are tightening up our end of the care but those items listed above are gnawing at me.
Any thoughts, opinions, firsthand experience accounts will be helpful.
Thank you for reading and thank you for sharing your experience.
