Need some help with a leopard gecko please.

[Seanny]

Hi, i'm new to the forum and i need some help with my leo.
The problem is weight loss / not eating.
I've had him/her for around 5-6 months now, i bought it from pets at home, i'm 1 million percent sure the temps are correct, hiding box's are all good aswell as a moist hide, and i use kitchen paper for the substrate, heating mat is on a thermostat aswell plus all the correct food supliments are provided.
He just wont eat anything i feed him, any food i leave for him in the Viv i find it jumping around even after i leave it in there for a while, plus im pretty sure his eye sight is REALLY BAD . i've been leaving a blue Moonglow light on at night and it seems to be helping him abit with coming out at night and wandering around.
The food i've tried feeding him are brown crickets, black crickets, meal worms, giant meal worms and locusts, i've tried grindng them down to a paste like substance and feed him but he is not intrested, he must be eating some stuff occasionaly otherwise he would of died by now but he is getting very small and thin and at the minute and his tail is almost as thin as a straw, but he is still pooping, just not eating, also i found a blueish/greenish dot on his stomach, i heard it could be caused by impaction? or is it a bruise where his skin is becoming thinner and his less able to cope with hurting himself?

any advice on how to get his appitite up again will be helpful, it seems like ive tried everything, and he had a parasite test the day i bought him and was all clear and healthy, maybe he has one now?
Thanks, Sean.

 

[Seanny]

About your leo:
- Sex Unknown
- Age & Weight 5-6 Months old, He Is 21Grammes
- How long have you owned your leo 5-6months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend)
Pets at home

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo Once a week to check that everything is normal, but i watch it every day.
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. N/A
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) he drinks water quite often and they come out runny because he does not eat.
- When was the last time he/she went Yesterday
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on
See above post

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size 3FT By 1 1/2FT
- Type (ex. glass tank) Wooden
- Type of substrate Paper towel
- Hides, how many, what kind coconut shells 3, one is moist
B) Heating
- Heat source Heat mat, Slight heat from Bulb at night
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) 90F Hot, 78F Cool, gecko seems to like staying in the middle of the cage.
- Method of regulating heat source Thermostat, Timer for light
- What are you using to measure your temps Temp Probe
- Do you have any lights (describe) Blue moonglow bulb.
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females) None
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet Crickets, And a bowl of mealworms at all times in a escape proof feeder
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) Crickets are offered on a every 2 Day basis to try get him intrested
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) Mealworms left in dish/tried to hand feed, crickets left in there for about 30 minutes and then removed.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) Exo Terra Reptile Calcium Supplement
Quiko R Liquid Reptile Supplement
- What are you gut loading food with
Pro Rep Live Food Bug Grub left in at all times, and pro rep water gel, also i put in fresh veg leave it for 2 hours max and then dispose to stop it going rotten.

 

[sausage]

Is the heat mat under the tank or on the side?
The blue spot is one of his organs. If he is pooing then its not impaction.
But if your still worried it is use a few drops of mineral oil as this will clear him right out.
If your gecko is loosing that much weight to the poing he is a stick then somthing is very wrong with it. needs to see a vet asap.
In the mean time while you book an appointment you need to get food into it. carry on with the slurry you were doing, if you dot it on their lips they will lick it off.

 

[Pinky81]

Im gonna say you could try uping your warm side a little 90 for a skinny leo seems kinda cool. I keep mine at 95. And if you leo's tail is truely that skinny Im gonna say a vet visit is DEFINITLY warrented to do at minimium a stool sample.

you could try some wax worms althought don't go over board they are crap food but good for getting some calories in. Try this though...for my hatchling that don't wanna eat, i take a meal worm and just break the skin so some of the insides comes out...and then patience by holding with tongs the worm infront of the gecko's mouth so that the leo licks the guts, they usualy sit there licking and licking till they realize YUMMY and snatch the worm and eat it.

It take patience..your leo may walk away and you may have to coax a bit to get the little one to lick but once they lick the guts they usually get it.

But like I said Vet visit is warrented!

 

[Seanny]

Thanks, His heat mat is below a Layer of thin Kitchen roll, i tried ringing the vet a hour ago and got no awnser, i'll try again now, also i've turned the thermostat up and its now Hovering between 94-96F Hot end, i will carry on feeding him the slurry and hopefully i can get this sorted, I'll take a picture of him and upload it so you can see what he looks like, thanks for your replys :main_thumbsup:

 

[Seanny]

Heres the link too 4 Pictures i took of him, his tail seems to have got slightly thicker than 2 days ago when i last handled him, Oh and dont worry about the weird looking toes, he was just walking around when i took them so they were curled around lol! http://imageshack.us/g/850/20110607130703.jpg/

 

[LZRDGRL]

You're right, that skinny deflated tail is reason for concern. What I would do is -- since he is pooping, you're lucky!! -- take a fresh poop sample to the vet and just ask for a "fecal stain." That should be around 16 bucks or so. Don't bring in the leo yet for an exam (that's around 56-75 dollars). If the vet finds parasites in the stain, you can bring in the animal for application of the right dosage of medicine, and once the vet has shown you how that works, you can probably do that from home. Let him/her write down for you how much to administer, and let him/her model how to do it. The right dosage is VERY important and measured according to the weight of the gecko. Too much can kill it.

I once had a skinny leo like this (Twiggy), and the vet found pinworms in the fecal stain. For that, generally two dosages of Panacur are needed, given a week apart. My gecko was healed after that. I also had a gecko with trichomonas/giardia once (protozoae); this gecko died in spite of the Flagyl treatment which I could administer at home with small syringes. There are relatively harmless parasites and very bad ones. Your gecko already has a good size to survive a treatment, in case it contracted parasites. With hatchlings, it's very very difficult, but a gecko of this size has more chances (the treatments are hard on the liver; the dark organ you see through the belly).

In case you have any other geckos, keep them separate and never share food/water bowls or the same crickets (to avoid cross-contamination).

Whatever your gecko has, it looks like it's in the early stages; I've seen far thinner tails. So if treated in time, he'll have a big chance. Just find out through a fecal stain what it is, and go from there. It's a good sign that he is pooping; if his fecals are not liquid, it's probably not the worst kind of parasites out there (IF it's parasites at all).

Good luck!

Chrissy

 

[Seanny]

Sorry for the late response, i been so busy at work, but i have been feeding him through a syringe once a day in a effort to gain some weight, im using a cricket / mealworm mix, i also been feeding the cricket and mealworms with fresh food every day to give him the best possible food.
He/she seems to be getting heavier and his tail is getting slightly thicker from what i can tell, his around 23-24gramms now , and on a plus side he seems to be wanting to feed from the syringe because i used to have to dot it on his nose, but now he sits there and licks it from,
I got through to the vets and asked for a fecal examination i took a fresh poo there yesterday and waiting for a call to tell me what it is.
Thanks for all your friendly advice! I'll reply as soon as i know what the problem is,
Oh and one last thing, can the leopard gecko transfer pinworms to me? if so i better get myself some treatment incase i may contract it and re-infect him
Sean.

 

[geckogirl3]

By any chance does it have any Albino in it. Albinos can have bad eyesight in light and this happens more when they are young.

 

[Seanny]

Yes he is half Albino, and it he has contracted pinworms, i took him to a reputable vet and not where i got him from because when i went there and see the poor condition that the leo's were for sale in, i changed my mind. i have now got the treatment for him, thanks for all your help lets just hope he gets to become a fatty soon .

 

[sausage]

awww thats good you know what it is now. keep us posted with pics