Laying in water bowl

[frost1375]

My gecko is probably about a year old. (Gobi) His growth was stunted from not having a UV light and he is a lot smaller than he should be. He was seen at a vet and I was told this is okay. I had him living with another young gecko since August. I believe they are both males. They seemed to be fine together. They even seemed to cuddle. Then I started seeing this blackish green stuff on top of Gobi's head. I thought it could either be a fungus or possibly scabs. I showed the vet and he said it might just be from old shed. Then I found the gecko biting Gobi and holding onto his head, where the blackish stuff is. So I figured they were getting to the age where they will start fighting. So I separated them this past Sunday. They have been acting strange ever since I separated them. Gobi was kind of just chillin near his water bowl and stuff. Then I just got home from work and found him laying inside of the water bowl. I thought he was dead at first, but he seems fine other than being strange. His body was really cold despite having a heat lamp right over him. Why would he have started laying in his water bowl? This scares me and I was wondering if something is wrong with him or if he's just depressed. Any help would be great. I love my animals and I would do anything to help them. Thank you!

 

[ReptileMan27]

Leos are nocturnal and dont require UV, so not having it isnt going to hurt or slow down the leos growth. Belly heat is best for heating leos, go with under tank heaters if you dont already have them.

As far as the laying in the water dish, sounds like he may be about to shed soon, does he look a white color?, if so he is going to shed. The only time leos need the humidity is during a shed, do you have a humid hide?. If not defently add one.

 

[Val]

Glad to hear you seperated them. As Jason already stated, leos don't need UV and I would guess the stunted growth was due to bullying which didn't allow him to eat as much.

Laying in the water dish can be a sign of parasites, so collect a fecal sample from him and take it to the vet to be tested.

 

[Brian O]

It could also be too hot in the tank. What are your temps?

 

[ReptileMan27]

Glad to hear you seperated them. As Jason already stated, leos don't need UV and I would guess the stunted growth was due to bullying which didn't allow him to eat as much.

Laying in the water dish can be a sign of parasites, so collect a fecal sample from him and take it to the vet to be tested.

good point:main_thumbsup:,didnt even think of that..

 

[frost1375]

I can recheck the temps. They should be fine. I do have undertank heaters. And for everyone who says they do not need a UV light, that is not true. Even though they are noctornal, they do need UV light. I've been to two separate vets that specialize in reptiles and they say it is a must. I also spoke with a leopard gecko breeder and he agrees that they do need UV light. Every living thing needs sunlight. I was even told to bring them outside in the summer so they can get some natural sunlight. These animals are fairly new to be kept as pets so people don't really know much about them. Calcium sand was thought to be great for them, but come to find out it causes impaction. I lost a gecko over the summer due to lack of UV light and the nutrients that come from it. Gobi, the gecko I had posted about, was never able to shed on his own and he seemed somewhat retarded to me. But once I put the UV light in there, he seemed to be doing great. He sheds a lot better on his own and he grew a little bit. I honestly recommend the UV light to anyone who doesn't believe in it. If not, that's fine with whatever you're doing. But it is necessary. As for parasites, could the weird black stuff on his head be proof of that? But why would he all of a sudden be laying in his water bowl? I guess I'll have to get that checked out. Thank you.

 

[Val]

As long as you are providing your gecko with proper supplements (calcium, calcium w/ d3 and a multivitamin) no UV is necessary. There are many people here who have kept leopard geckos for 10+ years and haven't had any problems without the use of UV light.

Every gecko carries a small amount of parasites, it's when something triggers an outbreak is when you start to have problems. Stress can be that trigger, and living with another animal who is beating on it could be the cause.

 

[frost1375]

Can parasites be treated without seeing a vet? Is there any other way I can tell he has parasites before I bring him into the vet. I don't want to be too paranoid. Could his behavior just be because it's somewhat a new environment without his brother? His brother seems to be trying to get to him through the divider in their cage. Gobi's belly seems to feel a little harder than usual. I honesly might just be paranoid but I don't know. What could some reasons for a hard stomach be? And is it possible that he is a female? I couldn't tell if he/she had eggs inside the stomach.

 

[Val]

Parasites can't be treated without a vet. They will give you medication that you can administer to him to clear them and the eggs up over a few weeks. The longer you wait, the worse they get.

