is this normal?

[lostmyfeathers]

My gecko stands in the corner of her tank all day everyday to the point where she slants done and is completely like a z.

 

[Dinosaur!]

i used to have a very thin rescue gecko that would do that. it was just him trying to get out of the cage but not having the energy to try anymore. may i ask you to please fill this out? we will be able to help you more if you do http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/70912.htm

 

[lostmyfeathers]

[
About your leo:
- Sex-female
- Age & Weight-don't know either
- How long have you owned your leo-two months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)-"friend"

A)+
- How often do you handle your leo-every day
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.- no she is very lazy
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.-not sure only had her two months
B)+
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went-4 days ago
C)+
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on-standing in corner all day

Housing:
A)+
- Size-10 gallon
- Type (ex. glass tank)-glass
- Type of substrate-sand
- Hides, how many, what kind-two rock and wood
B)+
- Heat source-red light
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)87-70
- Method of regulating heat source-on and off light
- What are you using to measure your temps-digitally
- Do you have any lights (describe)
C)+-red light/uv light
- How many (males, females)-one
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A)+
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)-4 mealworms 3x a week. She refuses crickets
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)-left in cake
B)++(describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) with crickets I was using funkers with mealworms repti-calcium
- What are you gut loading food with

QUOTE=Dinosaur!;787032]i used to have a very thin rescue gecko that would do that. it was just him trying to get out of the cage but not having the energy to try anymore. may i ask you to please fill this out? we will be able to help you more if you do http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/70912.htm[/QUOTE]

 

[Josh P.]

I would remove her from sand immediately as it may cause impaction. Try paper towel instead.
Another issue I notice is your heating method. A gecko needs belly heat to properly process food and thermoregulate. You should use a heating mat (UTH) instead of the red lamp.

The tail of your gecko looks incredibly thin so she is running out of fat reserves. Try to handle her less for a while to lower stress and provide plenty of food with a multivitamin with calcium and D3.

I hope this helps.

 

[LeopardGeckoMom]

You may really want to git rid of the sand some better choices of substrate are tile, paper towels, or repti carpet. It's better to have their warm side in the 90-97 area and the cool side to be high 79's or into the low 80's. I gut load my mealworms with carrots or lettuce seems to be their favorites and without gutloading your gecko won't get very chunky and is in a way like eating a shell and guts. I feed my leo often because they eat a lot their first couple of years as they grow petty fast. ^.^ A UTH is better than lights too but I do have a purple light at night so I can watch mine. It's also good to have a calcium dish in her tank and calcium with D3 when you dust your feeders.

 

[Dinosaur!]

also, you need a multi vitamin on their food once a week. your gecko looks extremely thin, almost sickly (dont take it personally, you havent had her long) . you need to feed her ALOT more too. i would feed her as many mealworms as she will eat in 15 minutes, EVERY day. if you do that, you should see her putting on weight. i would very highly reccomend looking through this forum to find proper care, supplementing, and etc., so that you adorable little gecko will live, because in the state that she is now, she will wither away and die pretty quickly if you dont make some big changes with her. trust me, i have dealt with geckos that look like her in the past. i sincerely hope that you take our advice to heart, and just know that you arent being criticized: we just want to improve your geckos well being, and give her a good long life. and remember to never be afraid to ask us a question, because we want to help you out

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Adults are usually fine with play sand. Youngters, not so. Keep her hydrated and well-fed. I think standing like that on the wall is normal. My leo sometimes does that too if i disturb his sleep. Maybe its a way of his revolt against disturbance lol. But like everyone said, her health (fats lol) should be top priority right now

 

[lostmyfeathers]

Thank you everyone! The people who had her before myself told me how they had been taking care of her and so I assumed they knew what they were talking about, but I guess not. She also has purple paint on her because the previous owners had children....and painted her, and I cannot get it off her. I just bought some things from Amazon so hopefully she will get stronger I feel bad...like im a horrible parent but I know nothing about them. I also didnt know to feed the mealworms which kinda makes a lot of sense. Again thank you!!

 

[Dinosaur!]

don't worry! now that you are learning how to care for your gecko, she will turn into a big ol' fatty soon!

 

[tb144050]

Thank you everyone! The people who had her before myself told me how they had been taking care of her and so I assumed they knew what they were talking about, but I guess not. She also has purple paint on her because the previous owners had children....and painted her, and I cannot get it off her. I just bought some things from Amazon so hopefully she will get stronger I feel bad...like im a horrible parent but I know nothing about them. I also didnt know to feed the mealworms which kinda makes a lot of sense. Again thank you!!

