Help Please - Baby Gecko Not Eating

[Ultrakd]

I got a baby gecko from petco (I know I shouldnt have) he was doing fine but now has taken a turn to the worse. He now weighs 1.7g. HE has only eaten 1 cricket. I tried feeding him CGD and he ate some, so I made some with extra calcium. Im really really worried and I dont know what to do. Please help me.

 

[JordanAng420]

There are many other threads concerning anorexia in leos...first, evaluate your husbandry. Make sure he has a hot side and a cool side, and undertank heater to help with digestion, H20 available all the time and a moist hide, preferably with sphagnum moss. Next, have a stool sample evaluated. I don't want to sound like i'm trying to diagnose, but almost every gecko i've seen, petstore or not, carries some type of internal parasite. Have him dewormed even if parasites aren't seen. Sometimes the dewormer just helps coat the GI tract to soothe as well as get rid of any intestinal parasites he/she may have.

 

[JordanAng420]

I forgot...make sure the baby is NOT on sand by any means!!!

 

[Ultrakd]

I have all the set up needs. The problem is he has not pooped, otherwise I would have taken him to the vet a while ago.

 

[Ultrakd]

No I would nefer keep any of my geckos on sand.

 

[Ultrakd]

Please guys, I really dont want him to die, and Im affraid he will soon.

 

[acpart]

It's possible that a gecko that small is already suffering stress that can't be cured from being shipped to Petco and the conditions there. The most you can do at this point is to keep it warm, keep it hydrated by either gently soaking it in a small amount of water or putting drops of water on its nose, and try to get it to take something by putting a small amount of puree on its nose and letting it lick it off. Since CGD is primarily fruit and leos are carnivorous (I assume you're talking about a leo), some warm chicken baby food is probably more appropriate. Please remember that this gecko may have been unable to be saved even before you bought it. My smallest geckos are born at 2 grams (to the nearest gram). I know it's upsetting if it doesn't make it, but you have given it the best chance it could have had. I hope that if you do have to get another gecko, you'll get it from a breeder; there are lots of breeders in FL as far as I can see. Also, you should especially read the first article in the newest issue of Leopard Gecko Magazine, which you should subscribe to if you haven't yet.

Good luck,

Aliza

 

[Ultrakd]

I just got this little gecko to see if I am able to care for a baby gecko. I have been buying geckos from breeders. I just feel that if he dies it will be my fault and that I did somthing wrong with caring for him.

 

[acpart]

I just got this little gecko to see if I am able to care for a baby gecko. I have been buying geckos from breeders. I just feel that if he dies it will be my fault and that I did somthing wrong with caring for him.

Please read my post above again carefully. Caring for a healthy baby gecko is totally different from caring for a sick, stressed gecko that was probably subjected to inhumane conditions for most of its life. If this gecko dies, it doesn't mean you can't care for a baby gecko. It means that you didn't succeed with a gecko that probably no one else, even an experienced breeder, could succeed with.

Aliza

 

[JordanAng420]

You shoud NEVER purchase/adopt an animal, ANY animal to "test" yourself to make sure you can do it. Furthermore, nobody should purchase an animal because they "feel bad for it" and "want to make it better" If he dies it WILL be your fault. He's YOUR responsibility now. I'm sorry, but I feel very strongly about this.

 

[brad.a.c]

You shoud NEVER purchase/adopt an animal, ANY animal to "test" yourself to make sure you can do it. Furthermore, nobody should purchase an animal because they "feel bad for it" and "want to make it better" If he dies it WILL be your fault. He's YOUR responsibility now. I'm sorry, but I feel very strongly about this.

I completely agree.

 

[Ultrakd]

You shoud NEVER purchase/adopt an animal, ANY animal to "test" yourself to make sure you can do it. Furthermore, nobody should purchase an animal because they "feel bad for it" and "want to make it better" If he dies it WILL be your fault. He's YOUR responsibility now. I'm sorry, but I feel very strongly about this.

OH thanks, you made me feel even worse than I do.

 

[Nigel4less]

I agree with everything said you should have not taken that gecko home. You should have purchased a healthy baby from a breeder. And why would you "Test" yourself? That is completely unfair to the animal.

 

[JordanAng420]

I don't mean to make you feel worse. The point i'm trying to stress is that if you were unsure if you were capable of taking care of a baby, you should have waited until you WERE sure you could.

 

[mochasr4me00]

You shoud NEVER purchase/adopt an animal, ANY animal to "test" yourself to make sure you can do it. Furthermore, nobody should purchase an animal because they "feel bad for it" and "want to make it better" If he dies it WILL be your fault. He's YOUR responsibility now. I'm sorry, but I feel very strongly about this.

I'm going to respond and hope that I don't make you feel bad as others have because that will not be my intent! I am fairly new to this site but I have kept multiple reptiles for years and leo's for just over a year. I beleive and "feel very strongly" that keepers of your age are the future of herpetology, whether it be Leo's or other reptiles. I hope that what you take from this is the knowledge and insight to improve your ability to keep reptiles, of any type. I am going to take the middle ground here and play "devils advocate" tho.

First, you ARE to be commended for coming to the forum and asking for some type of help. Many 13yr olds would not have done that.

I do agree that you should not have bought a Leo to test yourself, but maybe you didn't know better or have someone to teach you, then again everyone has to start somewhere. One question I have is if you have been buying from breeders before, why would you buy this one from petco to "test" yourself? Why did you need to test yourself if you have kept them before? What has happened to the previously bought geckos?
If you had/have no knowledge of the reptile, research before you buy. Read/question people on forums everywhere, buy books, ask questions at reputible pet stores/breeders, observe friends who have them, etc. Then you ask yourself... can I do this? can I provide the food, heat, proper cage, time...all the things needed to care for the reptile.

