chloe4884
New Member
- Messages
- 7
- Location
- Fort Collins Colorado
So this is a long story. I have a male leopard gecko, about a year old. I got him from ++++++++ if that tells you anything about him.
I went to college this fall, and I had to leave Keeko (that's his name) behind. I made this great booklet of care instructions for my dad to take care of him until the second semester, when I plan to sneak him into my dorm. I go to college an hour away from home so no big deal. Anyways he was doing really great for about the first month. My dad doesn't handle him though, which I figure I can remedy by getting him used to it again when he is back in my care. The problem is, a couple months ago he just decided not to eat anymore. My dad and I guessed he was too cold to go out of his hide because we live in Colorado and my room is on the peripheral of the house and doesn't get much heat. My dad said he continued to see poop and Keeko kept shedding. But then Keeko was shedding like every week and it was very strange for him. Then is was thanksgiving break so I came home and when I looked at him, it was the saddest thing ever. he had lost a bunch of weight, and he very clearly had MBD. my dad said he hadn't seen him walking funny until that day but maybe he just didn't know the signs. So anyways, I started using the slurry recipe that day because he was completely uninterested in bugs and I couldn't open his mouth to force one in. I even tried rubbing waxwork guts on his face since they are so tasty and he needs the fat. So to the present now, Winter break. Keeko now weighs 28g which looks to be a healthy weight for him because he has a nice fat tail. BUT he is still only exclusively eating the slurry. He won't even look at a mealworm. He needs to be able to eat real food, I can't continue to syringe feed him every day. I offer him mealworms between feedings, waxworks when I am desperate. we even tried going back to crickets for a while but Keeko will not eat them. He spends most of time in his hide and only comes out to poop it seems. Sooo he question is, does anybody have any advice on how to get him eating again? Vet is not an option, he cost $15 and my dad said (this was so mean) that I might as well cut my losses, let him die and just get a new gecko, rather than taking him to an expensive vet.
here's this thing I'm supposed to fill outAbout your leo:
- Sex- male
- Age & Weight- approx. 1yr, 28g
- How long have you owned your leo- 10 mo?
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)- ++++++++
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo- used to be every day, then none for a while, now every day or so to feed
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.- he is currently in his hot side, where he has been for weeks now. he used to come out and lay on the carpet in the corner but he doesn't anymore.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.- stopped eating, has MBD
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)- they are a bit yellow, but solid
- When was the last time he/she went- yesterday or last night but the poop itself is very orangey, urate is still white
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on - he won't eat. all he has been eating for the past two months is the slurry, which was necessary at the time but now he is back up to weight and needs to eat insects again
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size- 20gal
- Type (ex. glass tank) glass tank
- Type of substrate- reptile carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind -two, one moist with a soft loop-free (not terry cloth, something smooth) wash cloth in it. and the second is just a plastic cup cut in half, it was his cold hide.
B) Heating
- Heat source- UTH, which I now have on both sides in the hopes that he will come out to eat and not be too cold
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)- 90ish on cool side of second hot side it is about 80ish
- Method of regulating heat source-
- What are you using to measure your temps- oh God I use a floating fish tank thermometer which probably isn't totally accurate hence the -ish stuff above
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates- none
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)- he used to eat homegrown mealworms that I gut loaded with flukes cricket diet, cornmeal, sometimes some cat food, and carrots, now he is eating (eating is a loose term) the emergency slurry that can be found on this website. he gets about seriously only 1 ml a night if we are lucky because he doesn't enjoy being fed and we don't want to stress him, and he is at a good weight.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)- hand feeding by syringe, have offered dish, he's not into it
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food I have been dusting with calcium D3 and now that he won't eat solid food we have added a liquid calcium supplement to his water. he is also getting it through the slurry. dust calcium is zoomed, liquid is flukers.
I went to college this fall, and I had to leave Keeko (that's his name) behind. I made this great booklet of care instructions for my dad to take care of him until the second semester, when I plan to sneak him into my dorm. I go to college an hour away from home so no big deal. Anyways he was doing really great for about the first month. My dad doesn't handle him though, which I figure I can remedy by getting him used to it again when he is back in my care. The problem is, a couple months ago he just decided not to eat anymore. My dad and I guessed he was too cold to go out of his hide because we live in Colorado and my room is on the peripheral of the house and doesn't get much heat. My dad said he continued to see poop and Keeko kept shedding. But then Keeko was shedding like every week and it was very strange for him. Then is was thanksgiving break so I came home and when I looked at him, it was the saddest thing ever. he had lost a bunch of weight, and he very clearly had MBD. my dad said he hadn't seen him walking funny until that day but maybe he just didn't know the signs. So anyways, I started using the slurry recipe that day because he was completely uninterested in bugs and I couldn't open his mouth to force one in. I even tried rubbing waxwork guts on his face since they are so tasty and he needs the fat. So to the present now, Winter break. Keeko now weighs 28g which looks to be a healthy weight for him because he has a nice fat tail. BUT he is still only exclusively eating the slurry. He won't even look at a mealworm. He needs to be able to eat real food, I can't continue to syringe feed him every day. I offer him mealworms between feedings, waxworks when I am desperate. we even tried going back to crickets for a while but Keeko will not eat them. He spends most of time in his hide and only comes out to poop it seems. Sooo he question is, does anybody have any advice on how to get him eating again? Vet is not an option, he cost $15 and my dad said (this was so mean) that I might as well cut my losses, let him die and just get a new gecko, rather than taking him to an expensive vet.
here's this thing I'm supposed to fill outAbout your leo:
- Sex- male
- Age & Weight- approx. 1yr, 28g
- How long have you owned your leo- 10 mo?
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)- ++++++++
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo- used to be every day, then none for a while, now every day or so to feed
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.- he is currently in his hot side, where he has been for weeks now. he used to come out and lay on the carpet in the corner but he doesn't anymore.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.- stopped eating, has MBD
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)- they are a bit yellow, but solid
- When was the last time he/she went- yesterday or last night but the poop itself is very orangey, urate is still white
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on - he won't eat. all he has been eating for the past two months is the slurry, which was necessary at the time but now he is back up to weight and needs to eat insects again
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size- 20gal
- Type (ex. glass tank) glass tank
- Type of substrate- reptile carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind -two, one moist with a soft loop-free (not terry cloth, something smooth) wash cloth in it. and the second is just a plastic cup cut in half, it was his cold hide.
B) Heating
- Heat source- UTH, which I now have on both sides in the hopes that he will come out to eat and not be too cold
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)- 90ish on cool side of second hot side it is about 80ish
- Method of regulating heat source-
- What are you using to measure your temps- oh God I use a floating fish tank thermometer which probably isn't totally accurate hence the -ish stuff above
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C) Cage mates- none
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)- he used to eat homegrown mealworms that I gut loaded with flukes cricket diet, cornmeal, sometimes some cat food, and carrots, now he is eating (eating is a loose term) the emergency slurry that can be found on this website. he gets about seriously only 1 ml a night if we are lucky because he doesn't enjoy being fed and we don't want to stress him, and he is at a good weight.
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)- hand feeding by syringe, have offered dish, he's not into it
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)
- What are you gut loading food I have been dusting with calcium D3 and now that he won't eat solid food we have added a liquid calcium supplement to his water. he is also getting it through the slurry. dust calcium is zoomed, liquid is flukers.
