Hi guys,
I am in need of advice for my 3-year old leopard gecko. About 2 months ago, I noticed that he was having issues shedding and one of his toes was turning black from stuck shed, so I took him to the vet. The vet gave him some cream and antibiotics, the toe was saved, and I took him in for a re check. At the recheck, the vet said that he had mouth rot (probably the result of the infection spreading?) and prescribed more antibiotics. Fast forward 3 weeks later, I take my gecko in again and he says the mouth rot isn’t better and gives me a chlorhexadine rinse and more antibiotics. This all seems reasonable enough, but I took him back in today and am starting to get suspicious of this vet. The vet said his mouth rot is 85% healed, but that one of his teeth has chipped off and is lodged in his gums. Accordingly, he wants to do a $1,2000 surgery to remove it, as well as put him on MORE antibiotics (it’s been 6 weeks of antibiotics by now). Additionally, he said that the fact that the tooth chipped means that my geck might have MBD and he consequently wants to do a $300 x-ray and $400 bloodwork to test his calcium levels. Is this normal? My gut tells me that this is way overkill (ie- if we think he has MBD, why don’t I just start increased calcium supplementation? Don’t leopard geckos teeth fall out and regenerate normally/could his mouth heal with continued antibiotics and no surgery?) the worst part is my Leo is so stressed through this process that he is barely eating, is losing weight, and has been put on a liquid diet. I feel like all of these interventions might be doing more harm than good, and I would greatly appreciate some advice. For reference he is pretty large (95g) and on initial exam at the first visit the vet said that his bones felt strong and he had no evidence of MBD (also why I’m suspicious that he suddenly wants to do an x ray). I don’t know if I should just finish out the antibiotics and let him be, take him to get a second opinion, or contemplate doing this ridiculously expensive surgery. All advice welcomed! Thanks so much!
I am in need of advice for my 3-year old leopard gecko. About 2 months ago, I noticed that he was having issues shedding and one of his toes was turning black from stuck shed, so I took him to the vet. The vet gave him some cream and antibiotics, the toe was saved, and I took him in for a re check. At the recheck, the vet said that he had mouth rot (probably the result of the infection spreading?) and prescribed more antibiotics. Fast forward 3 weeks later, I take my gecko in again and he says the mouth rot isn’t better and gives me a chlorhexadine rinse and more antibiotics. This all seems reasonable enough, but I took him back in today and am starting to get suspicious of this vet. The vet said his mouth rot is 85% healed, but that one of his teeth has chipped off and is lodged in his gums. Accordingly, he wants to do a $1,2000 surgery to remove it, as well as put him on MORE antibiotics (it’s been 6 weeks of antibiotics by now). Additionally, he said that the fact that the tooth chipped means that my geck might have MBD and he consequently wants to do a $300 x-ray and $400 bloodwork to test his calcium levels. Is this normal? My gut tells me that this is way overkill (ie- if we think he has MBD, why don’t I just start increased calcium supplementation? Don’t leopard geckos teeth fall out and regenerate normally/could his mouth heal with continued antibiotics and no surgery?) the worst part is my Leo is so stressed through this process that he is barely eating, is losing weight, and has been put on a liquid diet. I feel like all of these interventions might be doing more harm than good, and I would greatly appreciate some advice. For reference he is pretty large (95g) and on initial exam at the first visit the vet said that his bones felt strong and he had no evidence of MBD (also why I’m suspicious that he suddenly wants to do an x ray). I don’t know if I should just finish out the antibiotics and let him be, take him to get a second opinion, or contemplate doing this ridiculously expensive surgery. All advice welcomed! Thanks so much!
