My Baby Rescue Leo (DUW)

[kittygal]

Well, well, well. What a night! So the story behind this one is: I was at my local pet store (commercial chain) and I was getting dog food. As usual I made my way to the reptile section. I was stunned at what I saw. They had about 20 geckos of different sizes, sexes, and ON SAND! Some of them were only hatchlings! But they usually have them on sand so I was mildly passive until I noticed a group of exremely thin gex. I was astounded at their size. Appalled, I went to the manager and asked if I could adopt or rescue one. She proceded to tell me that, even though they are this size that they are well cared for and checked upon many times a day; no discount, no rescue. So I unwillingly payed for an albino (what morph I dont know) and brought he/she home. Its going to the vet tommorow and will get a thorough check out. It has been started on Marcia's slurry, and a pic of its temp enclosure are included. I am using an UTH at the moment, with temps at 90 on the hot side and 80 on the cool. Please critisize! So, heres the poor victim.

the dot on its nose is fro the slurry

 

[Baker14]

That is so sad.

It is great that you helped the poor little gecko. I really hope s/he makes it and lives a long happy life with you. Good luck and be sure to give us an update tomorrow.

 

[S-K]

Stupid chain stores...

...

*mumbles obscenities*...

...

 

[dprince]

Good luck with her, she's lucky to have you. :main_thumbsup:

 

[kittygal]

Thanks guys. Just got back from the vet. Shes all clear for parasites, but she is very weak and frail right now. I will have to keep feeding her the slurry until she can become strong enough to eat a mealie. Or Should i start her on waxies first, for the fat? And, also, how much, and how often should I feed her? I dont want to over load her guts. Thanks

kittygal

 

[Ccrashca069]

I would try some waxies. If you can find some phoenix worms even better. Start her off eating slow. After she eats the 1st one offer her a 2nd. 1 worm is better then just eating the slurry.

 

[kittygal]

Ok, I will use waxies first when shes ready. I know that we cant really tell right now, but is there any guess as to her morph? She has really pink eyes and a red pupil. I really hope she(or he) pulls through, it will look awesome as an adult.

 

[mmsi1002]

Definite cutie.

 

[Nigel4less]

That would be a cute little Tremper Albino!

 

[kittygal]

So if you cant tell, im a whole newbie to the "rescue" stuff. How long will it be before I can tell a difference in her body weight? She's kinda refusing the slurry now, so I tried mealies (mini & small) but she doesnt really even look at them. What should I do? I really want her to get better, but my vet isnt very specialized in herps, so he doesnt know what to do other than keep feeding her the slurry. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[SenileFelines]

you can try putting the slurry (or baby food) into a plastic tipped syringe (im pretty sure petco will have them, or maybe some other pet care stores)and see if s/he will lick it from the tip. if not then you need to force the tip into her mouth, i know it sounds pretty cruel but so is letting it starve itself Good luck!


edit: if you do forcefeed him/her dont fill the whole syringe, just about 1/4 of it and you could also mix some calcium in there with the food, why not..try to repeat this atleast 3 times a week but it seems more healthy if it will go for the food on its own so always try for that too.

 

[Pookachu]

If you do the force feed thing, from my understanding of it, when injecting the food/slurry into their mouths do it very slowly and let them lap it up inside their mouth as you're doing it.

From what I read, if you flood their mouths too fast with food you can run the risk of it going down the wrong hole since I think their are holes in inside their mouths for them to breathe or something like that.

 

[SenileFelines]

If you do the force feed thing, from my understanding of it, when injecting the food/slurry into their mouths do it very slowly and let them lap it up inside their mouth as you're doing it.

From what I read, if you flood their mouths too fast with food you can run the risk of it going down the wrong hole since I think their are holes in inside their mouths for them to breathe or something like that.

good advice:main_thumbsup:

 

[rubym]

It took about 4 weeks of slurries to get one of our rescues to the point of where she would eat on her own. She was a year old and 18 grams when we got her in October. She is finally up to 45 grams!!!! The herp vet that we went to said to make sure that we aimed the slurry to the side of the mouth when we fed her so as to avoid asperation. We had to make her eat it for the first couple of weeks and then she decided that she liked it and started just licking it off the syringe as I squirted it a little at a time. The good thing is your baby is parasire free so hopefully with some patience and TLC, she will be on the road to recovery real soon.

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

As much as you thought this as a "rescue", it really isn't. The best way to help these animals is to not buy them. By buying them only allows them to keep stocking them and keeping them in these conditions. I know it is hard to do, but sometimes it is best to just leave them be.

 

[eric]

you're doing a good thing but Ryan's right ..they don't care i worked at petco and petsmart all they care about is the all mighty dollar!!..call the aspca or your local news station send them pics if you were to go in there with a camera and start taking pics you might just be surprised with how many geckos you walk out with..

 

[kittygal]

Yeah... I know that its not a true rescue, but I still feel like Im saving its life or at least providing some comfort. But on a lighter note- its still hanging in there, he recently went on a hunger strike against Marcia's slurry and we scrambled to get some repta aid, which workd great! His little tummy is finally looking fuller again and we may be able to have before AND after pics now! Thanks for all the help yall have given me.

 

[kittygal]

Well guys, it wasnt much use. My little baby died this afternoon. I feel like I did some good, but at the end he started occasionally gasping for air and his eyes were really sunken in despite the soaks. He never really gained any weight. Also, on one side of him it looked full, and on the other, his belly was drawn up. Thank you to everyone who helped. Hopefully next time (if there is one) will have a better outcome.

P.S.- I dont mean to double post, but I havent figured out to edit my posts.

 

[malt_geckos]

you can try putting the slurry (or baby food) into a plastic tipped syringe (im pretty sure petco will have them, or maybe some other pet care stores)and see if s/he will lick it from the tip. if not then you need to force the tip into her mouth, i know it sounds pretty cruel but so is letting it starve itself Good luck!


edit: if you do forcefeed him/her dont fill the whole syringe, just about 1/4 of it and you could also mix some calcium in there with the food, why not..try to repeat this atleast 3 times a week but it seems more healthy if it will go for the food on its own so always try for that too.

On Marcia's recipe, it says specifically to NOT forcefeed. Good Luck!

Oops, I just saw about your baby passing. I'm so sorry to hear that! It's always hard to have one die. Just know that you did a great thing by taking it to the vet and trying to care for it.

 

[AndNothingHvrt]

Sorry to hear about the passing of your gecko.

I to work at a big chain store (2 and a half years now..and it's where I got my first gecko..)

They send us the TINIEST little geckos. Our last ones arrived freezing cold. It's up to the lowly floor employees like me to make sure they get the proper care. Sadly, some employees just don't care or know how to make sure this happens.

Even though I love my oldest gecko..I REALLY wish we didn't sell live animals. There are so many local (and non-local) great breeders out there..not to mention thousands of uncared for leopards in need of new homes. Sometimes my job is very depressing.