Diarrhea - overheated?

[whitelight15]

So I've had my Leo for about 6 months; this was my first reptile, and I unfortunately got it from Petco. I haven't had any health issues thus far with her, except recently. For the past day or two, her feces have been pretty runny - everything's the normal color and there is no undigested food - it's just everywhere. She looks fine besides this (nice fat tail, clear eyes) and still gets excited about eating.

I know it's possible that she might have a parasite, but I find that odd since I clean/disinfect her tank regularly (including new water every day). I'm wondering if extreme heat can cause diarrhea. I live in Michigan, so she's accustomed to the room temp being colder than say in Arizona. However for the past week it's been humid and 100°F, which none of us are used to. She's been pressed up against the glass of the cold side of the tank pretty constantly; I've been using fans in the room to get some airflow, but I don't know if that's helping.


Tank size: 10gal
Heating: UTH and above heating lamp for colder days (it's been turned off during this heat spell)
Temps: before the heat hit, the hot side was ~95°F and cold side was ~75°F
Substrate: Paper towels
Food: mix of mealworms and crickets

 

[Arizona Leos]

one hundred degrees is really hot !!!!! its not supposed to be hotter than 95 for safety so i would turn on the ac full blast get a fan and have it blow on her tank and shes still not doing better take her to the vet

 

[leopard~]

If you fill out this: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70912

People can help you better.

 

[Dimidiata]

A picture may help too

 

[mango+cola]

Geckos can get parasites from their food supply, so you could have just got a batch of crickets/mealworms that carried parasites.

Also, since its really hot she may be drinking more water than normal to cool down, making her poop runny.

 

[whitelight15]

Thanks so much for the responses - sorry I wasn't able to initially provide much background information.

I ended up taking her to the vet, where we discovered small ulcers on her tongue. She was given an antibiotic and 1cc of liquid diet. Since then, she's actually started eating crickets again....she's out of practice and having trouble keeping up, so I've been helping her catch them.

Big relief - apparently the heat spell really stressed her out (our hypothesis for the ulcers) which encouraged her anorexia. Regardless, so happy she's getting back to normal. Thanks so much for the help!!

 

[sausage]

wow iv never herd of that before, but its common in stressed humans so why not geckos i guess. glad shes on the mend.

 

[Crewdog00]

I dont know if her poop is Diarrhea or runny. She usually poops in the same corner every night but tonight I found her poop on the opposite side of her tank on the cool side. My temp is at 93-95 degrees.

Don't think it's too hot same temps has the past week or so. I'm thinking it's just wet and runny and not full blown diarrhea.

 

[whitelight15]

I was also really surprised that heat would cause that big of an issue...she doesn't have any eggs, but I have a suspicion that her hormones are another factor. She's eating crickets like crazy now - she's a little fatty ^^

About your gecko..... I don't claim to know much (anything for that matter), but when Rango had diarrhea it was obvious (it was pretty much spread everywhere in her toilet spot), where runny feces were just in a little poo pile. Pictures are useful too :\

I know it's helpful for others if you fill out this form:
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70912

I forgot to when I first posted, but I realize how important it is

 

[jb_quijano]

I checked on my gecko last night, and the area where he pooped is wet as if the water dish spilled all over the area. The poop seems normal in shape, with the black and white portion. Would that be caused by parasites?

 

[jb_quijano]

I checked on my gecko last night, and the area where he pooped is wet as if the water dish spilled all over the area. The poop seems normal in shape, with the black and white portion. Would that be caused by parasites?

the liquid is clear though.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I guess there could always be something the matter but I wouldn't panic. The paper towels in my geckos' bathroom spots are often wet if I catch them quickly. There's no more water than can soak a 2 inch area of paper towel and so it tends to dry up fast and I almost never see it.

 

[whitelight15]

jb_quijano: Are you still having issues with your gecko? I know mine leaves piles of "moisture" sometimes depending on how much water she's been drinking. If the piles are the right shape, I wouldn't worry too much about parasites (seems normal to me). From what I've found, however, parasites can come from the crickets (if you use crickets). Another cause could be if the crickets (or mealworms) are eating feces, and then are ingested by the gecko.

I don't claim to be any expert though - if your gecko changes behavior and you're worried, take it in I can't believe how many times I've dropped by the vets office for false alarms xD