Before I begin – the important stuff:
#1 Yes, I have taken her to a vet.
#2 I’ve have exhausted research and have come here hoping someone with experience will see my post and reach out.
I’m desperate to save my sweet leopard gecko. We brought her home only 10 months ago. She’s about a year old. It’s safe to say that she was slow to grow and never ate the amount I’d expect. In spite of this, she was on a pretty set schedule of eating (never as much quantity as I assumed based on research)/pooping/wakeful/restful for a good long while.
In January we went bio-active (reptisoil, 3 succulents, small clean up crew – 40 gallon). I used a heat pad/DHP w/ Herpstat & Arcadia shade dweller UVB. Daytime temps of 90 degrees from heat pad, humid hide (mid tank) between 75-85, and the third hide on the opposite end stayed around mid 70s – she used this as her toilet! I run night time heat mid-low 70s, heat pad @ 80.
I feel like she never fully adjusted - more lethargic (but it was winter!). She was eating/pooping - just less.
A month ago she went off food completely. I didn’t panic at first, but into week 2 I noticed swelling in her back end. Concerned I’d caused impaction, I immediately moved her back into a sterile environment. She was in her humid hide a lot of the time so I increased mid temps.
I then contacted a vet and was seen a week later. During the wait I offered Critical Care supplement. Due to inexperience, I simply sat with her for 15 minutes every other night and let her lick it off her lips. It’s hard to know for sure how much she actually got – 5-6 drops each time perhaps.
Vet: Check up w/ X ray. A mass felt/seen. Vet unable to tell if it’s a tumor or soft shelled egg. Surgery optional but not advised due to current condition. She’s on two medications: Meloxicam and Enrofloxacin (since Monday). Check up in 7-10 days. No improvement would indicate consideration of quality of life. Improvement would be a continuation of meds for 3 weeks.
During the exam she threw up a “large amount” of critical care. Since I had not fed her in a day and a half and had not given her a large amount to begin with, my hunch is that everything I’d given her over that week sat in her belly. This was further brought to my attention on our 2nd day on meds when I came in to check on her to find she not only was shedding (terrible timing!) but had also thrown up what looked like 2 days worth of meds (vomit was same milky color of medicine).
3 days later = Today. She hasn’t fully shed but has not vomited again. I think she ingested some of her shed but some of it was also left in her humid hide. She stays in her humid hide 90% of the time (located in the middle of her enclosure) which I’m trying to keep around 85-88. Interestingly, this week she has passed 2 large blocks of urate – 3x the size of anything I’ve seen before. No fecal matter in a month though.
She isn’t active persay but does move around and travel between her hides.
To the experienced gecko lover: If this were your baby, what would you do? Is there is something fundamental I should be doing that I am not? I was supposed to begin offering 0.5ml a day critical care after day 3 but I’m afraid to. I gave her a few drops last night with a dash of calcium just to see how she might react so far so good but that doesn’t mean it isn’t all sitting in her tummy along with 3 more days of medication.
I understand if this is a tumor all hope may be lost. What if it is an egg? Is there more I can do? I’m hoping something I’ve written today sounds familiar and you’ll have ideas or a definite indication of what a good pet owner should do in this situation. The vet said vomiting is never a good sign and she sees this in tumor patients than any other condition.
At what point do I know it is time vs waiting this out? My heart breaks at the thought of losing her. I don’t want her to suffer but I’m scared to end life that may still have a chance, especially because she’s so young. When she looks at me sometimes I still see so much vibrance in her eyes but there’s no denying she isn’t having a happy life right now.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any advice/experience you might have.
#1 Yes, I have taken her to a vet.
#2 I’ve have exhausted research and have come here hoping someone with experience will see my post and reach out.
I’m desperate to save my sweet leopard gecko. We brought her home only 10 months ago. She’s about a year old. It’s safe to say that she was slow to grow and never ate the amount I’d expect. In spite of this, she was on a pretty set schedule of eating (never as much quantity as I assumed based on research)/pooping/wakeful/restful for a good long while.
In January we went bio-active (reptisoil, 3 succulents, small clean up crew – 40 gallon). I used a heat pad/DHP w/ Herpstat & Arcadia shade dweller UVB. Daytime temps of 90 degrees from heat pad, humid hide (mid tank) between 75-85, and the third hide on the opposite end stayed around mid 70s – she used this as her toilet! I run night time heat mid-low 70s, heat pad @ 80.
I feel like she never fully adjusted - more lethargic (but it was winter!). She was eating/pooping - just less.
A month ago she went off food completely. I didn’t panic at first, but into week 2 I noticed swelling in her back end. Concerned I’d caused impaction, I immediately moved her back into a sterile environment. She was in her humid hide a lot of the time so I increased mid temps.
I then contacted a vet and was seen a week later. During the wait I offered Critical Care supplement. Due to inexperience, I simply sat with her for 15 minutes every other night and let her lick it off her lips. It’s hard to know for sure how much she actually got – 5-6 drops each time perhaps.
Vet: Check up w/ X ray. A mass felt/seen. Vet unable to tell if it’s a tumor or soft shelled egg. Surgery optional but not advised due to current condition. She’s on two medications: Meloxicam and Enrofloxacin (since Monday). Check up in 7-10 days. No improvement would indicate consideration of quality of life. Improvement would be a continuation of meds for 3 weeks.
During the exam she threw up a “large amount” of critical care. Since I had not fed her in a day and a half and had not given her a large amount to begin with, my hunch is that everything I’d given her over that week sat in her belly. This was further brought to my attention on our 2nd day on meds when I came in to check on her to find she not only was shedding (terrible timing!) but had also thrown up what looked like 2 days worth of meds (vomit was same milky color of medicine).
3 days later = Today. She hasn’t fully shed but has not vomited again. I think she ingested some of her shed but some of it was also left in her humid hide. She stays in her humid hide 90% of the time (located in the middle of her enclosure) which I’m trying to keep around 85-88. Interestingly, this week she has passed 2 large blocks of urate – 3x the size of anything I’ve seen before. No fecal matter in a month though.
She isn’t active persay but does move around and travel between her hides. To the experienced gecko lover: If this were your baby, what would you do? Is there is something fundamental I should be doing that I am not? I was supposed to begin offering 0.5ml a day critical care after day 3 but I’m afraid to. I gave her a few drops last night with a dash of calcium just to see how she might react so far so good but that doesn’t mean it isn’t all sitting in her tummy along with 3 more days of medication.
I understand if this is a tumor all hope may be lost. What if it is an egg? Is there more I can do? I’m hoping something I’ve written today sounds familiar and you’ll have ideas or a definite indication of what a good pet owner should do in this situation. The vet said vomiting is never a good sign and she sees this in tumor patients than any other condition.
At what point do I know it is time vs waiting this out? My heart breaks at the thought of losing her. I don’t want her to suffer but I’m scared to end life that may still have a chance, especially because she’s so young. When she looks at me sometimes I still see so much vibrance in her eyes but there’s no denying she isn’t having a happy life right now.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any advice/experience you might have.
