SparkRaptor
New Member
- Messages
- 13
- Location
- Utah
About your leo:
- Sex: Female
- Age & Weight: 7 years old, 2 ounces
- How long have you owned your leo: 7 years
- Where was he/she obtained: breeder
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: At the moment, everyday because I have to force feed her
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now: She stopped eating on her own more than a month ago, and is pretty lethargic
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe: She was born with metallic bone disease. She also had a Vitamin A deficiency/keratin issue with her eye which she developed and recovered from a year ago.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): runny stool
- When was the last time he/she went: yesterday night
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 50 gallons
- Type: glass tank
- Type of substrate: ceramic tiles
- Hides, how many, what kind: one moist hide, made of wet paper towels
B) Heating
- Heat source: heat pad underneath the tank
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): hot side is 85-90 and the cool side is around 70 (Fahrenheit)
- Method of regulating heat source: thermometer connected to the heat pad regulates it
- What are you using to measure your temps: temperature gun
- Do you have any lights (describe): no
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): One female
- Describe health, or previous problems: The cage mate has never had any health problems
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet: mealworms
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): 20 mealworms every other day, or 10 every day
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): left in dish
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): dusting mealworms with Repashy Superfood's Calcium Plus - vitamin and calcium supplement
- What are you gut loading food with: oatmeal
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on:
About 5 to 6 weeks ago I noticed my leopard gecko, Lunar, had developed this small lump on the right side of her belly that was poking out. I took her to a vet who took a look at her and concluded that she was gravid. The vet gave me some liquid calcium to give her everyday. (I ended up only giving Lunar the liquid calcium every 3-4 days because she hated it so much) However, a month passed and she still hadn't laid any eggs, and the lump/ presumed egg had become a lot bigger. I would also see her lifting her rear as if she was trying to push but with no results. So, I went to see a different vet who took x-rays. We found out that she was not gravid at all, and the "egg" I was feeling was actually a mass in her stomach. On top of that, she had big pockets of trapped gas near her rear. The vet said he could open her up to try to get rid of the mass, but said he didn't think Lunar would make it through the operation. He recommended helping get rid of the trapped gas by dissolving an altoid in half a cup of water and giving Lunar the peppermint water twice a day.
As of now, I've been giving Lunar this caloric supplement (because she won't eat on her own) along with the peppermint water, every morning and every night. Sometimes I'll give her cut up wax worms instead of the caloric supplement because that's the only other thing she won't spit out. I've stopped giving her the liquid calcium because she's not gravid like the first vet told me and I don't think it would help with her condition. I'm also soaking her with warm water more often and plan on buying pedialyte to mix in with the water. However, ever since I started giving her the peppermint water, she's gotten a lot worse and has started to have difficulty breathing. She always keeps her head up and at times will open her mouth to take a deep breath. It's probably a coincidence but I just want to be sure. Her tail is skinny but I've managed to keep it from getting any skinner by force feeding her.
I'm not expecting her to live through this if the mass in her stomach is in fact cancer. I'm not quite sure what else it could be. The vet said it could be trapped food/waste because of the gas, but its not likely. I've looked literally everywhere online and cannot find anyone with a similar problem. So what I'm really looking for is any similar experiences others have had or any advice about what I could do to help Lunar, or what to give her for food and anything about the peppermint water. Thank you!
- Lunar's x-ray picture
- Sex: Female
- Age & Weight: 7 years old, 2 ounces
- How long have you owned your leo: 7 years
- Where was he/she obtained: breeder
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: At the moment, everyday because I have to force feed her
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now: She stopped eating on her own more than a month ago, and is pretty lethargic
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe: She was born with metallic bone disease. She also had a Vitamin A deficiency/keratin issue with her eye which she developed and recovered from a year ago.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): runny stool
- When was the last time he/she went: yesterday night
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 50 gallons
- Type: glass tank
- Type of substrate: ceramic tiles
- Hides, how many, what kind: one moist hide, made of wet paper towels
B) Heating
- Heat source: heat pad underneath the tank
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): hot side is 85-90 and the cool side is around 70 (Fahrenheit)
- Method of regulating heat source: thermometer connected to the heat pad regulates it
- What are you using to measure your temps: temperature gun
- Do you have any lights (describe): no
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): One female
- Describe health, or previous problems: The cage mate has never had any health problems
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet: mealworms
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): 20 mealworms every other day, or 10 every day
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): left in dish
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): dusting mealworms with Repashy Superfood's Calcium Plus - vitamin and calcium supplement
- What are you gut loading food with: oatmeal
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on:
About 5 to 6 weeks ago I noticed my leopard gecko, Lunar, had developed this small lump on the right side of her belly that was poking out. I took her to a vet who took a look at her and concluded that she was gravid. The vet gave me some liquid calcium to give her everyday. (I ended up only giving Lunar the liquid calcium every 3-4 days because she hated it so much) However, a month passed and she still hadn't laid any eggs, and the lump/ presumed egg had become a lot bigger. I would also see her lifting her rear as if she was trying to push but with no results. So, I went to see a different vet who took x-rays. We found out that she was not gravid at all, and the "egg" I was feeling was actually a mass in her stomach. On top of that, she had big pockets of trapped gas near her rear. The vet said he could open her up to try to get rid of the mass, but said he didn't think Lunar would make it through the operation. He recommended helping get rid of the trapped gas by dissolving an altoid in half a cup of water and giving Lunar the peppermint water twice a day.
As of now, I've been giving Lunar this caloric supplement (because she won't eat on her own) along with the peppermint water, every morning and every night. Sometimes I'll give her cut up wax worms instead of the caloric supplement because that's the only other thing she won't spit out. I've stopped giving her the liquid calcium because she's not gravid like the first vet told me and I don't think it would help with her condition. I'm also soaking her with warm water more often and plan on buying pedialyte to mix in with the water. However, ever since I started giving her the peppermint water, she's gotten a lot worse and has started to have difficulty breathing. She always keeps her head up and at times will open her mouth to take a deep breath. It's probably a coincidence but I just want to be sure. Her tail is skinny but I've managed to keep it from getting any skinner by force feeding her.
I'm not expecting her to live through this if the mass in her stomach is in fact cancer. I'm not quite sure what else it could be. The vet said it could be trapped food/waste because of the gas, but its not likely. I've looked literally everywhere online and cannot find anyone with a similar problem. So what I'm really looking for is any similar experiences others have had or any advice about what I could do to help Lunar, or what to give her for food and anything about the peppermint water. Thank you!
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