bdw531
New Member
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- upstate NY
My 9 year old son received a leopard gecko as an early Christmas gift from a relative in early December 2015. Her name is Georgia. Up until 3 weeks ago she appeared healthy and had a good appetite and energy level. I have included as many details as possible using the form below. In short, she has stopped eating and her front legs are disfigured, showing the signs of metabolic bone disease. I have been researching several sources and I'm addressing the major issues (temperature and supplementation), but I'm hoping for a step by step guide to help bring Georgia back to good health.
About your leo:
- Sex: Female
- Age & Weight: unknown
- How long have you owned your leo: 8 months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Received as a gift, she was purchased at a national chain pet store
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: 5-7 times per week, just about every night while we change her water and put food in her dish. Typically less than 10 minutes at a time
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: difficulty moving, lethargy, lack of appetite. Still has a fat tail, clear eyes, appears normal accept for front legs.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): last fecal sample looked the same, but she is no longer pooping because she is not eating
- When was the last time he/she went: 7 days ago
C) Problem
Stopped eating during a bad shed 3 weeks ago. Old skin stuck on legs, feet and head. After a soak in warm water and a couple drops of vegetable oil the old shed improved, but I noticed one front leg was bowed and spongy. A day later the other front leg appeared weaker too. After researching I identified these as symptoms of metabolic bone disease.
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size- 10 gallon
- Type (ex. glass tank)- glass tank
- Type of substrate - paper towels
- Hides, how many, what kind: 2. One is a wooden, 1/2 hallow log, the other looks like a fake monkey skull
B) Heating
- Heating is the first thing I began researching once I identified MBD causes. When we received Georgia as a gift we went out and purchased a Zoo Med ReptiHabita Leopard Gecko Kit and a couple hides and assumed we were good to go.
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side). Just purchased a temp gun and measured at 84 and 80 degrees, respectively. I am going to get a UTH tomorrow to address this immediately and bring the hot side up to 90-95 degrees.
- Do you have any lights (describe): The Day/Night Reptile Heat Bulbs (60 w) that came with the ZooMed kit
C) Cage mates
- none
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): 4 Timberline brand large mealworms daily
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): left in dish
- She ate this diet regularly for 6+ months and grew and appeared healthy. Now she refuses to eat although we're still offering food and fresh water daily
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)-none
- What are you gut loading food with-none
- I just purchased calcium (no D3), I also have a calcium with D3 that came with the ZooMed kit. I have placed a small dish with the non D3 calcium in her tank
I know the temperature thing needs to be addressed immediately and it will be tomorrow. Will that bring her appetite back? If not, how do I provide her with nutrition so she can get better? Is there anything else I can be doing?
Thanks so much.
About your leo:
- Sex: Female
- Age & Weight: unknown
- How long have you owned your leo: 8 months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Received as a gift, she was purchased at a national chain pet store
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: 5-7 times per week, just about every night while we change her water and put food in her dish. Typically less than 10 minutes at a time
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now.: difficulty moving, lethargy, lack of appetite. Still has a fat tail, clear eyes, appears normal accept for front legs.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): last fecal sample looked the same, but she is no longer pooping because she is not eating
- When was the last time he/she went: 7 days ago
C) Problem
Stopped eating during a bad shed 3 weeks ago. Old skin stuck on legs, feet and head. After a soak in warm water and a couple drops of vegetable oil the old shed improved, but I noticed one front leg was bowed and spongy. A day later the other front leg appeared weaker too. After researching I identified these as symptoms of metabolic bone disease.
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size- 10 gallon
- Type (ex. glass tank)- glass tank
- Type of substrate - paper towels
- Hides, how many, what kind: 2. One is a wooden, 1/2 hallow log, the other looks like a fake monkey skull
B) Heating
- Heating is the first thing I began researching once I identified MBD causes. When we received Georgia as a gift we went out and purchased a Zoo Med ReptiHabita Leopard Gecko Kit and a couple hides and assumed we were good to go.
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side). Just purchased a temp gun and measured at 84 and 80 degrees, respectively. I am going to get a UTH tomorrow to address this immediately and bring the hot side up to 90-95 degrees.
- Do you have any lights (describe): The Day/Night Reptile Heat Bulbs (60 w) that came with the ZooMed kit
C) Cage mates
- none
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): 4 Timberline brand large mealworms daily
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): left in dish
- She ate this diet regularly for 6+ months and grew and appeared healthy. Now she refuses to eat although we're still offering food and fresh water daily
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands)-none
- What are you gut loading food with-none
- I just purchased calcium (no D3), I also have a calcium with D3 that came with the ZooMed kit. I have placed a small dish with the non D3 calcium in her tank
I know the temperature thing needs to be addressed immediately and it will be tomorrow. Will that bring her appetite back? If not, how do I provide her with nutrition so she can get better? Is there anything else I can be doing?
Thanks so much.
