New Gecko owner, need help ASAP

[arborman]

Hi All,

We are new to leopard geckos... I got one for my 8 yr old son for his birthday about 3 weeks ago.

Problem: She is VERY lethargic, not eating, limp body, tail is getting skinnier.....

My first thought is she was handled too much. So, that has stopped. We had her out for about 10 minutes a day, but you know how 8 year olds can be.

The tank is set up like this: 12 gallon tank, with zoo med sand substrate. The sand may be a bit thick, about 2 1/2". I have an undertank heat pad on one side of the tank, along with a cheesy plastic enclosure we got from *****. We have both a blue and red light... blue is kept on during the day, and then the red is turned on at night. Not sure if this is too much light, but the tank never reads above 85. We keep the light on the same side of tank as the heater.

When we first had leo home, she was alert, fat and happy. Her eyes are closed most of the time now and just lays around. She never really had an interest in eating. Never ate on single meal worm, and only has eaten a few crickets on occasion. We first offered large crickets, but did not seem interested. Then, gave smaller ones... she did eat, but not what I was expecting. Now, she is not eating at all.

I am afraid we may lose her, and I want to do what I can to help her! Our local vet does not do Reptiles.

Anyone have any advice for me? I am feeling very bad for this little guy

 

[Paco]

Hi All,

We are new to leopard geckos... I got one for my 8 yr old son for his birthday about 3 weeks ago.

Problem: She is VERY lethargic, not eating, limp body, tail is getting skinnier.....

My first thought is she was handled too much. So, that has stopped. We had her out for about 10 minutes a day, but you know how 8 year olds can be.

The tank is set up like this: 12 gallon tank, with zoo med sand substrate. The sand may be a bit thick, about 2 1/2". I have an undertank heat pad on one side of the tank, along with a cheesy plastic enclosure we got from *****. We have both a blue and red light... blue is kept on during the day, and then the red is turned on at night. Not sure if this is too much light, but the tank never reads above 85. We keep the light on the same side of tank as the heater.

When we first had leo home, she was alert, fat and happy. Her eyes are closed most of the time now and just lays around. She never really had an interest in eating. Never ate on single meal worm, and only has eaten a few crickets on occasion. We first offered large crickets, but did not seem interested. Then, gave smaller ones... she did eat, but not what I was expecting. Now, she is not eating at all.

I am afraid we may lose her, and I want to do what I can to help her! Our local vet does not do Reptiles.

Anyone have any advice for me? I am feeling very bad for this little guy

First off Sand is Bad for Baby Leos. Get rid of the Sand. Paper towels, Repti carpet, tile all work. Sounds like she might be sand impacted.

There are threads on GF that talk about Sand impaction and ways to relieve it. Do a search and you should find what you need.

Second, do you have a temp control for your uth? If not you need to get one. The hot side on the tank should be 90-97deg and the cold should be mid 80's.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[arborman]

Thank you very much for the info!

Wow, did not know the sand was bad... Sure was expensive! She is actually not a baby, she is quite big. She is close to 8" long. I just pulled out some sand so the depth at the heat end is a bit over 1" thick. I moved the thermo to the bottom heat end corner of the tank, and have a blue light on. Temp is just now reading 80, but should be moving up quite a bit.


If you all really think the sand is a bad idea, I will get rid of it ASAP. I will read up on sand impaction

 

[arborman]

This is a great site, glad I found it! I was all over the net this morning finding the same ol info as the last site I found.

So, the message I am getting from spending 20 minutes on this site is sand is bad. I will remove the sand today.

Without having to make trip to the pet store, how would I go about setting up a different substrate? You had mentioned paper towels, but how do you set that up over the heater?

 

[Saphira]

The heater goes under the tank.... yes you just put the papertowel down in the bottom of the tank.

I would soak your leo for 20 mins a day in luke warm water. Do you have hides in her tank? moist and dry? I don't think you need the blue light either. The red one of the UTH doesn't get the tank hot enough.

 

[Saphira]

can you post a pic?

 

[arborman]

Yes, I will get a pic for you.. gimme one sec..

 

[THE WHISPERER]

You can just line the tank with the paper towels and set all your stuff on it to hold it down. unless its really cold where your keeping the tank,then lights aren't needed. Were crickets only offered when you first brought the gecko home? Some times they don't eat right away until there settled in. And some geckos prefer more movement from there prey. If thats the case you might want to try the crickets again.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Oh and welcome to the forum

 

[arborman]

Ok, here is a picture of my setup. As you can see, sand base. The side he is on has the UTH, with a blue light above. View attachment 24663

Anything seem wrong with what I have going on?

 

[Saphira]

is there water and a moist hide??? The UTH is under the tank correct? not in the tank?

 

[arborman]

You can just line the tank with the paper towels and set all your stuff on it to hold it down. unless its really cold where your keeping the tank,then lights aren't needed. Were crickets only offered when you first brought the gecko home? Some times they don't eat right away until there settled in. And some geckos prefer more movement from there prey. If thats the case you might want to try the crickets again.

Cool, that is what I am going to do. Paper towles...

We offered crickets right away. He has only eaten maybe 6 total in a month, 4 of them very small. I am getting more and more convinced that sand is causing the issues. WHY ON EARTH do they sell this stuff if its so bad? It says right on the box it is the PERFECT substrate for Leopard Geckos

 

[arborman]

is there water and a moist hide??? The UTH is under the tank correct? not in the tank?

Yes, there is always water in the tank, just took it out this morning when I removed some sand. The UTH is under the tank, not in it..

When you say moist hide, what is that? How can I set that up?

Oh, BTW, he has shed is skin twice since he has been home.

 

[Saphira]

take a disposable tupperwear container (like GLAD) cut out the side of it dish..put a wet paper town down on the lid and put back together. Put back in the cage with the lid down.. the leo can go in an out.. you have to wet towel probably 2x a day to keep moist.

Your leo could be dehydrated. would def start soaking every day.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

I would lose the light, pretty bright in there for a nocternal animal. tupperware or glad ware are perfect for a moist hide I keep mine right side up with a hole in the lid for adults, on side for babies. I give mine about 30-40 sprays with a spray bottle and its usually good for a day or two. and i keep the moist hide on the warm side of the tank.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Does your gecko seem bloated to you since you've gotten him. and is he pooping regularly?

 

[arborman]

take a disposable tupperwear container (like GLAD) cut out the side of it dish..put a wet paper town down on the lid and put back together. Put back in the cage with the lid down.. the leo can go in an out.. you have to wet towel probably 2x a day to keep moist.

Your leo could be dehydrated. would def start soaking every day.

Thanks, I will give this a try. Do you provide a moist hide at all times, or only when they seem ill?

 

[Saphira]

Here is my moist hide

 

[Saphira]

They should have it always.... they need the humidity...

 

[arborman]

Does your gecko seem bloated to you since you've gotten him. and is he pooping regularly?

I am going to loose the light like you suggested. It is a bright room to begin with, I was just really using it for heat. Right now ( i moved things around a bit, so could not be accurate) the temp is reading a bit over 80. I have the thermo in the left bottom corner, right above the sand. Seems a bit low, but I cannot turn up the UTH, as it does not have a setting.

He does not seem bloated, pretty much looks the same as when we got him. Tail is for sure getting thinner. Not nearly as thick as it was.

He did poop, but has not for about 4 days. I noticed the last one was very white. Not runny at all, quite hard. Pellet shaped.

Again, thanks for all this great help. The two books I bought were a waste of money!