I don't think she is going to make it

[hilltowner]

I posted earlier about our 4 mo. old leo not eating or pooping. I've tried tiny mealworms, small crickets and this morning I tried small silkworms. The silkworms actually wiggled into her chin, but she didn't eat. The only time I saw her eat was the night we bought her, 10 days ago, when she ate a small mealworm. The next day or so she shed and since then it's been all downhill.

I included all the gecko info. and pics of her and her setup under my first post about the 4mo. old leo not eating or pooping. I reposted the pics below. The one of her in her water dish is when we had her a few days (3/2/12). The other two pics of her are from yesterday (3/8/12). I don't know if a vet could force feed her or if there is even enough of her left to feed.

If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. She's my 8 yo. daughter's gecko and she loves her. She's been so patient, putting her hand on the tank floor for a few minutes every night until the leo climbed into her hand. Then she patiently waited and kept her hand in the tank so that the leo would be comfortable. Yesterday was the first day she actually lifted her gently out of the tank and held her in her lap.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Marla

 

[marauderhex]

Electrolytes in water, raise the tank temps a few degrees, and potentially GGG slurry (Found here). She doesn't look disproportionate, which is a good sign. Don't lose hope. In the wild, reptiles can go weeks, some even months without food. One of my older females hasn't taken a meal in about 2.5 months, but she's just fine.

 

[hilltowner]

Thanks so much! What is the best way to add electrolytes to the water? Pedialyte?

Thanks!

Marla

 

[GeckoCrossing]

Thanks so much! What is the best way to add electrolytes to the water? Pedialyte?

Thanks!

Marla

Unflavored pedialyte.

 

[marauderhex]

Yep, geckocrossing hit the nail on the head. Unflavored pedialyte is the best bet. Much cheaper than those ones that pet stores sell, and it's the same product.

 

[hilltowner]

We gave her a 15 minute bath of slightly warm 1 pedialyte unflavored to 3 water. I put a hide in there so she would stay close to the water but I could still watch her.

My biggest concern is we weighed her again today and unless our scale was wrong yesterday (which I'm hoping was wrong and we only weighed her once), she has gone from 5 g yesterday to 2 g today. Not good.

On a slightly good note, she still can be spunky and jumps and runs around.

I have a vet appt. for Monday with a reptile vet we really like, but I can go to a different reptile vet tomorrow that isn't quite as nice, but knowledgable.

Should we go to the vet tomorrow?

Thanks!

Marla

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Take the moss out and clean it up, there have been reports of moss impaction lately. If your gecko ingested some of that moss, she wouldn't be able to eat or poop. A vet would be able to tell you if she's impacted. For moist hide I would suggest using wet paper towels for now.

Rapid weight loss also could be caused by parasites. A fecal examination will determine whether she has parasites or not. Of course it's more difficult if she's unable to poop, but if she does defecate, I'd take it in for a fecal exam.

 

[hilltowner]

Thanks Mardy. I'll do that right away.

Thanks!

Marla

 

[hilltowner]

I think I found a poop! It looked similar to our chameleon's but much smaller. Cricket and mealworm poop don't look anything like reptile poop, do they? I put it in a sandwich bag with a drop of water in the fridge and hopefully can bring it to the vet on Monday.

Marla

 

[sausage]

never add water! the chlorine kills off any organisms in it, so youll now have a false negative. putting it in a bag or air tight container in the fridge is enought to keep it for a few days. you will have to get a new sample now

 

[hilltowner]

Thanks for letting me know. Fortunately, we have a well and don't add chlorine, so hopefully it is ok.

Thanks!

Marla