If you have had her a couple of months and you can still see 2month-old paint, I am worried about the shedding. A young gecko will probably have shed about 3 times in 2 months, so I would imagine that the paint would be long gone.

When have you seen her shed and how often?

So here are my suggestions, and some of them have already been mentioned above by others:

-Warm 10minute bath (just soaking) in 90F water once/day for a few days
-Make sure you have a MOIST-hide somewhere with damp substrate (like moss)
-Use an UTH @ 90F for hot side;
-Use a dim red (most suggested) bulb for night viewing..not for real heat.
-Get rid of the UV light!! D3 supplements do the UV light's job without overdosing.
-Dust with D3 once/week.
-Dust with multivitamins + D3 once/week (different than the above-noted feeding).
-All other food should be dusted with Calcium WITHOUT D3, to prevent D3 overdose.
-Put a dish of Calcium WITHOUT D3 inside the tank at all times.
-sand is said to be "no bueno" so pick another substrate.
-gutload your geckos insects.
-Google: "Leopard gecko care sheet" and review several (but not ones from chain petstores)
-DEFINITELY quarantine any new or sick geckos for months...don't think "she is lonely" and go buy her a roommate if she is acting strange...lol

 

[sausage]

any remnants of paint left on her will come off next couple of times she sheds.
dont feel bad the main thing is that your asking for help and am open to trying new things to help her. as long as you make the changed she should bounce back.

on another not i have see many geckos pressed up against the glass like that when their vivs are heated with bulbs, it makes them over heat and the glass helps them cool down.

i hope she gets better soon

 

[lostmyfeathers]

Okay. I took everyone's advice. I got her calcium, a moist area for shedding, a utc heater, got rid of the sand, got a black cave so it will capture heat, and I check her cage temp regularly. It has only been a few days but she is so much more active. For the past four days I haven't seen her in the corner. She was climbing the wood thing and climbing on her caves. She seems a lot happier which means im a lot happier. She still has a lot of weight to gain but I think it will be easy now. Again thank you all so much!!
-Esther

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Great to hear you've switched things up and she's improving!!

To measure temperatures correctly in the tank you want to measure them with a probe thermometer on the ground right over the UTH and make sure it't not over 93. UTHs have a tendency to run fairly warm and can burn or hurt your gecko if they get too much over 100. Make sure you are providing her with a vitamin supplement too. Repashy Calcium Plus is a great all in one supplement. If she needs to gain weight I would leave 10-20 mealworms in her dish 24/7 and count them once a day to make sure she is eating. I also would limit the amount you handle her until her health improves. Personally I wouldn't take her out for anything but necessity until she is chunky and obviously enjoying her now awesome stress-free life

Good job so far!!

 

[Dinosaur!]

im so glad that you took our advice! and i am so happy to hear that your gecko is being active! you are on the road to success, and a fat squishy gecko!

 

[Josh P.]

Well done! Keep us posted on his progress.

 

[lostmyfeathers]

I was going to post on here last night complaining about how she hasn't been active for the past two days, and then I checked on her today and I found a lot of dead skin on the floor of her tank. She finally shed

 

[Dinosaur!]

thats really good! hopefully that means that she is growing!

 

[lostmyfeathers]

Obviously she still has alot more growing to do, but this is her now. Her tail has gotten the tinyest bit bigger, and all the purple paint is gone. She still has a few pieces of dead skin on her face and her toes, am i supposed to help her remove it? If so, how?
Esther

 

[Samantha12]

She definitely looks better! Some geckos have a hard time shedding on their own. You should give her a warm bath as suggested above and right after use a q-tip soaked in warm water to rub off the rest of the skin. Toe shed is typically the most difficult to remove; make sure you get it very wet and rub off as much as you can. You may also want to use small tweezers or long fingernails to help get the really stuck stuff, just be sure to be careful. Good luck! She's fortunate to have you.

 

[Dinosaur!]

She definitely looks better! Some geckos have a hard time shedding on their own. You should give her a warm bath as suggested above and right after use a q-tip soaked in warm water to rub off the rest of the skin. Toe shed is typically the most difficult to remove; make sure you get it very wet and rub off as much as you can. You may also want to use small tweezers or long fingernails to help get the really stuck stuff, just be sure to be careful. Good luck! She's fortunate to have you.

+1 just be gentle! and she is looking soooo much better! just keep it up, and eventually she will look like she has never seen a thin day in her life!