My leopard gecko seems sick?

[myles8908]

Hi, I am new to owning leopard geckos, I have had mine about one month now. My friends also have leopard geckos and have had theres awhile longer than I have had mine. I have my setup exactly like theirs (a hot side and room temperature side) I have a 10 gallon tank with tile on the bottom. I also have a humid hut (moss inside), and a room temperature side hide as well. I also have a dry hide on each side as well. My gecko spends most of his time on the hot side inside the humid hut. The first week I got him was after I returned another (that I had a week) and it didn't eat at all (all young geckos less than a year). The other pet store told me that it probably had worms. I cleaned the cage with the propper cleaning supplies and put the new gecko inside. the first week or two he was doing great, eating about 3 or 4 crickets a day, and growing just fine. Then after about a week I noticed he was having trouble seeing the crickets. They would run in front of him and he would go after them, then when they barely moved to the side he wouldn't be able to see them at all, and now he doesn't eat at all really and his tail is becoming really skinny. Then he started shedding, and it took him about 4 or 5 days to completely shed all the skin and I had to peel it off of his head because he couldn't get it off and his eyes were almost seeled shut. I always make sure his water is full, and that i put all his food in the calcium before feeding and keep his hut humid (where he spends most of his time now). My friends who both have leo's as well use the same crickets I do (same store) and the same setup and their leo's are fine, they are out all the time and eat everytime you put something in their cage. I never handled mine except once before I had to when peeling his skin off his head because I wanted him to get used to his new environment (which at first seemed like he was fine then a couple weeks later stopped eating like I described above). The only diff. between me and my friends is our calcium we use to put on the food, and I'm wondering if that is what is causing the problem with the gecko or maybe I got a gecko with worms? I tried this week switching to meal worms but he doesn't seem to want to eat those either. I guess what I am asking is do you see anything that I am doing wrong here, or anything I could try to change his eating habbits. I don't know the name of the calcium off the top of my head ( it's at school with my gecko, I came home for today and I'm going back tomorrow) but I would greatly appreciate any input and advice.

Thanks

 

[prettyinpink]

How old is your leo? Is he pooping?

Any time they start loosing weight it's usually not a good sign.

 

[ajveachster]

Check the eyes again. If it is having trouble seeing the food it might be that there is still some stuck shed where it is hard to see on the rim of the eye lid. Also, check the eyeballs themselves to see if they are clear or cloudy. Check for any discharge from the eyes. It sounds like you are doing your best to care for the animal. I personally don't believe that the calcium supplement you are using would be the cause of the issues.

 

[myles8908]

He was pooping, I cleaned out the cage a couple days ago and I have seen one peice of poop, but not the usual amount of poop you would see.

Also, he was having problems seeing before the shedding, and it seems like he can hardly see at all now that his shedding is gone. He just moves away from crickets when they run up on him, and he doesn't try to eat them at all.

Thanks for your replies, I'm still searching for a possible switch in what I'm doing to maybe get him back on track, or if I were to get another leopard gecko shoudl I get rid of this gecko first? Or is it okay to house them together (even if the other one dies while being caged with him) since it seems like thats what may happen, unless i give him to a pet store, and changing his environment that many times again just seems like it might make him worse.

Another thing is , I know shedding is only SUPPOSED to last like anywhere from 15 minutes to one day, but mine still had shedding under its belly and its not even trying to get anymore of it off, and it didn't really eat any of its shedding either, which I found weird because i heard they did, and it was helathy for them.

 

[ajveachster]

You are correct that a gecko should shed within about a day or so. They usually eat the old skin, but not all of it all the time. For now you should give the gecko a soak in a shallow bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes. The best thing is like a gladware or ziploc one with a lid that you can poke air holes in. After the soak try to gently rub and pull away the old skin. You may have to use some tweezers to grab onto it.
If it isn't a shedding issue your gecko may be ill, so I would not suggest putting another animal with it.
It doesn't surprise me if the gecko has not been eating that you have only seen a small amount of poop. The fact that you are seeing some is good as long as it looks normal.

 

[myles8908]

So should I basically continue doing everything the same, and see how things end up? Because it seems like I'm doing everything right.... maybe just bad luck . And if I do buy another one shoudl i get the one that has the fattest tail or is there really a way to pick out a gecko other than by tail size and color preferance (waht should i look for).

 

[ajveachster]

Things to look for:
1. A fat tail and no indentations on the side. Your leo's body from the front to back legs should be fairly straight or a little pear shaped. If it has an hourglass look you might want to pass on by.
2. Bright clear eyes
3. Signs of MBD-slack jaw, bowed limbs
4. Cleanliness of the housing and the animals it is with if kept in a community tank/tub
5. Energy-If you pick up the animal does it squirm, jump, scream, or sit quietly-but attentive? If you try to turn it on its back does it try to right itself or just lay there? Does its movement seem lethargic?

I'm sure there are some other suggestions, but this is what I thought of off the top of my head.

