Is impaction from shed skin possible?

[ducanhle]

Hi! Is it possible for my gecko to be impacted by her shed skin? I mean, there is no other way for her to get impacted, she is kept on reptile carpet. And she stopped eating exactly the day she shed. I added a post on this forum about her already, but at that time I didn't think of impaction. Today I picked her up and looked on here belly. It looks a little darker than THIS and the mealworms I fed her yesterday were vomited out. I've never encountered impaction so I'm not sure. But what else could it possibly be? I read that I should give her a warm bath from sand impaction, does that apply to this kind of impaction as well? (if it is) I will probably take her to ver tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[Neon Aurora]

It's extremely unlikely she is impacted by her own shed skin.

How long has she stopped eating for?
How old if she?
What are your temperatures and what are you measuring them with?
What kind of heating device are you using?

If I had to guess right off the bat, I would say your temperatures might be low so she is unable to digest her food properly.

Also, it's not abnormal for geckos not eat before/after shedding.

 

[ducanhle]

She hasn't eaten in a week and she is around 5 months old. Heat is provided by a heat mat. My temps are 92 degrees and I measure it with thermometer. And yea, my other gecko wasn'T eating for a while too, but this gecko looks tired, slow and hides all day. Her eyes look tired, like a person that hasn't slept for a while. And everytime the cricket is in from of her, she closes her eyes.

 

[Neon Aurora]

Okay. In that case, can you fill out the form provided in the sticky called "please read and fill out before posting health questions"? That will give us more information about your animals and set up. Normally l would post the link, but l recently got an iPad and haven't figured out how to copy and paste.

Edit: I was just looking at your other thread. You should fill out the health form, but l wanted to ask; how long have you had the geckos? Did they come from a pet store? In your other thread, you said the one that isn't eating is also not growing as fast as the other. Sometimes this is a sign of parasites, especially if they came from a pet store.

 

[ducanhle]

About your leo:
- Sex: Female
- Age & Weight: around 5 months
- How long have you owned your leo: aroung a month
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): breader or "seller", I'm not sure, he had many reptiles at his home.

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: not frequently, just about a few times a month
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: She looks tired and closes eyes in front of her prey
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.: Not that I know of
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): no
- When was the last time he/she went: a week ago
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on: she stopped eating after shedding

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size 60x40 cm wooden tank
- Type (ex. glass tank): wooden tank
- Type of substrate: reptile carpet
- Hides, how many, what kind: warm, cold, humid
B) Heating
- Heat source: heat mat
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): around 92 degrees on the hot side
- Method of regulating heat source: thermostat
- What are you using to measure your temps: thermometer
- Do you have any lights (describe): no
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): none
- Describe health, or previous problems: Looks a little tired, sleeps all day, not very active around the cage. At night she is on her hot side.

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): Daily, around 5 crickets
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): crickets are thrown in the tank
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): Calcium powder and NutriMix
- What are you gut loading food with: Calcium powder 5x a week and vitamins 2x a week

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I visited a vet today, but I feel like she did not know what was going on... She gave me some liquid vitamins and told me to put it in he mouth with force, that it could get her appetite back, which I feel is kind of BS, maybe I'm wrong...
She also told me to get her a UV light bulb, because she needs vitamin C from it. I mean, I've read almost everywhere that light bulb just stresses out the gecko and is not needed(D3 is in the vitamins), consdering the fact that during the day you never see your gecko outside its hide...

 

[Neon Aurora]

Don't use force with anything, especially a liquid. You could drown your gecko on accident. I don't have time right now to look it over, but l will in a couple hours. I just wanted to post not to use force.

Edit: I found time after all. Your set up seems okay to me.

Has she lost weight? I would recommend getting a fecal done to check for parasites.
It also could be that she is just slowing down because of winter coming. Many geckos do this.

 

[ducanhle]

Uhm, and does it affect her somehow? (future size, etc.) She is at the age when she should eat the most right?

 

[Neon Aurora]

If she is just getting a little slower over the winter, than probably not. Let's not forget that leopard geckos naturally hatch in the summer/fall and must get through a winter as juveniles.

A load of parasites left untreated could stunt her growth, though, due to the parasites stealing necessary nutrients.