Feeling down and needing encouragement...

[Lady_Kiya]

Hey guys...

I don't know if all of you know what has been happening to Kiya lately so I will explain, just in case. About two and a half weeks ago my baby, Kiya, stopped eating. At first she stopped eating cricks, and than she stopped eating everything. After getting a scale I weighed her and she was 63-64 grams. After a couple days she is down to 54 grams. I have called vets but keep getting another phone number to call and it ends up being a dead end in the end. Only one local vet agrees to see reptiles, but if it is something she cannot deal with I would be referred to a vet 4 hours away. I had a conversation with this vet on the phone today and she had told me that every leopard gecko she has seen has passed away... She acted like Kiya was meaningless. She asked how much I paid for her and then said, "Okay, not much then" when I answered her question. As if worth is merely decided by money value. I don't have a car, or the means to travel at the moment to take her to a herp vet. The vet in town automatically wanted to do an Xray, without even seeing her first. To get her in and get an Xray would cost $150.00 which at this time I do not have. I do not mind spending it, but I want to know that that is the problem before jumping in with my eyes closed...

I did get a male just before she stopped eating, and so I was told ovulating could be the issue. I placed the male in her terranium to see if it was that she was ready to mate. He didn't seem to pay any attention to her in that way, but he had known she was there.
I have covered the top of the enclosure to allow the ambient air temp to rise, thinking maybe she still isn't getting enough heat.

There is always mealies in her environment, calcium powder (with a little calcium with D3 and Reptivite mixed in), 3 hides (1 moist, 1 warm, 1 cool), she was a great eater up until two weeks ago. Hot side is between 90-95 degrees at all times (Used to get lower at night, but I have since kept her red light on to help the temperature stay stable all the time), Ambient air temp on the warm side seems to be around 85 at the moment. Cold side is around 70 degrees, with the ambient air being around the same.

Anyways, as a result I am feeling really down... She seems to be losing tail weight.. from what I can see with my eyes. And the scale verifies she has lost weight. It scares me because I do not know what I would do without her. She is my baby, and I am finding myself getting emotional just writing this. I feel helpless, and like I am not doing something right as her owner. She trusts me and I feel like I am letting her down somehow. I am finding it hard to stay positive... so I was hoping maybe some of you have stories you could share where geckos who were seemingly ill, overcomed the odds and came through...

No matter who it is, we all need something to make us feel better at some point, and this would help me right now.

Thank you to anyone in advance.

 

[vctkiller]

Jessie I sent hope to your way. Hope everything will turn to the best.

 

[Haligren]

I'm feeling your distress for the moment. Tiamat has eaten very little and sometimes not at all in the passed week or so. She doesn't seemed to have lost weight though, but I don't have a scale. I just know she's gotten bigger since I had her. Since her last shed her appetite has completely turned around. I really hope she's not getting sick.

I feel your anxiety and I hope Kiya pulls through. I really do.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Thank you very much guys

 

[gothra]

Jessie, I have had ovulating females that go off food for as long as 7 months. I tried all sorts of insects and they didn't even bother to look at it. They did lost quite a bit of weight during these months too. To give you an example, Gut-Lei was 83g in Dec'07, she then stopped eating due to ovulation + winter, and her weight dropped to 59g in Jun'08. To make myself feel better, I gave her a bit of babyfood+mealworm slurry every 2-3 weeks. She hated the stuff, so everytime she will only ingest a few drops; but at least I know she has something in her stomach and is getting some calcium and vitamin in case she wants to develope some unfertilised eggs.

I fully understand how you feel right now (I go through this once a year!); it is very stressful when our geckos refuse to eat, becomes thin and color darkened. If she has no other sickness, just doesn't want to eat due to ovulation, then maybe you can try feeding her a bit of Marcia's slurry. I don't know if it is necessary to feed her, perhaps they'll also do fine without external help, but doing so definately made me feel much better! At least I don't need to worry about them getting fatty liver disease because they've starved for too long.

Good luck, I hope you can find out about what's wrong with Kiya, and she'll resume eating soon!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Oooooohhhh Jessie! I am in tears reading this, because I can tell you were crying when you wrote it. I wish I lived closer so I could help you with your gecko and hug you! I really do know how it is to feel so hopeless... not knowing how to help something that you love so much. I know you are doing everything right! You can always give me (or another member) a call when you are feeling this way.

Kiya is NOT meaningless. Neither are you...