As for buying a reptile because you feel bad or want to make it feel better, I don't think thats wrong!!:main_no: What is wrong is not having the ability or knowledge to do that. If you take on the care of a possibly sick reptile, you MUST have previous knowledge of what needs to be done, the finances (medicines, food, vets,etc) to accomplish that care, the time involved and the knowledge that you may not succeed. As previously stated, your leo may have been past the point when you bought him/her, that even a very experienced keeper could not have succesfully cared for him/her. There may not be anything else you can do.

Yes, you are responsible for the leo now but I don't agree either that its your fault if he should die! We all know that purchasing a pet from many of the chain stores is very risky. The care they receive in the stores is minimal...many times they are too young...some are wildcaught(not leos)... some are already sick....they are nothing more than $$ signs to most stores. :main_angry:

Follow the suggestions given here as best as you can, take him to the vet if at all possible but don't give up on yourself if you can't save him. DO learn from this experience and be aware of what you may be getting into when you purchase from a chain store. Before you purchase, question yourself... do I have what it takes? can I provide the needs if sick? can I afford the time and money for extensive sick care? Do I really know what I'm doing?

DISCLAIMER: All of the above is just my opinion. Nothing said was meant to insult or put down any other forum member.

 

[scintillatingstar]

I agree with a lot of what you said Christina.

Honestly, if you bought the gecko for the wrong reason, it does not mean it is dying BECAUSE of that reason.
Most likely the gecko was not going to make it anyway, and you have only helped to keep it alive this long.

Sometimes the forum can be a bit harsh, many expect a lot from people on here. You are no expert yet, nor am I, but at least you are 13yrs old and trying to learn.

Ask yourself some of those questions Christina posted next time.

And as for the gecko...
Soak it in gatorade or pediasure. Not just water.
Open its mouth and force feed it a WAXWORM if it has not been eating. If it is stressed and not eating, it will eventually starve. If you stress it out a teeny bit more but it has received food, it will ost likely be better in the long run. Waxworms are not the most nutritional, but for you it is most practical as your little man needs weight, and waxworms are fatty.

I do not care what your reasons were, because honestly, at this point, they do not matter. your main goal should be to try to get this gecko to live.
Try the soaks, make sure his tank set up is appropriate, and get him some waxworms in that belly.

just my 2 cents!

 

[Euphoric]

You shouldn't bring a sick animal home unless you know you can improve its health, and take it to a vet.
I have fostered so many animals from ball pythons to hamsters that I have spent countless time and money on making better to find new homes that will love them. But I would never take in an animal I had no clue how to rehabilitate,
Or take to a vet.
Many people think its weird to take a gecko or hamster to the vet, but they are animals and just as much loved as dogs or cats.

I think you had the right intentions, and I applaud you, but one man can't sow a tomato garden in his backyard and expect to cure world hunger.

I hope he survives and turns out to be a great lil gecko for you

 

[Ultrakd]

What has happened to the previously bought geckos?
If you had/have no knowledge of the reptile, research before you buy.

I have 9 very healthy geckos. I have spent 2-3 years reading up on reptiles so there is no question to weather I have read enough. I got him because I wanted to get a baby gecko to raise up.

Open its mouth and force feed it a WAXWORM if it has not been eating.

How would I open up his mouth, it is so tiny and I dont want to hurt him any.

If you guys look at any of my other geckos they are very healthy, they have fat tails, they are nice and strong and have strong feeding responses. I have gotten all accept this one little guy from Breeders.

 

[bubblez825]

NEVER force feed a gecko. you will just injure the gecko and stress it out more, possibly causing it to asperate and die. I have lost a gecko due to tube feeding when she won't eat. Try Marcia's Golden Gate Gecko slurry. It is in the Health and medications forum. It has al the instructions for feeding and making it in there and the geckos seem to love it . I hope this helps.

 

[scintillatingstar]

Hey man,

I know it seems like some people have attacked you, and frankly reading this whole post, it seems like it to me. So i know you feel the need to defend yourself. But i went through your album on your geckogeeks page and saw you do have a couple different kinds of reptiles, alll looking healthy.

I think that you just need to be a little more careful of your wording on this page. Most people, not all, but most are older and words being the only way to communicate online need to be very precise. You can not say you got it because it was sick and you wanted to see if you could fix it. Then later say you got it because you wanted to raise a baby up to be your own. The original statement is what got you beat up. Just try to pay attention to detail and how you word things.

If you want to open its mouth you need to be very careful. If you have nails you slide one nail in, you want to feel for its teeth if you are just hitting its gums you are going to hurt it and scratch them up. Slide your nail around from the front to the back of the mouth, to the corner of his jaw. Dont just force it straight in because your pushing against his clenched teeth. once you gethim to seperate his teeth even justa little you stick in a peice of something skinny, like a cut Q tip, or popsickle stick, to the corner of his mouth. This allows you to use your hand to get the worm in his mouth and not have to juggle his jaw and his body and the food all at once.

It can stress him so try again in the morning, or tomorrow night. Honestly, if you go too long, he will probably just starve. UNLESS you do see him hunting and catching food, then theres no need to force feed him.

If you can get a peice of the worm in, he'll swallow the rest. Esp. if you said he is trying to catch food, so he is hungry.

I guess its all about knowing how to handle the certain situations. Keep your head up. Don't give up on the little man.