Juvie not eating

[bowsertime]

On a vet friend of mine's advice, I attempted to drop some beef baby food onto her nose today, but she only ran and hid under her hide again. This is about two weeks now without proper eating and I'm going to be taking her in to a vet tomorrow to see what's wrong.

 

[Dog Shrink]

If you're that worried about your leo not eating then a vet visit is absolutely in order. I'd mention the water intake and see if the vet thinks it's excessive. Also there is a recipe for a "gecko slurry" as a sticky in the health and nutrition section I believe... but if you search gecko slurry it'll come up for sure. That would be recommended over regular flavored baby food. Too much salt I think it is in baby food.

Interested in seeing what the vet has to say about your leo. Hope everything is ok.

 

[bowsertime]

Even her water intake has slowed lately. She doesn't come out much anymore. She came out once during the twilight hours to go into her poop house, then returned to her hide again. I misted her tank down to try to entice her out and it worked until I tried the baby food on her, at which point she just shied away and has been hiding ever since, only poking her head out now and then. I wouldn't be so worried about her behaviour if it hadn't been so long without her eating properly, as well as the fact that she's losing weight now, in tail and body. Nothing scary-skinny yet, but I don't really want it to get to that point before I bring her in.

 

[bowsertime]

Unfortunately, my preferred herp vet only works the weekends now... so I guess I have little choice but to wait and see for another week. I'm hoping that, when she sheds, she will eat it and get some nourishment out of that at least.

 

[bowsertime]

I'm going to be moving her into my room tonight, I think. There may just be way too much noise in this room for her to be comfortable. The TV will be going, there's music, I have birds... I think it'd be best for her to be there, in the quietness.

 

[bowsertime]

Well, she seems a lot happier in my quiet room than she was out here. Lots more movement during the night, not just staying in her cool hide like she used to. She's exploring other hides and she also shed her skin. I can see bits stuck on her toes, but she was working on them... with any luck, she'll get them off, and if not, I'll help her with them tomorrow night. The good news is that she seems to have eaten all her skin, so at least she ate something.

 

[Dog Shrink]

A quiet room is always good for a shy leo. I have Eros in an off traffic room, we call it the "dog room" as it is where the dogs eat, the gerbil colony is in there as well. I think that sometimes the chaos of traffic and external goings on in a busy room can cause a leo to stress beyond what is healthy for some leos. Others adapt and settle in just fine, some don't. I don't think Eros would do well at all in a busy room.

 

[Spots]

I don't really know what to say but in terms of the baby food, there is a recipe as mentioned. My girl looks exactly like yours and stopped eating so I have mediated dog and cat food from the vet. The way to get the food into her is to hold her so her arms can't get out and then put the syringe on the side of her mouth and gently press down and her mouth will open . My only concern in your case is thr fact that yours seems to be afraid and stressed of the new environment and people . I don't know if holding her would cause her more stress but since my girl is a bit older and familiar with me its easier to hold her down.

Just sharinh some experience

Also, if you drop it on her nose, make sure you so it slowly. Not just quickly put your hand there and drop it on her. Mine will run too if I move fast lol

 

[bowsertime]

Hey all.

So, she shed and seemed to have eaten it all. Got it off her toes, too. No problems... until tonight, when I checked on her again, and it looks like she's regurgitated it like last time. I'm not sure if she's regurgitated it or if she just didn't eat it and it somehow rolled up like this, but it was squishy and somewhat moist to the touch, with a bit of blackness inside. I've included some pictures, though they're not very good. The piece was all stuck together, but I tore it apart just to see what was inside.

I was happy that she finally got something in her stomach... I don't know why she keeps throwing it back up again. That one worm she ate a while back stayed down fine, but the skin keeps coming back up. If that's too big of a meal for her all at once, and this keeps happening bi-weekly, how will she ever get better? I can't imagine continually puking is good for her stress level.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Yep that def loks like regurge'd shed. I don't know what to tell you about why she keeps regurging her sheds. I am really thinking your leo needs a vet at this point to rule out certain developmental issues with her digestive tract and to test for parasites.

 

[bowsertime]

Gave the vet a call and we have an appointment for tonight. Will let you guys know how it goes. I'm wondering if maybe just putting that large of a meal (her shed) on a totally empty stomach was enough to trigger the regurgitation, and maybe there's no real intestinal issue... hopefully.

