HayleysComet
New Member
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- Indianapolis, IN
Hello all!
I have a leo named Echo and I think she may have dislocated both of her front "wrists". I bought her at a basic pet store in September of 2015, she seemed to be in pretty good condition because she had a thick tail. When I first got her she seemed to be a little bigger than the other juveniles, so I am unaware of her exact age. I had her in a ten gallon tank with repti-carpet, a heat pad that covered a half of the tank for her warm side, and two hides (warm and cool). And yes, I am aware that there also needs to be a moist hide on the warm side of her tank to help in the shedding process. I fed her between 4-7 crickets every other day, at the time unaware of gut loading and dusting, as well as a superworm every couple of days. She loves hunting down her meals and enjoys being handled!
When I got her, I was starting out my freshman year at college. I had a roommate that also had a gecko. The first semester we were pretty close then second semester we had a huge fight and weren't the same. Echo was growing faster than her gecko and I was very happy with that. I posted a picture on social media of Echo saying something like "She has gotten so big! " Anyway, I think my roommate saw that post and got mad at me. Next thing I know, I go to handle Echo and she is army-crawling on her wrists. I try to think of how something like this could happen in such a short amount of time and so I begin to do my research. The first thing I see is of course MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). I realize that calcium powder hasn't been a part of her diet so I rush and get powder with Vitamin D3. I gutload and dust her crickets and hand feed them to her and leave a small dish of calcium in her tank. Over the course of a month, I see no progress. Maybe she fell, but she only has her hides that she could crawl on, and I don't think they're tall enough to do that kind of damage.
Freshman year is over and I am now home for the summer. I begin wondering what really happened to her. Then I begin to think that my roommate did something to her because she was upset about my gecko growing so fast. I don't confront her about it or bring it up to her, because she would automatically get mad saying I was "accusing" her when all I wanted was to ask if she saw Echo fall off her hide or when she noticed her army-crawl. I don't have any proof or evidence that she did anything, but I don't know how something like this could come upon Echo so quickly like that.
I have another theory too. When I help her with her shedding, which is almost always, she needs help with her toes. I put her in a shallow container filled with warm water and let her feet soak, making the skin easier to come off. I use tweezers to gently pull off the skin and she doesn't like that very well and she would often yank her arm back closer to her body. I wonder if her doing that repeatedly as I'm trying to help her with her shedding caused her "hands" to get popped out of place.
Anyway, whatever's done is done. Now, it's the point of getting her back to her playful, curious self. I would really like to know other people's thoughts on what they think of the situation and ways to fix this. I don't have a lot of money right now, but I really want to take her to a vet to see if they really are dislocated. Does anybody know the cost of an X-ray on a leo and what could possibly be done to help her?
I will be adding before and after pictures of what she looked like when I got her, right before I noticed her wrists when she was what looked to be perfect condition, and what I see now. The pictures I just took tonight are the ones that her colors look a little dull in (since she is about to shed). Notice how in the better pictures she can grip with her "hands" quite well and now how she can't hardly grip anything at all. There will also be a picture of her tank setup I took about a month ago. The heat lamp was used in my dorm, because my roommate always liked it at 65 degrees. I changed the water bowl to a milk jug cap so it was easier for her to access, and during the time of the picture, the calcium dish was not present. Before this all happened she was a very happy, healthy leo and all I want is for her to stay that way! Your opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!
I have a leo named Echo and I think she may have dislocated both of her front "wrists". I bought her at a basic pet store in September of 2015, she seemed to be in pretty good condition because she had a thick tail. When I first got her she seemed to be a little bigger than the other juveniles, so I am unaware of her exact age. I had her in a ten gallon tank with repti-carpet, a heat pad that covered a half of the tank for her warm side, and two hides (warm and cool). And yes, I am aware that there also needs to be a moist hide on the warm side of her tank to help in the shedding process. I fed her between 4-7 crickets every other day, at the time unaware of gut loading and dusting, as well as a superworm every couple of days. She loves hunting down her meals and enjoys being handled!
When I got her, I was starting out my freshman year at college. I had a roommate that also had a gecko. The first semester we were pretty close then second semester we had a huge fight and weren't the same. Echo was growing faster than her gecko and I was very happy with that. I posted a picture on social media of Echo saying something like "She has gotten so big! " Anyway, I think my roommate saw that post and got mad at me. Next thing I know, I go to handle Echo and she is army-crawling on her wrists. I try to think of how something like this could happen in such a short amount of time and so I begin to do my research. The first thing I see is of course MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). I realize that calcium powder hasn't been a part of her diet so I rush and get powder with Vitamin D3. I gutload and dust her crickets and hand feed them to her and leave a small dish of calcium in her tank. Over the course of a month, I see no progress. Maybe she fell, but she only has her hides that she could crawl on, and I don't think they're tall enough to do that kind of damage.
Freshman year is over and I am now home for the summer. I begin wondering what really happened to her. Then I begin to think that my roommate did something to her because she was upset about my gecko growing so fast. I don't confront her about it or bring it up to her, because she would automatically get mad saying I was "accusing" her when all I wanted was to ask if she saw Echo fall off her hide or when she noticed her army-crawl. I don't have any proof or evidence that she did anything, but I don't know how something like this could come upon Echo so quickly like that.
I have another theory too. When I help her with her shedding, which is almost always, she needs help with her toes. I put her in a shallow container filled with warm water and let her feet soak, making the skin easier to come off. I use tweezers to gently pull off the skin and she doesn't like that very well and she would often yank her arm back closer to her body. I wonder if her doing that repeatedly as I'm trying to help her with her shedding caused her "hands" to get popped out of place.
Anyway, whatever's done is done. Now, it's the point of getting her back to her playful, curious self. I would really like to know other people's thoughts on what they think of the situation and ways to fix this. I don't have a lot of money right now, but I really want to take her to a vet to see if they really are dislocated. Does anybody know the cost of an X-ray on a leo and what could possibly be done to help her?
I will be adding before and after pictures of what she looked like when I got her, right before I noticed her wrists when she was what looked to be perfect condition, and what I see now. The pictures I just took tonight are the ones that her colors look a little dull in (since she is about to shed). Notice how in the better pictures she can grip with her "hands" quite well and now how she can't hardly grip anything at all. There will also be a picture of her tank setup I took about a month ago. The heat lamp was used in my dorm, because my roommate always liked it at 65 degrees. I changed the water bowl to a milk jug cap so it was easier for her to access, and during the time of the picture, the calcium dish was not present. Before this all happened she was a very happy, healthy leo and all I want is for her to stay that way! Your opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!