 

[LizMarie]

*Hugs* I wish I had the answer so Kiya can start eating but sadly I don't. I konw how scary it is to have a gecko that won't eat and not being able to understand why. I hope everything works out.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Oooooohhhh Jessie! I am in tears reading this, because I can tell you were crying when you wrote it. I wish I lived closer so I could help you with your gecko and hug you! I really do know how it is to feel so hopeless... not knowing how to help something that you love so much. I know you are doing everything right! You can always give me (or another member) a call when you are feeling this way.

Kiya is NOT meaningless. Neither are you...

I would very much like if I can call you... I am so scared I don't know what to do.
Today I am going out to get the ingredients to make the slurry, so at least I will know that she is eating something. She lost a couple more grams since yesterday. I called another vet down south and he told me to mix gatoraid with water (50/50) to make sure she is getting the water she needs

 

[Lady_Kiya]

I am going to make the slurry today, and start giving her that.
When I held her today she was very lethargic. She kept her eyes closed while I held her the whole time and did not move a muscle.
At least the slurry will give her some form of nurishment...

 

[bubblez825]

awwwwwwww Jessie....*hugs* I hope everything works out with Kiya....If anybody can help, Marcia can. I wish you the best of luck and I wish Kiya the best as well.....I know how ur feeling too...lets just say I've lost 4 geckos......even at my young age....it had nothing to do with my responsibility, just the fact that 1) they came from petstores 2) I got all my info from online caresheets and ******** and *****....my mistake. the vet i had taken the first 2 to told me to tube feed the one(4.5g and supposedly 3-4 months old)and before that, she had had one of my geckos die in her hand....the gecko had already been too far gone(dad refused to take her and me to the vet till the poor lizard was having seizures and flipping over).....the 3rd gecko(when i had taken the 2nd and been told to tube feed her)was said to be healthy, when she, too, was 4.0g and supposedly 4-5 months old........

All in all,(not gonna go into any more detail) just be careful which vet you choose and make sure they know what they're doing, because obviously mine DIDN'T and she killed 4 of my geckos, saying 3 of them were healthy with pin thin tails and underwieghts.

Please don't let me scare you....I know if you talk to Marcia she will be able to help you and help find you a vet you can trust to take Kiya to and guarantee that they can help or try to help her in any way possible . I wish you the best of luck and I'll be here if you need to vent just pm me to go into the chatroom and if there is anything i can help with....

 

[Kellyr]

I am so sorry for you to have to go through that experience. I find those words of the vet that you spoke to be truly "discusting" for a person that has dedicated their life career to animals. I know she wasn't a herp vet, but still a vet. I took one of my cresteds to a vet and he told me that she needed a heat lamp and that african animals sometimes are picky eaters (they die from heat lamps, stress at temps over 80 or 85, and New Caledonia is no where near Africa.. totally diff. continent) so.. finding a good herp vet is awesome because that guy was an exotic specialist!! I actually had one pass away this last year and while hyperventilating and in tears my own brother said to me "Its just a lizard!" so I know just how you feel. I hope that your gecko pulls through and gets back to being herself really soon. I will say a prayer for her.:heart::heart: keep us posted

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Thank you for all the kind words everyone. I feel so lucky to have people like all of you to turn to for hope and encouragement.

Today was a very busy day. I woke up this morning and right away I went to check what kind of condition Kiya was in. Today it seemed she was worse. I picked her up and she either wouldn't or couldn't open her eyes. She just lay on my hand and barely moved a muscle. She is usually walking all over me and going to see people that are here with me. Of course, I was frantic.. so I started calling around to talk to any vet that I could. I found a vet down south that works with reptiles, but unfortunetly was told that unless she could see her herself there was nothing she could really suggest other then keeping her as hydrated as I can. She suggested mixing 50/50 gatoraid and water. After that I called an emergency line in town and another vet called me. They told me that any leopard gecko that stops eating for more than 24 hours is a serious problem. Then she continued on to say that there is nothing she can do and basicly I have to stand by and watch Kiya "waste away".
After not much luck once again with talking to vets I decided to make the slurry. Of course due to it being the weekend I was not able to get the A/D pet food for it. So, I got all of the other necessary ingredients and made it at home. After making it I promply tried to feed her some and for a little while she finally seemed to be making some movement. She was licking it up without a problem. Than all of a sudden she has stopped so I had to force feed her the rest. Of course, I put some in ice trays and put them in the freezer for when they are needed later. The end of the day pretty much and Kiya has barely even opened her eyes for most of the day. I am thinking that could be due to her recent bad shed...

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Here are some pics of when she was willingly eating the slurry

And here are some of her belly... the best I was able to get...

 

[catvettech]

This is heartbreaking. As with dogs and cats, x-rays and bloods are always advisable, however, in these horrible economic times, many do not have the money to spend. The comment made to you by one of the veterinarians is unforgiveable.