 

[Dog Shrink]

it is possible that is the case, but I think this regurging issue and the not eating issue has gone to the point where finding out if there is another bigger underlying issue is warranted.

 

[bowsertime]

So, Binti's vet visit went off rather well. She is one heck of a feisty girl. Clawed and bit the vet, nearly escaped... the vet said she was the fastest leo she'd ever examined. Gave her a belly examination and feel and said there was no sign of impaction and that everything felt and looked very normal.

I had the vet tube feed her some Carnivore Care just so she had something in her, and maybe also to produce something to get a fecal test done on. She is getting metronidazole now for the next four days, already received one dosage with the vet today. It's something she reeeeally didn't appreciate and did everything in her power to prevent, but to no avail - the vet won the day.

The vet also recommended UVB lights... aren't those kind of unnecessary/bad for geckos? I mentioned she had calcium w/ D3 supplement both in her enclosure and dusted on her food, but she still said the UVB lights might make her feel better if portioned off 12h on/12h off, like my daylight bulb is now.

 

[bowsertime]

Day three of metronidazole. No real change yet. One unhappy patient who tries to bite and claw me every time medicine time comes around. Still very feisty, very fast, and very strong... and at least I know how to get her to eat if she still refuses to eat her mealies.

 

[bowsertime]

Still dosing, still wondering if she'll get better... tail is getting a bit smaller, so I guess I'll need to syringe her some baby food or try to get a small mealie into her mouth some time soon.

 

[Dog Shrink]

have you tried the gecko slurry/soup that is listed as a sticky in the health section? I have heard people have used that with success just dabbing it on their leo's noses to be licked off. I'm thinking if your leo has a lot of fight and bite in her that the least stressful method would be best and force feeding is very stressful. Losing a little weight in the tail isn't major as long as she is active, moving around, pooing (hopefully on occasion), and getting her meds. The Dr. ruled out impaction so hopefully after the round of metro (which you should likely also use a couple doses of a probiotic to get her GI Flora restored as well) she'll pick up and start eating.

 

[bowsertime]

When I say syringe, I more meant like you said, dripping a bit on her nose to lick up. She's become quite fond of licking lately. She'll even lick the medicine right out of her syringe if I don't mind it taking longer. Doesn't mean she likes it, but she does lick it... along with my fingers. If I put some food for her in the syringe, I could get her to eat it that way.

When you say probiotics, what do you mean, where can I get them, and how do I use them? She's been so scarce lately, I'm not sure she's even drinking anymore. I have been getting her to lick some water up from the syringe for just this reason.

 

[Dog Shrink]

You really should ask your vet about where to get probiotics in your area as I am unfamilliar with where you live. If you call the office they should be able to direct you properly. Probiotics help to restore the guts natural flora which is usually recommended for many different animals after using a dewormer or antibiotic as those usually kill the good bacteria as well as the bad. Here's a good article on probiotics to give you a better idea of how they help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotic and some products http://dynamichealth.com/pa/aliz.asp
http://www.reptileuv.com/nutribac-df-probiotic-for-reptiles.php

 

[bowsertime]

I spoke to my vet about probiotics, but they don't sell them at the office and she recommended ordering online. She also mentioned that they probably won't help the situation any, but can't hurt either.

I've been trying to find someone who is affordable and can ship to Canada. In the mean time, I've been mixing Binti's calcium dust in some chicken/veg baby food to give to her with little dabs on the lips. She responds well to this, licking it off without much problem. I would try the slurry, but I really can't find a lot of the ingredients in it (the herbal/nutritional supplement stuff, mostly) and I don't have enough mealies to make it either. My beetles' eggs have just hatched though, so maybe it's just a matter of time. I'm hoping the Bints will shed again in a week or two, with me keeping her fed since she won't feed herself, and if she keeps it down, great. If not, at least I have something I can bring to the vet's office for analysis.

Just, out of curiosity... can all this be attributed to something I may have done? Or does it really just sound like it's something that happened a couple weeks into her living with me? I understand things can stress a gecko out quite easily, but this has gone beyond stress and into possible illness in my eyes.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I highly doubt it's anything you ahve done. Some babies are stronger and handle the sttress of moving well others don't. You don't know how it was treated before it came to you, it could have just finally caught up with her regardless of how well you took care of her. Don't beat yourself up... it's just a bump in the road. Hopefully all is better soon.