Males will not get along and they don't have feelings like humans, so they don't miss each other. I would guess that your male is climbing at the divider to take another shot of attacking the other.

You will have to check their underside to see if they are males or females. You can find pictures here http://www.thegeckospot.com/leobreeding.html
I would suggest completely seperate tanks for the two because your male is not going to stop climbing at the divider until he can no longer sense the other one is there.

Again, your gecko really needs to see a qualified herp vet.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

If they can still see eachother that could also be causing a problem. If it is just a see-thru divider, you might want to change that.

 

[ReptileMan27]

I can recheck the temps. They should be fine. I do have undertank heaters. And for everyone who says they do not need a UV light, that is not true. Even though they are noctornal, they do need UV light. I've been to two separate vets that specialize in reptiles and they say it is a must. I also spoke with a leopard gecko breeder and he agrees that they do need UV light. Every living thing needs sunlight. I was even told to bring them outside in the summer so they can get some natural sunlight. These animals are fairly new to be kept as pets so people don't really know much about them. Calcium sand was thought to be great for them, but come to find out it causes impaction. I lost a gecko over the summer due to lack of UV light and the nutrients that come from it. Gobi, the gecko I had posted about, was never able to shed on his own and he seemed somewhat retarded to me. But once I put the UV light in there, he seemed to be doing great. He sheds a lot better on his own and he grew a little bit. I honestly recommend the UV light to anyone who doesn't believe in it. If not, that's fine with whatever you're doing. But it is necessary. As for parasites, could the weird black stuff on his head be proof of that? But why would he all of a sudden be laying in his water bowl? I guess I'll have to get that checked out. Thank you.

Sorry, dont mean to sound rude but your the one asking questions from experience keepers and now your telling us were wrong:main_thumbsdown:. Back 5 or so years ago, I remember most consider that leos needer UVB but thats not the case:main_thumbsup:. Like Val said,if your providing your leo with proper supplements, UV is not needed:main_thumbsup:

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I agree about the UV light. And yes, vets know more than a far majority of people, but keep in mind that many of them get their info from the same books that give us wrong info, and many times they have no actual keeping experience. I told my vet about 3 things he had no idea about, and that was only after 2 weeks on this forum. It scared me that he thought calci-sand was ok, but he is the only herp vet anywhere near me. Luckily he sees to know what he is doing when it comes to fecals and all that. Just keep in mind, although there are people like me on this forum that only have 1 or a few leos, some are VERY reputable breeders with 10+ years of experience. Like Jason said, I am not trying to be rude and I am very sorry if this is coming off as rude. It would be different if there was no explanation for your leo;s death other than lack of UV. But that just means it was a lack of vitamins and supplements. Again, please don't take this as a knock on you, just my thoughts. Cya around.

 

[boutiquegecko]

Just thought I'd say that in the health forum there is prob lots of info on lighting, heating, supplements etc from all the exp breeders/keepers here that may help you out with some things. And like Scott said, not all vets are on par with what's going on.

 

[frost1375]

ReptileMan-

I am NOT telling you all that you are wrong. I am telling you what I believe and what I've heard. Things are constantly changing and new things are being found out. Even when it comes to humans. I understand there have been many people who have raised geckos without UV light and they are fine. And I wasn't asking a question about the UV light... I was just providing some background so we could figure out what could be wrong with my gecko. Now I'M not trying to sound rude, but I was just giving my opinion to you people in case you want to do some more research on it. I know most of you are more experienced than me when it comes to geckos, but I was just givng an opinion and trying to help out. Like I said, opinions, theories, and answers are always changing when it comes to anything. So keep an open mind. Obviously I did not mean to offend anyone and frankly, I don't see how I could have. From now on, just keep more of an open mind and don't jump all over people when they give an opinion. Because that's all I was doing.

 

[frost1375]

ReptileMan-

Great job. My gecko just started to shed today. He has never just laying in the water bowl before, that's why I got nervous. But, I guess he just decided to start a new habit. And I've never had any luck with him and the shed box. He refuses to go in it. So he just sheds on his own and I have to help with with his toes. Thanks!

 

[ReptileMan27]

Glad to hear all is okay