Do blackstomachs mean impaction?

[Kiara1125]

I'm currently breeding mealworms for my leos and one of them, Echo, is currently getting thinner. I don't know if he's passing stool, so could he be impacted? I read that black stomachs mean impaction ...

 

[indyana]

It's possible, but it could also be food in his belly or internal organs.

I would consider separating him into his own enclosure so you can monitor how much he is eating and pooping more accurately. That, and saving up some money to have him testing for parasites, as that's a very common cause of weight loss.

 

[sausage]

I agree with indyana. Separate from any others for monitoring and get a parasite test.
Signs of impaction would mainly be distending / bloating of the stomach, lethargy and regurgitating of food if they eat.

Try making a bug slurry and drip feeding that to the little one, to make sure its getting some food and seek a vet asap.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Oh, yours is alive.

I was expecting to see another dead leo with a dark spot on the belly. Kinda seeing those a lot recently

 

[Kiara1125]

Oh, yours is alive.

I was expecting to see another dead leo with a dark spot on the belly. Kinda seeing those a lot recently

Yikes. Yeah, I looked at both of my leos and they have bluish abdomens with one black dot that's in the same spot for both geckos. They're pooping like crazy, so I have no idea what's up. I've heard that the black spots are signs of impaction. I'll take a picture of both geckos.

 

[Kiara1125]

Here's pictures of the leos. First there's Echo, then Viper, then both with Echo being on top.

 

[sausage]

hatchlings are quite transparent so you can see their internal organs through the bellies. those pictures do look reasonably normal but their tails are rather thin.
how much are they eating ect?

can you fill out the health questionnaire and repost it here so we can see your setup

 

[Kiara1125]

hatchlings are quite transparent so you can see their internal organs through the bellies. those pictures do look reasonably normal but their tails are rather thin.
how much are they eating ect?

can you fill out the health questionnaire and repost it here so we can see your setup

Alright, so at least everything looks normal. I know their tails are thin. Because they're together, I don't know who's eating how much.

About your leos:
- Sex: Unknown
- Age & Weight: Unknown and unknown
- How long have you owned your leos: One month
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Pet store

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: once for about 5 minutes every few days, so maybe 3 times a week.
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: Isn't acting differently - still running around and exploring with tons of energy. They're actually going into the moist hide more, although it doesn't look like they are going into shed.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe: None that I know of.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): Still looks the same. No parasites and no difference in color or texture. The poop is about 1/4-1/2" long and is black with a white tip.
- When was the last time he/she went: I don't know. It's hard to keep track whenever I don't see them do it, but I can clean the tank and there be poop the next day, so I believe that they are going regularly.
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on: My geckos have been getting skinnier in their tails. Their bellies look full after they eat, but their tails don't put on any weight. I do not have anything to weigh them with, so I cannot know if they are losing or gaining weight. This has been going on ever since I bought them.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 20gL
- Type (ex. glass tank): Glass tank
- Type of substrate: Repti carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind: 4 and a perch (they actually love it) - moist hide, dry hide, a log, a toilet paper roll, and a stump.
B) Heating
- Heat source: T8
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): 92F:81F
- Method of regulating heat source: None; I live in FL and my room is the hottest room in the house, so I don't use an UTH.
- What are you using to measure your temps: Digital probe thermometer
- Do you have any lights (describe): Just a T8 for the plant/viewing
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): 2 in total, unknown genders
- Describe health, or previous problems: No previous problems and were bought healthy, although a lot of the other leos they were housed with were skinny and looked like they were starving.

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): Mealworms, about 5 at a time and they get replaced every time I see the dish empty - usually replenish every few days.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): Left in dish, I tried hand feeding but have had no takers.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): Reptile Calcium with D3 - I use it rarely and I leave RC without D3 in the tank. I also use Fluker's Liquid Vitamin Supplement in their water.
- What are you gut loading food with: carrots, potatoes, and apples - I breed the mealworms myself.

Here is their enclosure.

And here is their poop.

 

[sausage]

your set up needs a bit of tweking. the lack of a heat source could explain the lack of weight gain. It is vital that leos have belly heat as this is essential for correct digestion. You need to add a UHT ASAP. The UHT needs to be under one side of the tank to create a heat gradient from one side of the viv to the next (cool to hot). That way they can regulate their own body temperatures correctly.

Hopfully if you correct this asap you should see some change in their health pretty quickly. I would still have a parasite test done too just to be safe.

 

[Kiara1125]

I cannot have a parasite test done because I do not have anyone to take me out of town (I just moved and haven't transferred my license yet). The nearest vet is over an hour away who specializes in herps and another place I called is an absolute no-go with how rude and vile they are. The one veterinary clinic that I called that's two hours away from me has a $46 office visit fee, plus they said that they weren't authorized to say the price of the fecal over the phone and that I had to actually bring the animal in. It will be hard for me to save up $50 for an office visit, let alone being able to pay for other expenses. I'm used to the office visit being $25, if the office visit is pricier down here then obviously the fecal will be as well. It's not that I don't have the money to take care of these guys, it's just that I spent the money (therefore the opportunity to take them to the vet) on things that they actually need like the UTH and supplements. It would be useless for me to have spent the money to take them to the vet and then not even having enough money to get them an UTH.

The UTH should be here on Monday, so that's when the new setup will happen. I'm setting it (got a thermostat as well) to 90F. The cool side is still going to be 81F (room temperature), will that be ok for them?

Along with the UTH, I'm getting Oxbow Carnivore Care (just in case I need it) and a gram scale. I will start keeping a log on Monday and I think I'll start a journal here (new thread) and keep their progress updated. Does everything sound good?

 

[sausage]

yeah vets can be expensive, im sure there is an online thing you can do where you send in samples for testing. well i know there is in the UK any way :s

The changes you are making sound good any way, its the best/ cheapest place to start. fingers crossed they will start to recover.

Room temp at the cool end will be fine, I have added a small glazed tile / piece of slate at the cool ends of my vivs. this just makes a small spot where its cooler. my male seems to love sitting on it when hes hot which might be an idea for you if your worried its not cool enough. that way they can choose to get cooler if they chose to.

The UHT should be no larger then one third of the tank. so for example if you put it in the far right top corner of the tank in the picture then a small tile or some medium sized flattish stones at the other end it will create a good temperature gradient with spots of varying temps for them to choose from.

I love the stickers on the front of your viv! their cool

 

[Kiara1125]

Yep, it's only $10 to send it in, so that works!

I appreciate the help. It already looks like they're starting to do better because they're eating more. The phoenix worms come in tomorrow. Hopefully they'll chow down on those.

Thanks for the tile idea, I might do that seeing as how the cool end is still 81F - although sometimes it gets up to 84F.

I got a small UTH so it's 6" x 8" I believe. It should cover a small portion of the tank. Should I put my moist hide over the UTH? If I do, I think I may only put half of it since my hides are shallow, yet very wide.

Thanks! I got them offline at the same store that I got my leos from.

 

[sausage]

Its up to you really. I always put mine in the cool end and have a cave over the heat mat, but thats just me. they spend a lot of time in the hot cave and i feared that if i had put the sweat box there the prolonged time spent in the damp would cause respiratory problems. But i have no idea if there real science behind that, probs me just being over cautious lol.