 

[roger]

Hi, I am new to owning leopard geckos, I have had mine about one month now. My friends also have leopard geckos and have had theres awhile longer than I have had mine. I have my setup exactly like theirs (a hot side and room temperature side) I have a 10 gallon tank with tile on the bottom. I also have a humid hut (moss inside), and a room temperature side hide as well. I also have a dry hide on each side as well. My gecko spends most of his time on the hot side inside the humid hut. The first week I got him was after I returned another (that I had a week) and it didn't eat at all (all young geckos less than a year). The other pet store told me that it probably had worms. I cleaned the cage with the propper cleaning supplies and put the new gecko inside. the first week or two he was doing great, eating about 3 or 4 crickets a day, and growing just fine. Then after about a week I noticed he was having trouble seeing the crickets. They would run in front of him and he would go after them, then when they barely moved to the side he wouldn't be able to see them at all, and now he doesn't eat at all really and his tail is becoming really skinny. Then he started shedding, and it took him about 4 or 5 days to completely shed all the skin and I had to peel it off of his head because he couldn't get it off and his eyes were almost seeled shut. I always make sure his water is full, and that i put all his food in the calcium before feeding and keep his hut humid (where he spends most of his time now). My friends who both have leo's as well use the same crickets I do (same store) and the same setup and their leo's are fine, they are out all the time and eat everytime you put something in their cage. I never handled mine except once before I had to when peeling his skin off his head because I wanted him to get used to his new environment (which at first seemed like he was fine then a couple weeks later stopped eating like I described above). The only diff. between me and my friends is our calcium we use to put on the food, and I'm wondering if that is what is causing the problem with the gecko or maybe I got a gecko with worms? I tried this week switching to meal worms but he doesn't seem to want to eat those either. I guess what I am asking is do you see anything that I am doing wrong here, or anything I could try to change his eating habbits. I don't know the name of the calcium off the top of my head ( it's at school with my gecko, I came home for today and I'm going back tomorrow) but I would greatly appreciate any input and advice.

Thanks

2 things im looking at is one what are his temps on the warm end should be 88-95 deg and two when u disinfected the tank what did u use and did u thourougly rinse everything.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Also to add if you have 1 gecko that is acting sick or out of sorts the last thing you want to do is add another leo to the tank with out a proper 30-90 day quarantine period as they could make eachother sick(er).

Temps are important when it comes to shedding. Too much heat and not enough moisture despite having a moist hide isn't going to help the shed. How are you monitoring your temps? You need to mist every other day, plus maybe add a second moist hide with a tupperware dish and a hole cut in it with wet paper towels insted of moss. He could have a piece of moss stuck in his eye from his hide. You can use some regular saline solution to flush his eye once or twice a day which should clear any moss as well as soften and hopefully flush any stuck shed that might be int here as well.

Last thing I would try is using super worms insted of crickets. Crickets are known to carry parasites that could make your leo sick and supers tend to be more active than mealies and that makes them more appealing to some leos. You can try giving him wax worms very sparingly as well to see if you can get him eating again. Here is a great thread on what to do if your leo stops eating: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70080

 

[roger]

Also to add if you have 1 gecko that is acting sick or out of sorts the last thing you want to do is add another leo to the tank with out a proper 30-90 day quarantine period as they could make eachother sick(er).

Temps are important when it comes to shedding. Too much heat and not enough moisture despite having a moist hide isn't going to help the shed. How are you monitoring your temps? You need to mist every other day, plus maybe add a second moist hide with a tupperware dish and a hole cut in it with wet paper towels insted of moss. He could have a piece of moss stuck in his eye from his hide. You can use some regular saline solution to flush his eye once or twice a day which should clear any moss as well as soften and hopefully flush any stuck shed that might be int here as well.

Last thing I would try is using super worms insted of crickets. Crickets are known to carry parasites that could make your leo sick and supers tend to be more active than mealies and that makes them more appealing to some leos. You can try giving him wax worms very sparingly as well to see if you can get him eating again. Here is a great thread on what to do if your leo stops eating: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70080

Dog shrink- just to add to your cricket,parasite info.if u keep your cricket container clean then there should be no problem with parasites.Although you are right thay can be carriers ,the reason for that is poor husbundry within the cricket enclosure,dead crickets, or the crickets are allowed to run through the leos feces.Crickets are a good source of prey,but u have to keep their enclosure very clean.PPl seem to think that they dont have to keep their crickets clean

 

[Dog Shrink]

Can this also appily to crickets coming in from mass producing farms as well as their hold over in the pet shops Roger? I know that whenever I see the crickets in my petshop there's so much frass in teh tank I wanna vomit. They can just as likely get contaminated in those places too ya think?

 

[myles8908]

I cleaned my cage with a diluted bleach, and put new setups in there (the only hide that is the same is the moist hide, but I changed the moss.

Also the temperature on the hot side is about 89-91 degrees. But I think I may get rid of of the moist hide and moss and use a papertowel and tupperwear container like you said. and I think maybe that will work better, although I heard changing their environment can stress them out. Do you think that might not be a good thing to do ( although I probably will anything since what I am doing right now isn't working) .

Thanks for your guys input!

 

[Dog Shrink]

I think the only way the moss is making him sick, if you're using sphagnum moss, is if he's eating it because sphagnum moss has antibacterial antifungal qualities to it. The only way to find out truly what's goin on, if you suspect parasites, is to take a fecal sample to a herp vet and have it analized honestly. if you suspect all this stress is from the stuck shed, then soak , soak, soak, and work it out with flushing his eyes with the saline solution.

If he has stuck shed in his eyes that will stress him, if he isn't eating properly he won't be poo'ing as much, if your temps are too low compared to what he was previously use to, that could also affect him. Leos go thru a winter slow down in which he will not eat as much, move as much etc. You said that you put his food directly in his calcium, I don't think that is such a good idea. You really should dust his feeders to make sure he isn't getting too much suppliment, you also should be dusting with a multi vit as well. Switching to an all in 1 suppliment like repashy calcium plus icb of T-Rex leopard gecko dust icb will alleviate a lot of the possibility of too much supplimenting if you dust every other feeding and remove the pure calcium from his tank.