HELP! prolapse?

[GeckoGirl2012]

I have a 8 year old male leopard gecko who has always been completely healthy. This morning I noticed his rectum/abdomen area was completely swollen and blood red. He also had diarhhea. This has never happened before! Please help! I keep him in a 20 gallon tank with ReptileCarpet. I believe it is some sort of prolapse. How can I treat this? I've researched and is a sugar/water solution sufficient enough? My parents will not take him to a vet! Pleeaseee help, I'm soo scared!

 

[JordanAng420]

Could you provide a photo so we could get a better idea of what you're talking about?

About your parents...try to make them understand that this pet means as much to you as would the family dog or cat. It's a living, breathing animal that you are responsible for. If that doesn't work, you could go a step further, and tell them that as the owners of this animal, there are laws that require food, water, shelter, and medical attention for any pet if necessary. Don't make it like you're threatening, just sit down, be very mature, and have a conversation. Make sure you listen to what they have to say as well. Also, timing is everything. Don't go after them when they just got home from work or anything that usually makes people tired. I've read about so many cases like yours where mom and dad have the "it's just a lizard" syndrome. I find that sad.

Anyways, about the gecko...if it is indeed a prolapsed organ, you're going to need to keep the area moist all the time. To accomplish this, you can try to use the sugar/water soak, just make sure you make it dense and thick with a lot of sugar. The sugar is the key, and it's what makes the solution work. If you can find yourself some PLAIN saline...not the stuff that has a bunch of crap in it for contacts, but plain old sterile saline...they sell it at drugstores...and keep that area moist by rinsing with the saline every hour until the organ starts going back into place. Also, while you're at the store it might be a good idea to pick up some sterile lubricant, like KY Jelly. You can put this on after the rinse, to keep it moist while you're sleeping. You need to keep the gecko on paper towels if you don't already, and be sure to keep the towels moist. The rinse needs to be quite often during the day, or else the organ runs the possibility of becoming necrotic and dying, and possibly killing your gecko. Which it will end up doing anyway after a while if the sugar solution doesn't work after a day or two. This is why it's important to seek medical attention if it doesn't go back on it's own. Good luck with your 'rents, think positive!

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

Thanks so much for your response. I will work on the rents, but we honestly don't have the money right now i'll try though!

For now---can I use Petroleum Jelly instead of KY? I have Petroleum available and I want to treat this as best as I can right now. And how long does he need to sit in the sugar solution? he keeps trying to get out and i feel so bad!

I'm working on posting a pic

 

[Alusdra]

If he is trying to get out of the water it might be too hot or too cold. If it is the correct temperature they usually are ok with sitting in there for a while.

It sounds like this might be something serious... perhaps you can tell your parents that you are willing to do chores or get a job raking leaves or something to help pay/ pay back what they spend on the vet visit. That way they know you really care about the little guy and that you are serious and responsible. Make sure to go to someone who does do reptiles on a regular basis. Another good idea is to call around to hospitals near you and ask how often they do reptiles and what the exam fee is. Usually for small pets like geckos the cost is not as much as for bigger ones like dogs.

Good luck with the situation.

 

[JordanAng420]

How's the gecko today?

And i'd stay away from the Petroleum Jelly. I'm not sure how that would affect geckos, so if it were me i'd stay away from it. Basically, the idea is to keep the organ as moist as possible until it retracts back into the body on it's own...which it will hopefully do soon.

 

[Bongo]

I had the same problem with a male leo of mine, I took him to the vet and they said it was a waxy discharge from his hemipenis. The vet cleaned and removed the discharge and it has not reappeared since. He also taught me what to do if it were to happen again.

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

Bongo- What did the vet tell you to do if it happened again?

I'm trying guys. My parents aren't budging i'm really worried about him, there's not much change :'( are you sure you want a pic? it's not pretty...

i'm doing as many sugar soaks as i can, every hour or so since i got home from school for about 10-15 minutes each. he is on damp paper towels.

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

here's a pic. i had just pulled him out of the sugar so it looks wet. it looks bad, i know i'm losing sleep over this poor little guy.

 

[JordanAng420]

Okay...

