EXTREMELY skinny leo

[Lupe]

Well I made the mistake of going into a local pet shop today. In the reptile/fish section I stumbled across a young extremely emaciated leopard gecko. I can literally see every bone in its tiny body. I was appalled. I asked the man at the register and he followed me back. He was shocked at the condition that this leo was in. I asked him about possibly taking the leo off their hands and seeing if I could help it. He has no authority to do anything but asked me to come back in the morning when the guy who runs the place is there. I will be there bright and early to see this man.

My question is if I get this poor thing what are the first things I need to do? I already have a 10 gallon set up with UTH, small water dish, 3 hides and paper towels for substrate in case he does give up the leo to me. I had to order a new thing of calcium but that should be showing up in a few days so that will be added ASAP. I know from how skinny it is a vet visit is in order but that will have to wait until I start my new job in October. I'm guessing I will have to whip up slurry since it showed no interest in the tiny crickets that were in with it. Is there anything else I could do for it?

 

[gumbii]

i have hand fed a malnourished gecko before... i started giving it dusted baby madagascar and dubia roaches... and every once in a wile a wax worm to fatten him up...


man... good luck, and if that doesn't help, use the slurry or soup stuff... but roaches are easier to force feed than worms and crix...

 

[Lupe]

Yeah I have to say I will be amazed if it pulls through. I hope this man will give the gecko up without a fuss. If he does I will go get things for slurry and maybe some waxworms?

 

[Alex G]

Don't pay a dime for it or you'll just encourage them to continue whatever no-doubt awful husbandry they or those they buy from practice since people will still pay them for animals. Be sure to properly quarantine it from all other reptiles. Don't give it too much food too early, if you think starvation is that problem. Maybe try turkey baby food instead of the slurry and just dab it on his nose where he'll (hopefully) lick it off.

 

[Lupe]

I don't plan on offering a single penny for an animal in that kind of condition. I will try the baby food. If I do get the leo I will post pictures to show just how bad of condition it is in.

 

[Lupe]

Got the poor thing. It actually moves around more than I expected. I havent weighed it yet but did manage to get it to eat a tiny bit of baby food. It has some stuck shed but I don't want to stress it out further at the moment by trying to give it a soak.

It has some baby food on its face in this pic.

 

[LeopardGeckoGirlie]

Those pictures are heart wrenching...I have no words.

 

[Lupe]

Yeah. I was very surprised when I got it home and it moved around at lot more than I expected. I got it to eat a very small amount of baby food but I was happy with what it did eat. Currently it is sitting outside of the provided hide on the warm side. I put a towel over the tank to help keep it a tad warmer and to help keep stress down.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

That store should be ashamed to have that animal out on their sales floor. Grrrrrr!

Now that you see it will take a puree food, it needs the slurry nutrients in the worst sort of way. Also, dip your finger in pedialyte and dab to his lips to fight his dehydration issue. Minimal handling will of course reduce stress. Once they are in a soak a few minutes, they relax but it could injure him to try to remove any shed. Be very careful of that as it's not likely he has had any calci supplements.

He needs a fecal test. Good luck with him, I hope he pulls thru.

 

[Lupe]

What if I can't get a hold of the pet food part of the slurry? Is there something else I could use as a substitute? Otherwise I have everything besides that and ensure

 

[tlbowling]

OMG! I saw one exactly like this in a petstore in my area , but I was too afraid to bring it home b/c I was afraid it maight have parasites or something and infect all of my others. It's unbelievable that it could have gone that long w/o someone who works there noticing! I wish you the best of luck and please keep us posted with pictures of his progress. I hope he pulls through! I'd love to see the before and after pics.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

I had one very similar to your case, but mine had the added bonus of having no tail. She didn't pull through, as she was too far gone to save. I hope yours pulls through for you. Keep up the slurry feedings, keep the heat up, and make sure to feed him/her in the dark/dim lights. Good luck.

 

[Lupe]

Yeah he seems to sleep a lot. It also doesn't like to open its eyes. I'm not sure if it is because of the light or what but I am going to try and feed it again tonight. I am going to see if my dad can get the hills A/D pet food. Can I make the slurry without the ensure? I really don't want to have to pay $9 for a 6 pack of which only one is going to be used.

 

[Lupe]

I managed to get a little more baby food into him and some pedialite as well. He is currently chilling on the warm side of his tank outside of the hide.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

The Hill's is available at your vet's office. Walmart has their brand ensure for a few dollars less. IMO it's not a good idea to short change the recipe, all the ingredients serve a specific purpose. It always costs to take in a sick animal even if it's a free animal.

 

[Lupe]

ok I am going to make some calls tomorrow to see if any of the local vets offices have it in and are willing to sell me a can. Then I can get some ensure from Walmart when I go into town to get it.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Good idea to call around you might also ask about fecal tests, for the near future. Good luck!

 

[Lupe]

Thanks and yes a fecal is a must.

 

[Knibitz]

The Hill's is available at your vet's office. Walmart has their brand ensure for a few dollars less. IMO it's not a good idea to short change the recipe, all the ingredients serve a specific purpose. It always costs to take in a sick animal even if it's a free animal.

Agreed.
If you couldn't afford to take care of her, then you really shouldn't have brought her home.
I'd just buy the whole thing of name brand ensure, use what you need and donate what you don't.
Take it to work and stick "for whoever wants it" label on it.

 

[Lupe]

I am low on cash at the moment because I ordered some supplies for a pacman frog, I wasn't expecting to rescue a leo in this condition. I get paid in a week so I am not too concerned with the money part. I have the money for the hills pet food and some ensure now, it's just a matter of me having a vehicle to drive into town tomorrow :main_yes: