HELP, URGENT! SICK LEOPARD GECKO

[meep]

HELP! SICK GECKO----I have a Leopard Gecko, Dizzy, that I believe is female (when we got her from the store with 2 other leo geckos- one male, one female- they might have been too small to tell, but we believed the store anyway). After the male of the original 3 geckos had an accident and died, we got 3 more babies to go with the 2 we already had. We havent had any problems with her until she had trouble shedding about 2 days ago. Dizzy had no problem adapting to the 3 new ones, and is actually one of the biggest ones. After about 3 months (now) is when we started having problems. We let Dizzy shed by herself, but it was taking her a while. My boyfriend tried to help her shed because it took her a really long time and she couldnt see with the skin on her face and in her eyes. She kinda seemed to be freaking out a little bit. We kept the moss moist and the temperatures all seem to be right. She stopped eating and now looks really weak. her tail is much thinner, and her back legs are swollen in the joints and are almost unusable. we were told that if they couldnt get the skin off their feet and toes, it would cut off circulation and the legs would be unusable so my boyfriend helped her shed by gently peeling her legs. I now have learned that was probably the wrong thing to do. The legs dont go the way they are supposed to, but she can still move them with effort (it looks painful). She pretty much just slides around on her belly. We've noticed that her belly looks a little squishy, and when my boyfriend touched it yesterday it FELT squishy. Her breathing seems slower than normal and she doesnt move from where we last put her. I feel like my boyfriend and I were completely misinformed because after doing a lot of online research, we are finding new things out every second. Since she cant move very well, nor does she try to move, we fed her "insectivore/carnivore emergency aid" that the store gave us when one of the others wasn't eating and got really skinny. We finally got some in her, but she still looks really sick and hasn't moved. PLEASE HELP we are so scared she is in pain and/or dying and it will be devastating if she dies at our own faults. Thanks in advance!

 

[Tony C]

You need a vet, this is far beyond being fixable with forum advice. I would also review a good care sheet to help correct any husbandry issues and rethink keeping five geckos of varying size together.

 

[meep]

thats where we were headed next, i was just going to see if anyone would have any advice before having to find a vet for her. I guess i was unclear with some of my post, all of these are babies and they are in a very large tank. none are adult yet, and none are much bigger than the others, some are just a little skinnier than others. I read somewhere that there could be "bullying" among the geckos so i included that she was one of the bigger ones to put that theory to rest. we are going to find someone to help us. thanks for replying

 

[Mel&Keith]

I don't know if there's really anything you can do to help before you get to the vet at this point. It sounds pretty bad. What you can do to help the rest of them is separate the males and females. Even as juveniles males and females should not be housed together. They can breed at as small as around 25g and 6 months old. As soon as they start reaching sexual maturity they WILL try to breed no matter how long they've lived together. It can cause fighting, stress, not eating so it's necessary to house them separately. Definitely read the care sheet and compare your husbandry. Judging from the problems your having I would guess that you should address your temperature and humidity (humid hides). I hope the vet is able to help keep us posted on what you find out.

 

[MiamiLeos]

The gecko needs to see a vet immediately, like yesterday immediately. It could be such an array of conditions that there really isnt anything I would even feel comfortable telling you to do except separate her from the other leos and toutch/move her as little as possible. I would also reconsider your housing arrangement. Just my personal opinion, but I have never been comfortabe with keeping more than 3 female leos together (and NEVER more than one male per cage), and that is my absolute limit. I am more comfortable with two, but for the past few years I have housed every gecko individually and I honestly believe that is the best way to go for a variety of reasons. Maybe you could purchase another tank and have 3 in one and 2 in the other. I think it would be a lot less stressful on the leos this way and stress can cause a huge ammount of different health problems. Like others have said, check out the care sheets and compare your floor temperatures, humidity, and housing situations. Good luck with your leo!

 

[Mel&Keith]

To add to what Bridgette mentioned...

We actually did a little experiment years ago where we housed a small colony of same sized/aged adult females in a 45G tank for a while and then individually. They all did better individually.