New here with thin leo

R

rayvendawn

New Member
Messages
7
Hello all...I'm new here but not to leopard geckos. I have been out of the loop of owning one for 4-5 years and didn't plan on owning another so soon...
So I went over to my friends house and noticed that they had an aquarium set up and I walked over and saw this plate of lettuce and some strange things that looked like fruit loops. I thought they had an iguana or something similar.. I asked what it was and there inside this little plastic rock was a leopard gecko.
It's very thin and I was very worried about it.. I thought about it for a week before going back and asking to take it. They have kids so it was a little bit of a issue trying to pry it out of their little grubby hands.
I don't know if it's male or female and I honestly don't know how old or how long it has looked like this.
I have never had to bring such a thin gecko back to health before. I have crickets and medium meal worms. It doesn't seem very interested in eating yet but it's albino and seems to hate the light. So maybe it will eat at night..
Anyway I'm wondering what morph this is..it doesn't seem to look like the regular pet shop albinos.
Please any advice on making this little guy healthy again please don't hesitate! Sorry for the grainy iphone pics
photo-1.jpg

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acpart

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,287
Location
Somerville, MA
It's definitely an albino, most likely a tremper albino and possibly a stripe (the tail is banded but maybe not at the end, and on its back it looks like a partial reverse stripe but it could also be just the spotting that's left after the bands faded). It is really skinny, but on the other hand, its skinniness is proportional, it doesn't have a pencil thin tail and it looks alert. If you google around enough, you can find the recipe for "Maria's slurry" (try googling that) which is a nutritious puree for sick leopard geckos. Personally, I prefer to try every means to get the gecko to eat solid food before going to the puree. You could squish a mealworm, put some of the guts on its nose and see if it will lick it off. If that works, try pushing a mealworm into its mouth and maybe it will take it. Keep offering mealworms and crickets but it's probably best not to leave crickets in the cage unsupervised because the gecko may be weak enough at this point that the crickets will hurt it. I would assume that it has also not been supplemented. Get some calcium with D3 and vitamin supplements (if you can get some Repashy Calcium Plus it will be all in one). Dip your finger in water, then dip it in the supplement and rub some on its jaw so it licks it off. Ultimately, it may be a good idea to get a fecal sample, when it starts pooping, and bring it to the vet.

Good luck and welcome to GF!

Aliza
 
R

roachesrus

New Member
Messages
30
Location
Los Angeles, Ca
Nice gecko's there, well welcome aboard here. I am new myself as well but find it home here and everyone here is just as welcoming as well. If you need anything just ask.
 
LZRDGRL

LZRDGRL

Active Member
Messages
2,807
Location
Southern Illinois
Pretty Broken Reverse Stripe Tremper Albino, I would say :main_yes: He doesn't look sick, just malnourished--no wonder, if there was lettuce in his tank! I would give him some waxworms to fatten him up, and leave a dish with mealworms in his cage at all times (I would put a piece of bread or thin apple slice in, so the mealworms have something to eat and don't attack each other). And plenty of calcium.

I bet he'll start eating the right food by himself, without any slurry or force-feeding. Good luck! He's gonna be a looker for sure once he's up to his normal weight :)

Chrissy
 
Eureka

Eureka

Member
Messages
107
Lettuce, really? Ugh. They must have done absolutely zero research, no offense.
Thankfully you were able to take the little one in. It's going to be a beautiful gecko after some TLC.

Welcome to GF! :)
 
R

rayvendawn

New Member
Messages
7
Thanks everyone for the information, I bought the wax worms and have started feeding him/her and also I have left a little dish of meal worms in the tank at all times with the little bit of food for them.
I am trying not to hold or mess with the gecko right now because he/she is probably very stressed and I don't want to give it any more reason not to eat. It's a very flighty gecko and tries to suicide jump off of me so not a good idea.. lol
Anyway here are some pictures of him/her taken today. The tail is plumping up more and although it looks about the same as in the first picture that I posted on here, he/she actually lost a lot of weight after I brought him home because he seemed to be in shock and wouldn't move or eat, just stayed in the hide for two days. That's no longer the problem though, it is eating really well and seems happy just to have the right food. :) Oh and it also shed too!
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