Has she given up on life?

[Pinky81]

+1 marcia The gecko slurry she put together covers the nutritional bases much better then just mealworms and calcium.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Thanks, Melissa. Remember that the slurry will NOT cure anything, and it is not designed to feed geckos that are obviously sick without being under a veterinarian's treatment for whatever is causing the weight loss. It is very nutritious, and has saved thousands of geckos over the past 10 years that were on medication.

 

[reps4life]

Keep in mind that bacterial infections do not show up on routine fecal tests, and parasitic infections only test positive if they are in their reproductive stage. Frankly, I've never seen a gecko go this long and have such a skinny tail from stress... there is definitely something else going on that only a vet can diagnose. The majority of these problems can be treated if caught early enough. In the meantime, I would like to suggest using my slurry for her. This will help keep her sustained and produce a stool for the vet to examine. You can find the recipe on the "INFO" page of my website.

Hello Macia,

I wish you would have seen the geckos I took in before that were thinner than that. Very sad, my friend could not get one to eat for 4 months. Took her to the vet everything came out normal. I took her in and set her up in the quietest room, left her alone and after 3 days she started eating on her own. However, I did pm him and he is aware about taking her to the vet to rule out other possibilities. How do you deal with force feeding? I had a few I had to do and it was nerve wrecking.:main_no:

 

[fl_orchidslave]

One of my geckos liked the slurry very much and would lick it from a baby spoon, even with medication in it. At first, I was dotting it on her lips to lick, which she did with gusto.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Took her to the vet everything came out normal.

Like I said in my previous post, bacterial infections do not show up on routine fecal tests, and parasitic infections only show positive if they are in their reproductive stage.

How do you feel about forcing their mouths open?

I don't recommend force-feeding at all. It gives the gecko undue stress, and in most cases they will refuse to even swallow and just spit it out. I think 'assist-feeding' is better... where you take a mealworm and tickle the side of the gecko's mouth until it opens it on it's own, then put the worm in.

 

[reps4life]

Like I said in my previous post, bacterial infections do not show up on routine fecal tests, and parasitic infections only show positive if they are in their reproductive stage.

I don't recommend force-feeding at all. It gives the gecko undue stress, and in most cases they will refuse to even swallow and just spit it out. I think 'assist-feeding' is better... where you take a mealworm and tickle the side of the gecko's mouth until it opens it on it's own, then put the worm in.

Yes, I always get repeat fecals done and blood work. They know me at the vet quite well

 

[reps4life]

Like I said in my previous post, bacterial infections do not show up on routine fecal tests, and parasitic infections only show positive if they are in their reproductive stage.

I don't recommend force-feeding at all. It gives the gecko undue stress, and in most cases they will refuse to even swallow and just spit it out. I think 'assist-feeding' is better... where you take a mealworm and tickle the side of the gecko's mouth until it opens it on it's own, then put the worm in.

The only reason I was forced to open the mouth at the time was because the leo was not able to swallow solid food, only liquid and he stopped opening his mouth for me completely, not even tongue flicking as thou he new what was coming. He really hated the taste of the metronidazole. It was so stressful.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

In most cases, leopard geckos can't help but lick things. Flagyl has a very bitter taste, so sometimes it works best to fill the syringe about 1/4 of the way full with slurry or baby food squash, wipe off the tip, then draw up the prescribed dose of medication in the tip. Stick the tip back in the baby food for flavor and put a dab on the end of the gecko's upper lip. When it starts licking, s-l-o-w-l-y squeeze out the medication and let the gecko lick it. By the time the medication has been dispensed, the baby food will start coming out again. Yum!

One of these days I really need to do a video on dispensing medication for YouTube.

 

[BrightReptiles]

We did force feed her already and it went pretty smoothly. Once we got the syringe in her mouth she had no problem sucking it down. Tried the drop on the nose trick and she just wiped it off on the side of the bin.

 

[reps4life]

In most cases, leopard geckos can't help but lick things. Flagyl has a very bitter taste, so sometimes it works best to fill the syringe about 1/4 of the way full with slurry or baby food squash, wipe off the tip, then draw up the prescribed dose of medication in the tip. Stick the tip back in the baby food for flavor and put a dab on the end of the gecko's upper lip. When it starts licking, s-l-o-w-l-y squeeze out the medication and let the gecko lick it. By the time the medication has been dispensed, the baby food will start coming out again. Yum!

One of these days I really need to do a video on dispensing medication for YouTube.

I did forget to mention that with that one leo I had to give him Sucralfate 20 minutes before the liquid meal to coat the stomache so that's the reason I could not mix it with food. He did not belong to me. My friend called my crying (I felt so bad) because she did not know what to do. So I kept him for about 2 months until he was better and gave him back to the owner. He was a tough one unlike the rest. He would not lick which was strange now that I think about it. Did you ever have one that would not or could not lick?

 

[reps4life]

We did force feed her already and it went pretty smoothly. Once we got the syringe in her mouth she had no problem sucking it down. Tried the drop on the nose trick and she just wiped it off on the side of the bin.

yes, that happened to me as well which was very unfortunate because that meant I would lose that does of the medicine I had mixed in. So what I started doing with the ones that would eat is with a needle I would inject the medicine into a worm and then fed it. So much easier:main_yes:

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Did you ever have one that would not or could not lick?

I've had a few that were very slow about licking, and didn't like having anything on their nose. I hold my geckos when dropper/syringe feeding, and they usually wipe it on my shirt. Patience is the key. LOTS of patience!

I would inject the medicine into a worm and then fed it

That works well, but only assuming the gecko is eating. Most sick and convalescing geckos aren't eating.

 

[BrightReptiles]

We are making an appointment for a vet in St Louis. Was hoping something else would work for her before having to drive two hours to the vet, but I guess the time has come. After feeding her with the syringe last night we woke up to find some awful poo in the corner, like nothing I have ever seen before. I imagine it is mostly because of how much liquid food she took in last night.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Good news is you have a good stool sample to take with you. Maybe they can do a culture to check for a bacterial infection? Take the corner where the poo is and put it in a zip-lick bag.

 

[BrightReptiles]

Just an update: pinworms it is :x
Anyways I have her roughly .15ml of panacur tonight, and hopefully thinks start progressing. If she doesn't start eating soon she is not going to make it, she has almost 0 fat left on her body and is basically a skeleton with skin..her backbone and hips are showing.. this whole experience has been rather upsetting but we are keeping our fingers crossed she pulls through.

 

[LZRDGRL]

You're lucky, pinworms is the most harmless thing she could have!!! My Twiggy was down to 27 grams and was cured from pinworms with Panacur, too. Dr. Lane from Lakeside could have treated that for 16 bucks. Did you really go to St. Louis for that?

My guess is your pet will make it. The tail will become fatter, but it takes some time. Good luck!!

Chrissy

 

[Desdemona]

Hope she pulls through!

 

[BrightReptiles]

I'm hoping so too. Yes we went to stl. I tried calling both vets you recommended, first wouldn't do it without a bunch of other fees on top, and second couldn't see me right away and we needed it same day because she's gotten so skinny.

Only problem now is getting her to eat again. She wont eat solid foods, though she will swallow slurry.

 

[BrightReptiles]

Just an update! For the first time in months we have weight gain! She's at 29 grams, so I'm stoked! Looks like she might pull through this after all!

 

[reps4life]

Just an update! For the first time in months we have weight gain! She's at 29 grams, so I'm stoked! Looks like she might pull through this after all!

:banana: you see she was no hospice case