I'm glad you posted a picture, because that actually doesn't look like a prolapse to me. It looks to me like he's got something going on INTERNALLY with his hemipenes. The skin looks irritated, infected and appears to be ulcerated in some places. I do NOT see any organs hanging out of the body though.

However...this situation looks very, very serious. In fact, at this point you might have been better off with the prolapse, b/c that's an easier fix than this might be. I need to warn you that without medical intervention (and even WITH) you might lose this gecko from sepsis (infection). That gecko needs a REALLY good herp vet and some very strong antibiotics most likely injected into a muscle. I wouldn't be suprised if he needed to be hospitalized.

Stop the sugar soaks. Don't put anything on it, except maybe the sterile saline rinse. This needs to be a addressed by a vet.

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

oh dear God...

thanks so much for your help. i am extremely worried now :'( i hope the sugar soaks did not further set back chances of survival! omg...i've had this guy since I was 12!

 

[JordanAng420]

No I don't think the sugar soaks set you back, I just don't think they're going to help the situation.

Hopefully this will all turn around for you and you can somehow get this guy some medical attention. I just wanted to warn you because, I lost a gecko to sepsis recently, and the infection began in the same place, with the same symptoms. Now that I look at the picture a little more, that nasty lump is actually ABOVE his hemipenes...

Work on those parents the best you can.

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

I feel so horrible! and helpless. my poor gecko is suffering from some sort of infection that is likely to kill him and there's nothing at all i can do about it. I'm desperate at this point. i'm looking through medicine cabinets for anything at all that might help. Neosporin?

 

[Alusdra]

He really needs professional medical help.

 

[Tony C]

I would imagine Baytril is the best bet, but it's only available by prescription from a vet.

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

you guys don't even know what i would do to get my hands on some meds for him. It's killing me to sit here and watch him and I'm terrified I'm going to check on him sometime soon and he's going to be dead :'(

He's been handfed his entire life, since I got him when he was 5, but when I try he has no interest in eating. I'm scared he's dehydrated, so I've been giving him Gatorade from an eye dropper, hoping to give him electrolytes. the infection looks to be slightly worse. it's getting a darker color and i'm really scared.

Could I try some sort of salt water soak? I've read salt water helps infections. idk =/ at this point, i am truly desperate.

 

[JordanAng420]

He's beyond what you can do at home. He most likely needs systemic antibiotics.

 

[Tony C]

He's beyond what you can do at home. He most likely needs systemic antibiotics.

Do you think Neomycin would be worth a shot? It is commonly used for frogs when Baytril is unavailable because it is available OTC, and since her parents are clearly not going to let her go to a vet, it may be better than nothing. I know OTC antibiotics aren't ideal, but if it is safe for geckos wouldn't trying that be better than just letting it die untreated?

 

[GeckoGirl2012]

I really appreciate you guys!

Neomycin? Do you know where I might be able to get some? I actually just looked at the back of a Neosporin tube and it has some in it! I thought of that earlier but i wasn't sure if it was safe. If it is, i'll apply some Neosporin cream to it and hope for the best i guess. =/

 

[Tony C]

Neomycin is commonly sold as an antibiotic for aquarium use, should be available at any local pet store with a fish department. HOWEVER, I don't know if it would be safe or effective for geckos, and what would be an appropriate dosage, I just threw the idea out as a hail-mary because you are running out of options. I would suggest you wait until Maia or someone else with a veterinary background can give their opinion. Neosporin should be safe as long as it does not have pain reliever in it, but probably not much help since the infection appears to be systemic rather than topical.

 

[JordanAng420]

You can try it. It's better than nothing I guess. I haven't heard anything that conflicts with it being used in reptiles, however I have never used it in reptiles either. I can't give you a dose for it, as I could lose my licence in doing so. And I also can't take responsibility if something were to happen to the gecko because of the medicine. So you can try it if you feel comfortable, but again, you're kinda playing russian roulette.

Also, i'm pretty sure it's against my code of ethics to ask you how old you are, but I can tell you that legally someone who's 18 can take an animal to a vet. If you know someone who is of age, who you can work out a contract with to pay back, or find some way of getting some money to, maybe he or she could take your gecko to the doctor for you if your parents are preventing you directly.