Leo Sick!! Please Help!!!

[darkangel212]

My youngest female, Isabelle, has lost a lot of weight and her tail has become pencil thin within a 3 week period. She is about 3yrs old now and is housed with my 11yr old adult female, Pepper. Isabelle's eating habits dont seem to have changed, she eats fine and I have even been hand feeding her occasionaly for the past 2 or so weeks to be sure shes eating. I feed them superworms and wax worms which I dust with calcium powder. I cant give them crickets because Pepper doesnt want them so she just sits there and they wind up biting her.

Also about 3wks ago I found what looked like a poop but it was also like a clump of like 5 or 6 whole wax worms. It like she ate them but didnt digest them properly. Ive never had this problem with leo's. I have had leo's not eat for different reasons that were all resolved but I have never had a leo poop out a clump of undigested worms.

Here is a pic of her so you can see what I mean about her tail. The other picture is of my older female, Pepper. Normally I would think Pepper wasnt letting Belle eat but they share the dish when there is food in it and both get an equal amount of food.
This is Isabelle.

This is Pepper.


Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is there a simple solution I could try that would be cheaper then going to the vet? If I have to I will take her to the vet but I need to try cheaper options first.

Please help! Thanks.

 

[geckogirl3]

my gecko did that once because i got her from a pet smart and she ate about 30 crickets
maybe she ate to much

 

[DierdreDreamwalker626]

I have never had that happen to any of mine, but if she continues to do this, I would probably take her to the vet. I hope she gets better!!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

First off, separate the geckos, so you can more closely observe the sick one and all her habits. Second, please fill out this questionnaire so we can better see what's going on http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70912

 

[darkangel212]

I got her from a breeder and have had her for a year. I cant seperate them because I have no other heat lamps.

 

[sunshinegeckos]

If you have heat lamps it could be that she is not digesting correctly. Leo's need belly heat to digest correctly. If you dont seperate them if isabella has a parasite or something else she could pass it on to Pepper and you will then have 2 sick geckos. I would take her to a vet since it has been going on so long. I hope she feel better soon!

 

[sausage]

agreed iv had it happen once then realised my UTH had stoped working :S. UTH are cheap. iv also got one under an ld fish tank i use when i need to watch one more carefully. The lamps thing is most probably the problem, even though you have had it for some time the seem to do okay with lights for a period of time then suddenly change really quickly.
put a UTH on one side asap and watch to see if any thing changes. should happen pretty fast .
if not its a trip to the vets as already stated could be somthing that could be passed on to both
good luck

 

[darkangel212]

Ive had my adult for 12yrs with a heat lamp and she has never had any health problems. I really dont have any money and my mom wont buy a UTH =(. I do have her somewhat seperated. I have her in her plastic carrier inside the regular tank which is all I can do for the moment unfortunatly. I will try rounding up money for an UTH but what do I do if that doesnt work?

 

[sausage]

why wont she let you have a ~UHT they are so much cheaper to run than lights???
if it dosnt make any diffrence then a vet trip is in order as your geckos life is in danger if you dont

 

[LZRDGRL]

Heat lamps work just as well as UTH's. It's just a personal choice. UTH's are destined for GLASS tanks (it also says so in the instruction manual), and red light/nite light heat lamps are recommended for wooden tanks or plastic tanks. They heat up the substrate (if it is the right one, like tiles or hydroton) just as well as a UTH heats paper towel over glass. Many breeders use heat lamps.

You don't need to take your GECKO to the vet. Get a fresh poop sample (you can use the ball of half-digested mealworms if that's all she gives you!), and if possible from BOTH geckos, and take this to the vet and ask for a fecal stain. That costs under 20 dollars. If you take your gecko in right away, the exam (seeing it) costs between 75-125 bucks. But from the fecal stain under the microscope, the vet can tell whether your gecko has parasites, such as pin worms, hook worms, or protozoe (trichomonas, etc.). For crypto, other exams would be needed, but let's hope she doesn't have that.

If your gecko has pinworms, the vet will give you Panacur which you give orally with a tiny syringe in two dosages on one day in two consecutive weeks. The dosage is measured by the weight of your gecko, so you need to weigh it and tell the vet! Do it for both, because if your geckos are together, they'll both have it, even if one is just a carrier and the other one shows the symptoms!! Panacur costs about 16 bucks per treatment, and you can give it to the gecko through its mouth yourself. The first time, I let the vet show me how to. If your gecko has protozoae, you'll get Flagyl which you can also administer yourself. You just need the vet for the diagnosis (IF and what kind of parasite), the instructions (HOW to administer what medicine), and a fecal test follow up to assure your geckos are cleared.

Since your gecko is eating, that MIGHT be a sign he's taking the nourishment in, but parasites are eating it in his stead. So the cheapest way would be a fecal stain first, and go from there! If no parasites are involved, you have other issues (like heat, bullying, stress, or whatever). That would be harder to find out...

Good luck! I had a gecko with pinworms, and it was healed after the 2-week treatment.

Chrissy

 

[sausage]

most vets still wont give you the treatment with out first seeing the animal first regardless of wether they have a sample or not.

 

[ace bomer]

take it to a vet!!!!!