Leopard gecko threw up (?) giant mass of cricket skeletons

[ness1446]

About your leo:
- Sex-female
- Age & Weight-1 year, fat
- How long have you owned your leo-5 months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)-pet store

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo-once a week
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.-she seemed hungrier than usual, otherwise alert and happy
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)-normal, maybe a little small
- When was the last time he/she went-2 days ago
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on-I cleaned her cage today and found a huge mass of cricket skeletons that clearly came out of her. She must have thrown it up because its way too big for her to pass otherwise. It also doesn’t seem as well digested as usual poop. She hasn’t been eating big crickets so I don’t know what could cause this. Is it possible I feed her too many at once? I usually do around 10-12 twice a week. I’m also not sure she’s been getting enough water because we just moved and she’s been scared to come out.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size-20 gal long
- Type (ex. glass tank)-glass aquarium
- Type of substrate-repticarpet
- Hides, how many, what kind-4, 3 dry 1 damp
B) Heating
- Heat source-CHE, UTH, red light if it gets too cold
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side)-between 85 and 95 hot side, not 100% about cold
- Method of regulating heat source-me
- What are you using to measure your temps-thermometer on wall of tank

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much)-10-12 crickets every 3 days, usually medium crickets but really small ones this week
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect)-stun in freezer than fed with pliers
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)-zoomed repticalcium in dish, zoo med reptivite dusting
- What are you gut loading food with-flukers high calcium food and calcium fortified flukers cricket water

So I'm attaching a picture of this thing, is it anything to worry about or is it just a thing that happens sometimes like an owl or cat? She doesn't seem to be acting weird or to be unhealthy, she ate about 12 small crickets just before i found this creepy thing. Are there any red flags I should look for to see if shes sick, or any way I should change my feeding habits to make sure she doesn't get backed up again? She may have just eaten too fast so maybe if I feed her more often she'll be less enthusiastic

 

[acpart]

If it happens once, it may be due to overeating. If it keeps happening, she needs a vet visit. It's hard to tell from the picture if she threw it up, or if she pooped out crickets that are less digested than usual. The important thing is to watch for the next few days and see what happens.

Aliza

 

[indyana]

Also bears mentioning that those little thermometers on the side of the tank aren't really accurate, so the actual temperature where the gecko is laying could be a lot different. A digital thermometer with a probe placed on the floor is more accurate, and a temp gun is the most accurate way to measure floor temperature. Sometimes, they can have trouble digesting food if the floor surface temperature isn't right (ideal 88 - 92 F).

 

[ness1446]

She hasn't thrown up what i fed her yesterday so i'll keep watching. I moved the thermometer to the floor but it seems to be reading the same. I'll look into getting her a better one-can you suggest a brand? Do heat guns read all the time or do you have to check periodically because I would prefer one that take temps constantly. The pellet wasn't where she usually goes to the bathroom either, so I'm pretty sure she regurgitated it. The weird thing was it seemed to be just cricket skeletons and no guts or anything, like she ate okay but couldn't get rid of the chitin. We'll keep checking back.

 

[indyana]

Temp guns you have to check manually, but they are very accurate. I usually have both around, using the temp gun to double-check the digital thermometer.

One brand isn't really any better than the other, so whatever you can find is probably fine. I swear, half of them are made by the same company and just marketed under different brands...