Gecko with no teeth

[lucass1428]

watching my daughter's leopard geckos while she is away in college. She has a male and female. We knew the female,Bella, who is about 6, has problems. She is blind. Will not eat, have to give her repti-aid every couple days. She will take that. My daughter discovered when she was here that Bella now has no teeth. Anything else she can swallow with the repti-aid? When I throw a wax worm in her throat it stays in there for a bit, but thats all she will swallow when it comes to bugs. She won't swallow a second wax worm. Meal worms are just too hard. Any suggestions? She is lively and wiggly and roams her tank. Her temps are good in the tank, setup is great.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Leopard geckos have hundreds of very tiny teeth, and are sometimes difficult to see. Are the pair housed together? This is breeding season, and if she is ovulating she may not be interested in food.

 

[lucass1428]

Well then she has been ovulating since Sept/Oct. 2010! That male Gecko does not seem interested in girls.:main_no:

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

You may want to consider separating the geckos to see if the female is being stressed by the male.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Is there a known cause for any of these symptoms? The blindness is a big concern, if the reason for it is unknown. The anorexia might be a symptom or it might be a side effect. The toothless thing... I'm a bit skeptical that it's accurate, I think it's a little more likely that this was a mistaken observation given the size of gecko teeth but if she has recently started losing teeth in large amounts, that's another symptom.

The not-eating bit is a cause for concern, certainly but there seems to be a lot more going on there and it's generally necessary to address underlying problems rather than just treating symptoms.

 

[lucass1428]

I believe she is not eating because she cannot see her food. My daughter has had Geckos for many many years now, and works at Petsmart, so she can see that there are no teeth in there. Possibly the reason when I throw in a mealworm in her throat, it stays there because she cannot chew it. Just wondering if there is any additive (food) that I can blend in with her repti-aid. She has no trouble swallowing up a whole syringe of that.

 

[lillith]

Would you please post pics of her face/mouth?
Geckos don't chew, they just use their teeth to grip whatever they're catching.

I would separate them anyhow, for now.
How long has your daughter had these particular two?
What are they housed in?
There's a questionnaire floating around here somewhere...

No disrespect meant, but working at P******t doesn't mean you have the correct information. Corporate guidelines for leopard gecko husbandry at most chain pet stores are dead wrong, and in fact, harmful to geckos. They just haven't caught up to the past 10 years of husbandry advances that hobbyists and breeders have hammered out.

If you're willing to try the "gecko soup", there's a recipe for it as a sticky at the top of the Health & Medications section.

But I'm curious about the set-up and husbandry. If she's been handfed by your daughter for a long time, she may not actively hunt anymore out of habit.

 

[lillith]

AHA! Also a sticky at the top:

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

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size
- Type (ex. glass tank)
- Type of substrate
- Hides, how many, what kind
B) Heating
- Heat source
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)
- Method of regulating heat source
- What are you using to measure your temps
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, etc.)
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food with

This can help us to help you more.

Filling this out helps avoid a lot of back-and-forth common questions...

 

[lucass1428]

Pictures are coming, give me a day or two. Meanwhile, to answer some questions. Yea I know working at a Petstore means nothing, believe me, I was once helping a customer in there regarding turtles. My daughter has had geckos for years before even being able to work, and as you can see from my signature, many pets in this household, so it was only fitting for her to get a job over there, so she can give correct answers! So since she is the "Gecko Person" so to speak, she is the one that realized the teeth are missing. I have no problem feeding the critters since they will not hunt themselves, just wanting to know if there is anything more nutritious I can put in that vitamin aid. I will look at the Health Medications section, thank you. Meanwhile, 20 gallon tank, between 85-95 in hide box, sprayed every other day, paper towel in there. Also hide box filled with vermiculite. Bottom of tank is repti carpet and paper towels. Has calcium dish, water dish, dish for meal worms/wax worms. Room temp in the tank. Geckos are active. I never see them, but things are knocked around there the next day.
She has had these geckos since baby hood, Bella is about 5-6, Edward is either 1-2 years younger or older.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

:wall:

 

[lillith]

Tell ya what, you don't seem to be really receptive to what the folks you are trying to ask help from are telling you.

Look up a qualified vet under the sticky tab up top in Health & Medications, and take the gecko straight there.

I would say most folks here would not condone you putting off getting medical attention from a qualified party, especially since you don't want to post enough information to let us know what you're dealing with. Chances are, any advice we might have would fall on deaf ears anyhow, since you KNOW what is going on with your daughter's gecko.

Your husbandry sounds okay, but it could be any number of malnutrition/supplementation problems, it could be premature aging, it could be the habit of handfeeding her nothing but waxworms has led her into a bad bad habit of refusing everything else (this has been seen many times before by other keepers).

So while I believe you have the best interest of pets at heart, you don't seem willing to accept any outlook other than your own conclusions. I am going based off of the information you've given us. Pictures really are worth a thousand words in this section.

If you won't, just go straight to a vet.
And please quarantine her, if it is something infectious, you are putting the other gecko in the enclosure at risk.