HELP HELP!

[Sammag]

Today I found my poor little crestie lying on the cage of is floor not moving at all. I assumed he was dead but when I went to pick him up he jerked left and right flailing his arms and legs about in large arcs very clumsily getting nowhere. He pupils are dialated even though the lighting in the room is moderate. He isnt moving unless he is startled or I pick him up and either way you really cant call it moving. he refuses to eat anything I put in front of him or to drink. I dont know if he doesnt want or he cant open his mouth. Right know he is in a hospital n the dark sooth him. He is lying prostrate and still exhibits all the characteristics previously mentioned.

What is wrong with him? and what should I do? (As a side not no vet near me treats reptiles) Thanks

 

[Sammag]

ANYONE?!

 

[Chewbecca]

Did you try misting him?

How long have you had him?

What do you keep him in?

What kind of substrate?

Do you mist him daily?

How big is he?

How old?

Where did you get him from?

What are you feeding him?

How well does he shed?

How often do you clean his cage?

 

[Sammag]

Yes i have tried misting him, nothing changed

I have had him almost a year

I keep him in a planted vivarium

I have coconut husk fiber as a substrate and some very fine terrarium substrate for the plants

Yes I mist daily about twice a day

He is about 4 inches head to the beggining of his tail

Not 100% sure on the age but around a year or so

I got him from a local fish/reptile store. Have been going to them for years and not they are not a chain. Very healthy stock

I am feeding him crickets, occasionally dusted, and baby food as well as the occasional waxworm.

He sheds normally with no issues

I clean his cage once a week. Most of the waste is brken down naturally by the plants and such but I remove the large poop chunks from the floor and the sides of the tank. The tank itself has a uv light if that has any bearing.

 

[Kristi23]

I wish I had some advice, but I'm not sure what could be wrong. I hope he pulls through for you.

 

[Chewbecca]

OK, two things right off the bat that you need to change NOW, well, imo, anyway. I do not want to be harsh, but here are the two things:

Baby food: This is SOOOO nutritionally lacking for your gecko. That's probably part of your problem. You need to switch him to CGD (Repashy MRP), which is a complete, balanced diet for your gecko.
Baby food might as well be nothing but sugar. I say that it's probably part of your problem, but I am NOT a specialist. I just own cresties and other rhacodactylus species. I know what I feed, and I know what most other owners feed, and on CGD, your gecko will thrive.

UV light: Cresties are nocturnal. They require NOOOO additional light. I open a single curtain in my bedroom during the day, just a crack, just to let them know, "Hey, it's daytime, time for YOU to go to bed."

This leads me to another very important question:
What calcium are you supplementing with? Not brand, what TYPE?
Is it calcium WITH D3 or calcium WITHOUT D3?

I hope your little guy starts to perk up.
But get him off that baby food and off the UV light.

 

[Sammag]

I am using calcium with D3 and I just switched out the light

 

[Saille]

At this stage, I would try and get some liquid calcium gluconate into him as he could be having a calcium crash. You can also try a Pedialyte sauna to get some electrolytes into him, but honestly, from what you're describing, it doesn't sound good.
Do you have a reptile vet lined up?
If not, try www.herpvetconnection.com or www.arav.com to find one in your state and hopefully near you, he really needs to get straight to a vet/professional that can care for him and properly diagnose.
As for what I think,I think this may have been caused by his diet. Your biggest problem is the babyfood, in my opinion. It is just not a good diet for cresties, as it is hard to supplement it properly.
In the event that he recovers, please, please please feed him Cresteed Gecko Diet from now on, (get rid of the babyfood completely) it is specifically formulated for these guys and takes so much of the guesswork out and tragedies like this are much fewer and farther between.
I really hope your little guy recovers for you, I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this.
Best wishes for you both.

Edit: Just read that you're using CA with D3, which they can overdose on, and the symptoms mimic a calcium crash. Please try and get him to a vet and let the vet know everything you can about his diet, supplements, cage, etc. Good luck!

 

[Sammag]

Ok well here is an update on the little guy. i was observing him he seems to be coming around as he is trying to mov around and is doing so in a not so clumsy fashion. Also every now and again he gapes his mouth wide open. Is this a good or bad thing?

 

[Saille]

Doesn't sound good. Try the pedialyte (unflavoured) bath. Without seeing the animal, its hard to tell how bad it really is, and we're not vets so we really can't diagnose him anyways.
I would get him to the vet for sure.

 

[donloo66]

You say you've had him for a year and he is only 4 inches long? I'm still new to cresties but that seems a bit small. the one i have now is only about 5 or 6 months old and is about 5 1/2 inches.

I'm with chewbecca on this one though, you should definitely switch over to the GCD.

Best of luck

 

[Chewbecca]

Wait.
Is 4" total length or Snout to vent length?

If it's total length, I bet once you get him switched over to CGD, he'll grow MUCH better for you.

You can usually find CGD (put out by TRex, manufactured by Repashy) at ***** or ********.

I order the Repashy Calcium Plus ICB online and use that to dust all insects with.
BUT, you do not need to add calcium to the CGD since it is perfectly balanced for all rhacodactylus geckos.

 

[Sammag]

4 inches is from snout to vent not total length. So far he is looking the same. Though he is seeming to be more active.

 

[Valley Reptiles]

Can you post a picture?
It's hard to say without seeing him but I would be willing to bet that it is a calcium problem and possibly MBD. You see that a lot with a baby food diet.

 

[DarthGekko]

Can you post a picture?
It's hard to say without seeing him but I would be willing to bet that it is a calcium problem and possibly MBD. You see that a lot with a baby food diet.

Yeah I'm gonna say it could be dietary. Switch the calcium D3 with some that DOESN'T have D3. Also keep the UV light off. The light plus the calcium with D3 could cause D3 poisoning. Also switch him to CGD as well. Do this sooner than later.

 

[Kristi23]

I hope it's vitamin related and that he pulls through for you. The breathing with the mouth open is not a good thing at all.

 

[Sammag]

Sorry I havent responded in awhile. Well anyway this morning I checked on the little guy and he was dead. I am starting to think it was dietary but then again there was another gecko in his cage he looks quite healthy(normal pupil dialtion, no sheeding problems, clear skin, full calcium sacs, amd bones not soft so who knows.) and he had the same exact diet. Anyway I bought some CGD, switched the UV light, and am now using calcium without D3. Hopefully this wont happen again.

Thanks

 

[donloo66]

aww dang that sucks. I'm sorry to hear about that. hopefully your other gecko doesn't suffer the same fate. still i wonder what the cause was.

 

[Sammag]

Thanks. Ya so far the other gecko is strong like bull. No weaknesses of any sort. Sometimes I suppose different geckos react different ways.

 

[Kristi23]

I'm sorry he didn't make it.