Leo dying

[Claire]

One of my leos is beyond medical help.... i was just wondering how long can they live without food? So far its been a month and a half and she is still around. She is bone thin and just looking at her makes me feel horrible. I refuse to put her in the fridge to euthanize her... I cant do it.

 

[Keith N]

Have you taken it to a vet?

 

[Tony C]

If it is beyond medical help (I assume this means you took her to a vet), then euthanasia is the best choice. If you don't want to do it your vet can, but letting her sit there and slowly starve is cruel.

 

[MrLeoGecko]

Take her to the vet then one of mine went 3 months without food but she only lost 2 grams if she's lost alot of weight then something is underlying and needs sorting out by a vet

 

[roger]

One of my leos is beyond medical help.... i was just wondering how long can they live without food? So far its been a month and a half and she is still around. She is bone thin and just looking at her makes me feel horrible. I refuse to put her in the fridge to euthanize her... I cant do it.

how do u know the leos is beyond medical help? Have u seen a vet?

 

[BrilliantEraser]

I don't care how badly *you* feel. The gecko is the one without food, medical help, or even some form of mercy. Have a vet take a look. If you can't afford to cure them, then euthanize. And then don't buy another animal.

 

[Claire]

I have taken it to the vet.... i know im a horrible person thank you all for pointing that out! Anyway, I even gave her some appetite stimulants for 2 weeks but she was still losing weight. Ive been to the vet two times and she said to just keep up with the medicine.

 

[Claire]

Also to point out, I have 7 other wonderful and healthy leopard geckos who go to the vet once a year! Im just having a little trouble with this one.

 

[roger]

I have taken it to the vet.... i know im a horrible person thank you all for pointing that out! Anyway, I even gave her some appetite stimulants for 2 weeks but she was still losing weight. Ive been to the vet two times and she said to just keep up with the medicine.

I didnt call you a horrible person.What did he diagnose? What meds are u giving it?

 

[Claire]

The vet thought she might have picked up a parasite from the food or something and she gave her some antibiotics. She gave me something called Metronidazole to give her once a day.

 

[T-ReXx]

I have taken it to the vet.... i know im a horrible person thank you all for pointing that out! Anyway, I even gave her some appetite stimulants for 2 weeks but she was still losing weight. Ive been to the vet two times and she said to just keep up with the medicine.

I don't think anyone here is accusing you of being a horrible person, but when you say you have a gecko that is dying of starvation and don't mention anything about a vet visit or what underlying problem is going on, reptile lovers do have a tendency to jump to the defense of the animal...

So, if the gecko has been to the vet, what exactly was the diagnosis? Leopard gecko's don't just decide they don't want to eat for months without something behind it. I'd be curious to know what exactly the animal has and what medications were dispensed to treat it. I also would be curious as to your setup, temperatures, supplementation, and feeding choices/routine as well. Information is what is going to help us help you. We're all reptile lovers here, but in order to give you the best help we can all the information is needed.

 

[T-ReXx]

The vet thought she might have picked up a parasite from the food or something and she gave her some antibiotics. She gave me something called Metronidazole to give her once a day.

Metronidazole is commonly used to treat some internal parasites in reptiles. Did the vet to a fecal exam? Unless you know the exact parasite, you may be treating for the wrong species. Metronidazole(commonly called Flagyl) does treat some parasites, but not all of them.

 

[Claire]

Sorry but never gave me an exact diagnosis. I think Im going to take her in for a fecal exam...maybe that will help. As for my set up... the temp is about 90 degrees, she has a hide on the warm side, no moist hide though ill put one in..... i usually have a little dish of calcium powder brand is Rep-Cal, she used to eat mealworms and waxworms occasionally about every 1-2 days. She has water too.... lets not leave that out

 

[T-ReXx]

What's your substrate? And definately add a moist hide, dehydration could be part of her problem. Also, for one thing, you can't diagnose a gecko for internal parasites without a fecal exam, so in that case if one wasn't done your vet is treating her blind, which may cause more problems than help. Take a fecal sample in, it should be at the most 24 hours old, store it in the fridge and then take it in. Personally, unless the animal was diagnosed with parasites(vet's shouldn't be guessing, that's not good practice) I'd stop treating for parasites that may not even be there and perhaps look for a better vet with more reptile experience.

 

[Claire]

Ok ill take her in again. thanks for replying.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

What's your substrate? And definately add a moist hide, dehydration could be part of her problem. Also, for one thing, you can't diagnose a gecko for internal parasites without a fecal exam, so in that case if one wasn't done your vet is treating her blind, which may cause more problems than help. Take a fecal sample in, it should be at the most 24 hours old, store it in the fridge and then take it in. Personally, unless the animal was diagnosed with parasites(vet's shouldn't be guessing, that's not good practice) I'd stop treating for parasites that may not even be there and perhaps look for a better vet with more reptile experience.

That is good advice Claire. I'm not saying anything about your vet but there's a lot out there that will see a reptile but not be qualified to diagnose and treat. Nothing against them, they have a great practice dealing with dogs and cats, and maybe some exotics, but not up to par on treating herps. If this is the case then you need a different vet.

If your animal is not eating it's not likely pooping either. In order to get a good test with a fresh sample I would suggest making a batch of the gecko soup found on a sticky at the top of this forum section. Your vet should be happy to sell you the Hill's A/D pet food since its been in twice already.

 

[Claire]

Maybe your right. Ill search around for a diffrent vet.