My girlfriend's leopard gecko is having some major problems. It eats when it's fed, but its tail keeps getting skinnier and skinnier and it seems lethargic. Also, if it eats more than about 3 crickets, it sometimes vomits one up. I'm afraid it might be parasites, but we don't have a reptile vet anywhere near us so we can't have a fecal done. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about her gecko since I don't live with her and she's at work right now, but I'll try to give as much information as I can. I'll have her update this thread with me later on, but I wanted to try to get some help as quickly as possible.
About your leo:
- Sex: I don't really know. I'll ask her when she gets off work.
- Age & Weight: Don't know exactly, but it's definitely a juvenile
- How long have you owned your leo: ~a month and a half
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Petsmart
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: Not often recently to avoid stressing it out
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.:
Its been quite lethargic recently. Her brother has to pull the legs off its crickets so it can catch them
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.:
It had an impaction from eating mealworms a couple weeks ago, but it's doing better now. She used a chicken baby food and calcium mixture to feed it and soaked it in belly deep warm water every day. It poops just fine now, but keeps losing weight.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): normal
- When was the last time he/she went: I haven't seen it today, but it definitely went yesterday
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on:
For the past few weeks, its been losing weight despite eating when fed. Its tail is VERY skinny and it just doesn't look healthy.
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: I don't know the exact dimensions, but I'm quite sure it's big enough
- Type (ex. glass tank): glass tank
- Type of substrate: paper towels
- Hides, how many, what kind: 1 cave-like rock thing, 1 tuperware container with a hole in the lid and moist paper towels in it
B) Heating
- Heat source: 1 under tank heater on the left side and I believe she also uses a heat lamp (I told her she probably doesn't need it, but she keep using it)
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): The hot side is about 88-90 degrees during the day. I'm not sure about the cool side, or night time temperatures.
- Method of regulating heat source: None. I told her to get a lamp dimmer, though.
- What are you using to measure your temps: She has a stick on thermometer tape-like thing. I've heard they're inaccurate so I'm planning on finding something better if she doesn't do it herself.
- Do you have any lights (describe): 1 heat lamp on top of the tank
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): just the 1
- Describe health, or previous problems
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much):
It eats about 3-4 crickets in the evening every day. She dusts them with calcium a few times per week. We tried to give it waxworms to help it gain weight, but I think they were too big for the little guy because it puked one up and according to her brother, it started to excrete another one before it had been digested. She used to feed it a mealworm every now and then until it got an impaction.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect):
She used to drop the crickets into the tank a couple at a time. Now her brother pulls the legs off of them and drops them in.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands):
I know one is a multivitamin made by (I think) Rep-Cal. The other is just calcium, but I'm not sure of the brand.
- What are you gut loading food with:
Again, I'm not sure of the brand, but she has a hydrating and nutrient supplement that looks like little orange cubes.
About your leo:
- Sex: I don't really know. I'll ask her when she gets off work.
- Age & Weight: Don't know exactly, but it's definitely a juvenile
- How long have you owned your leo: ~a month and a half
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Petsmart
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: Not often recently to avoid stressing it out
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.:
Its been quite lethargic recently. Her brother has to pull the legs off its crickets so it can catch them
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.:
It had an impaction from eating mealworms a couple weeks ago, but it's doing better now. She used a chicken baby food and calcium mixture to feed it and soaked it in belly deep warm water every day. It poops just fine now, but keeps losing weight.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): normal
- When was the last time he/she went: I haven't seen it today, but it definitely went yesterday
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on:
For the past few weeks, its been losing weight despite eating when fed. Its tail is VERY skinny and it just doesn't look healthy.
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: I don't know the exact dimensions, but I'm quite sure it's big enough
- Type (ex. glass tank): glass tank
- Type of substrate: paper towels
- Hides, how many, what kind: 1 cave-like rock thing, 1 tuperware container with a hole in the lid and moist paper towels in it
B) Heating
- Heat source: 1 under tank heater on the left side and I believe she also uses a heat lamp (I told her she probably doesn't need it, but she keep using it)
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): The hot side is about 88-90 degrees during the day. I'm not sure about the cool side, or night time temperatures.
- Method of regulating heat source: None. I told her to get a lamp dimmer, though.
- What are you using to measure your temps: She has a stick on thermometer tape-like thing. I've heard they're inaccurate so I'm planning on finding something better if she doesn't do it herself.
- Do you have any lights (describe): 1 heat lamp on top of the tank
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): just the 1
- Describe health, or previous problems
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much):
It eats about 3-4 crickets in the evening every day. She dusts them with calcium a few times per week. We tried to give it waxworms to help it gain weight, but I think they were too big for the little guy because it puked one up and according to her brother, it started to excrete another one before it had been digested. She used to feed it a mealworm every now and then until it got an impaction.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect):
She used to drop the crickets into the tank a couple at a time. Now her brother pulls the legs off of them and drops them in.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands):
I know one is a multivitamin made by (I think) Rep-Cal. The other is just calcium, but I'm not sure of the brand.
- What are you gut loading food with:
Again, I'm not sure of the brand, but she has a hydrating and nutrient supplement that looks like little orange cubes.
