My gecko wants to be a mermaid.

[IonBaller07]

So, since I got my gecko a month or so ago I knew he was different. That he was not like other geckos. His absolute favorite place to reside is his water bowl. He sits in there almost every day and almost seems to absorb the water because I have to refill it daily (its very shallow). Well today I started a small fish tank about 2 feet from his tank. Instantly he was drawn to the sound of the air bubble reaching the surface and he became intranced with the plants flowing in the current. Everytime I walk in on him walk in on him he is closer and closer to the fish tank. I was left to assume the he himself wanted to be a fish swimming through that water. Well I walked in to check him one last time and found him in this position.

(He was standing there normally but his waist down was upside down)

Thats when it hit me, my gecko was actually a mermaid.

*disclaimer* I dont actually own a merma-gecko I just think the picture reminds me of one not to mention his undying attraction to water *disclaimer*


But in all seriousness does that position mean something, is he sick or just kinda loopy??

 

[lovetheleo]

well he is extremly underweight(his tail is very thin)

was he like this when you got him?

what do you feed him?

how often and how much at a time?

what suppliments do you use and how often?

i see you have him on paper towel which is good but what did the store have him on?

what are your temps and what are you measuring them with?

i reccomend getting a poo sample to the vet to rule out parasites

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

the waterbowl thing is not always a good thing!! that means there in pain and are trying to relieve some how by laying in the water, he is extremely skinny!! I hope you can get her some karcias slurry found in mess and health board

 

[VTHokie]

I agree. This leo needs an immediate trip to the vet and a fecal test to rule out any parasites. His tail should be at least 3 times that fat. He is totally emaciated.

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

but don't over fret no matter what it wasn't your fault he's skinny or if anything else is wrong you did everything right

 

[DLS Reptile]

Yes, this is definitely not normal behavior. There is something wrong with this picture. I also agree that they do not just hang in their water bowls unless there is an underlying problem. The tail is very skinny and the geckos is emaciated. I have never seen a gecko do that...

 

[IonBaller07]

I know he is too skinny, when I got him from the pet store :main_thumbsdown: he was about this skinny maybe a little skinnier and he was a bit shorter lengthwise. I attempt to feed him about two crickets a day plus 3-4 mealies randomly throughout the day but he only seems to eat one of each normally. When he sits in the waterbowl I thought maybe he just wanted out of the heat but my temps are reading 90 on the warm side soI figure hes just weird, right now he has his feet on the side of it as isif he were about to drink but just fell asleep. As for his little flip thing I thought maybe it was a sign of MBD or something but its the first time Ive seen him do it. It was right next to the glass though so I figure he was attempting to climn the glass to get to the fish tank and lost his balance and fellover.

 

[jaspa]

I would def go check up on a vet with that,
he is way to skinny and looking very unhealthy, I know you bought him like that but you still have too.

 

[geckoqueen]

I have to say my gecko's look thin to and I feed them but they wont eat much. The temp is usually 80-90, unless that is too low please let me know right away. Both my gecko's hardly ever eat and I keep finding worms all over the cage. I have a humid hide and everything they need. heat lamps and heating pads, and so on...Yet I have not see my Gecko's eat for awhile and they getting skinny.

 

[Malibu Barbie]

I have to say my gecko's look thin to and I feed them but they wont eat much. The temp is usually 80-90, unless that is too low please let me know right away. Both my gecko's hardly ever eat and I keep finding worms all over the cage. I have a humid hide and everything they need. heat lamps and heating pads, and so on...Yet I have not see my Gecko's eat for awhile and they getting skinny.

If they are skinny like that and they dont eat its because they are sick in some way. Parasites is very common and cause them to loose weight rapidly and loose apitite.

You shold get a vet to test a stoole sample.

As for the gecko in the picture... Looks like a case of MBD to me. Lack to calcium causes soft bones and could be the reason for the twist.
I can assure you that it is NOT normal and you should take it to the vet.

 

[geckoqueen]

If they are skinny like that and they dont eat its because they are sick in some way. Parasites is very common and cause them to loose weight rapidly and loose apitite.

You shold get a vet to test a stoole sample.

As for the gecko in the picture... Looks like a case of MBD to me. Lack to calcium causes soft bones and could be the reason for the twist.
I can assure you that it is NOT normal and you should take it to the vet.

Yea I am going to take them both to the vet. They don't eat much and losing weight. The one Gecko, the orange one is also very small, for being almost full grown. I always worry about him or her. I need to take to vet because I have a feeling something is not right. The other gecko though losing some weight is still big. The not eating for days has me worried. I feed them but they don't touch their food. Unless they are hi ber nating..I was told Gecko's do that, still I have to make sure they both are healthy by a vet.

 

[Malibu Barbie]

If they look like that they are sick - and you are right about taking them both as parasites are contagious.

The medicin is easy to use and hopefulle they will soon be in great health.

 

[IonBaller07]

So some slightly good news, today I put him in a little critter keeper so I could clean out his cage. I threw in about six fairly small crickets. After a bit of confusion about his new surroundings he carefully nipped at one of the crickets. That put him in the mood and he quickly got to his tail-wagging antics and ate at least 4 small crickets. I did the same with my bigger female and she ate 3-4 too. Im going to do this every day now until he gets fat :main_yes:

Can regular vets help me any because we dont have any reptile vets around here?

 

[Foreverandever]

Can regular vets help me any because we dont have any reptile vets around here?

Call around to all the vets and ask if they deal with reptiles/exotics. A lot of "regular" vets also treat reptiles

 

[lovetheleo]

i agree if you have pestores there has to be a reptile vet somewhere


they might not be the best one but should at least be able to get a fecal done and meds

even a dog/cat vet should be able to check for parasites they just wont know how much meds to give

anyway i feed mine in a seperate container always

i leave a dish of mealworms but i always feed outside the enclosure too especially crickets

good luck

 

[Malibu Barbie]

Lovely to hear that the ate a little, but I still think you need to take them to the vet.

Hopefully tou will keep us updated - best of luck

 

[lillith]

I agree that feeding him in a smaller container is probably good, I think you're probably safe to move up to medium crickets.

But get him to the vet in the next 48-72 hours, if it isn't MBD it could be a neurological problem. He might be so emaciated that ketones are running rampant in his system and throwing his whole metabolic processes out of whack: self-toxicity. And that's even if he doesn't have parasites. His belly is a little bloated, I don't know if it's the malnutrition, but it really could be parasites.

Tell your parents or whoever you live with your gecko is almost in ER condition.
It's no joke.

and yes, get a batch of slurry posthaste... you'll need about 250-300 mealworms a batch, if I remember correctly...

 

[geckonni]

oh my goodness. I hope to the vet you go as soon as possible. I was going to say it could be related to mbd. I can't believe how skinny he is! I've had my aft and my leo on uvb besides the calcium to prevent things like these. I've had them on the rzilla desert 50 tubes (not coils) that came out last year. Not a lot of people talk about geckos with mbd because they don't think its a big deal. I know they don't need the light, but after seeing things like these, how could I not. I really hope your gecko plumps up and you find out whats really wrong. I hope its not mbd because I can only imagine how much he's suffering. Don't forget to check back and share what happens.