Need help ASAP

[9AC5]

Hi
On 18th march, my first ever hatchling popped out. The little gecko has been looking extremely healthy... up until today. She had her first shed about 3 days after hatching, and was eating on the 4th. However, today the poor thing looks unwell. She has started walking in what I can only describe as a snake like way. Instead of the normal walk, her front legs seem to have given up. They still move, but seem weak I wish I knew what was wrong.
could it be:
MBD? ( her mother showed signs of MBD but never severely, and has never needed a trip to the vets).
Is she just growing so fast that her legs can no longer hold the weight?
Has she got a horrible parasite/disease?

Im just worried about her. Im wondering about seeing an exotic vets, but Im not sure they would help much. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[acpart]

I wish I could tell you what the problem is. Some geckos don't absorb calcium well and this could be the problem. Some hatchlings look OK but may have internal or other problems that we can't see. I'm not saying that you shouldn't take it to a vet but with the really young ones, I generally practice a kind of "survival of the fittest". If I'm doing everything right and at 1 week they don't look so good, I'd assume that there are some problems I can't see and it may not survive them.

Aliza

 

[9AC5]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I did not respond, I read your response straight away but just never got chance to reply. I think the problem may be that she has broken her front two legs, how on earth she managed it is beyond me, but they look very broken. Amazingly she can still hunt, so fingers crossed for a full recovery. Instead of taking her out every time I re-humidify her hot hide, I just leave her in there (she doesnt mind the water going on her back, and it means she doesnt have to move the broken bones around). I also try to put the food inside her hot hide with her (I would prefer to hand feed, but she point blank refuses). Basically I am trying to get her to stay still for as long as possible, to make sure the bones have chance to heal. Other than the arms, she is now fine, eating, drinking, going to the toilet etc, so fingers crossed!!!!

 

[katie_]

Unless you dropped her, its probably not broken bones.
It sounds like MBD to me, but I'm not a herp vet.

 

[lillith]

You do have a calcium dish in there with her at all times, yes?
Just checking...bebes need it just about more than anyone.

 

[acpart]

One of my hatchlings broke 1 leg a few years ago. I also don't know how it happened. They heal pretty fast and she was fine in a few weeks.

Aliza

 

[9AC5]

It definitely looks broken, and i have never dropped her. However it is now looking like the left leg only. Im glad to hear that yours recovered well, and am hoping mine will do likewise.

 

[9AC5]

And in response to lillith, I do have a calcium dish in there

 

[9AC5]

Another hatchling today! Looked very healthy, it was 4.5g straight out of the egg!!! But there is a hairline blood red streak down the stomach now (around the `umbilical cord' area), and I'm severely hoping that the little fellow isn't hemorrhaging

 

[acpart]

It's not unusual for there to be a little blood there. I just hatched an AFT who had the same issue but she seems fine.

Aliza

 

[9AC5]

Yes, today the little guy was fine, no blood at all. You're message cheered me up though, because I realised you were right and it made me less worried

 

[9AC5]

Ok, so the hatchlig that broke its leg managed to heal about a week a go. It was really strong and healthy again for the first time pretty much since hatching. Then it happened again. She was ready to shed, I humidified the hot hide and kept it humid, the humidity never dropped at all. She seemed to be struggling a lot. When I came back to her later on in the day, she had mostly shed, but she had done it again!! This time she has really gone for it. She has broken 3 out of the 4 legs. There is bruising around each joint (hip, not knee) other than the one healthy leg. Is it just me or is this sounding like severe MBD? And before I get accused again, I am very careful with my leos and have NEVER dropped one. So being accused of dropping it will be quite insulting. She has been fed calcium dusted food every day and Im using one with D3 in every 3rd day. She just seems to be really fragile. The other two are absolutely fine, no problems at all, I just dont understand. I have been doing everything humanly possible to help this gecko and its just not paying off. What do you guys think is wrong with her? Is it MBD?
Thanks in advance

 

[BadKelpie]

I don't know much about hatchlings, but I wanted to say that I don't think anyone thought you dropped her. Just probably the most likely way for most geckos to break bones.

I have a new little tiny gecko, the size of a hatchling. I watched him shed yesterday and he was really rough with his feet. Grabbing the shed with his mouth and yanking his foot away to shed it. It sounds to me that your baby has really fragile bones, where this kind of thing wouldn't hurt a healthy baby, with yours, it causes the legs to break. Poor little guy . I have no idea what you would do for this.