 

[Arctic16]

I'm sorry to hear about your gecko. Mine haven't eaten in 2 weeks since I moved them in together. I know it's not as dire as your situation but I empathize with your concern!

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Thank you very much.

Arctic, are you planning on moving them back into seperate enclosures? That may just get them both eating again.

I agree that what some of the vets said to me are completely unforgiveable. You should be able to count on a vet to give care and not negativity.

 

[Gecko Euphoria]

Hi Jessie,

I'm possitive anyone with geckos has had this happen. I have had a couple do this and it is so sad. Its like they just stop eating and starve them selves all of the sudden. I really dont know why it happens but all the right husbandry in the world cant always avoid a situation. But I always use a siringe and hand feed them a slurry that I use. Its pretty much like marcias recipe but I use a few different things, But marcias recipe is great and it works especially if the problem is not a major impaction or something real serious,in need of a vet. But even when you see a vet they will put you on a slurry so I'd start feeding her a slurry and if she seems to get worse in a week or two take her in, unless you think it is very urgent. It can be any thing though. I've had geckos stop eating normaly and lose some weight in the winter months and be fine a month later and start eating again. But theres a million things that cause not eating, But slurry will keep the main things she needs in her body so she dont stave herself tell she gets her appitite back or she sees the vet. Good luck it will all work out ok. Hope this helps.

Adam

Hey guys...

I don't know if all of you know what has been happening to Kiya lately so I will explain, just in case. About two and a half weeks ago my baby, Kiya, stopped eating. At first she stopped eating cricks, and than she stopped eating everything. After getting a scale I weighed her and she was 63-64 grams. After a couple days she is down to 54 grams. I have called vets but keep getting another phone number to call and it ends up being a dead end in the end. Only one local vet agrees to see reptiles, but if it is something she cannot deal with I would be referred to a vet 4 hours away. I had a conversation with this vet on the phone today and she had told me that every leopard gecko she has seen has passed away... She acted like Kiya was meaningless. She asked how much I paid for her and then said, "Okay, not much then" when I answered her question. As if worth is merely decided by money value. I don't have a car, or the means to travel at the moment to take her to a herp vet. The vet in town automatically wanted to do an Xray, without even seeing her first. To get her in and get an Xray would cost $150.00 which at this time I do not have. I do not mind spending it, but I want to know that that is the problem before jumping in with my eyes closed...

I did get a male just before she stopped eating, and so I was told ovulating could be the issue. I placed the male in her terranium to see if it was that she was ready to mate. He didn't seem to pay any attention to her in that way, but he had known she was there.
I have covered the top of the enclosure to allow the ambient air temp to rise, thinking maybe she still isn't getting enough heat.

There is always mealies in her environment, calcium powder (with a little calcium with D3 and Reptivite mixed in), 3 hides (1 moist, 1 warm, 1 cool), she was a great eater up until two weeks ago. Hot side is between 90-95 degrees at all times (Used to get lower at night, but I have since kept her red light on to help the temperature stay stable all the time), Ambient air temp on the warm side seems to be around 85 at the moment. Cold side is around 70 degrees, with the ambient air being around the same.

Anyways, as a result I am feeling really down... She seems to be losing tail weight.. from what I can see with my eyes. And the scale verifies she has lost weight. It scares me because I do not know what I would do without her. She is my baby, and I am finding myself getting emotional just writing this. I feel helpless, and like I am not doing something right as her owner. She trusts me and I feel like I am letting her down somehow. I am finding it hard to stay positive... so I was hoping maybe some of you have stories you could share where geckos who were seemingly ill, overcomed the odds and came through...

No matter who it is, we all need something to make us feel better at some point, and this would help me right now.

Thank you to anyone in advance.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Thank you Adam, it did help.

 

[Paco]

I have a couple of Questions for you. How long has the male been in with the female? Are they still housed together? Are you sure your female is not gravid? It was hard to tell from the pics but It looks like I see either Eggs or Folices in her belly? A better belly shot might help. Some Females go off feed for long periods of time.

She could be stressed from the introduction of the male. Or ovulation time.

Hope things work out for you. Good luck.

Also what is the temp at the hot end of your cage you said 90-95 how do you know? Very important. I just re-read your post. Your temps are off. They need to be more consistent. 70 on the cold side is to low. Your ambient temps should be way higher as well.


One more thing. How often are you using Calcium and Vit. suppliments?

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Well, it doesn't look like things are getting better for Kiya She is now looking like she is choking. Her mouth is half open and she keeps making what looks like gagging movements. Her eyes still haven't opened... and the inside of her mouth and tip of her tongue are black... I am heartbroken...