Pinky-Only Diet

[puppiesandkitties]

My gecko, she is losing weight, although she eats crickets, mealies, and waxies, and she is well-hydrated.

I took her to the vet and she does not have anything last week.

I fed her two thawed pinkies today. I may put her on a pinky only diet, until she gets her weight back up, and I might do it to get her past that weight. This is her first time ever seeing a pinky and eating it. She loved them so much, that she gobbled up the other one.

Is a pinky-only diet a good idea? Or would it be too fattening and unhealthy?

 

[JordanAng420]

Leopard Geckos are natural insectivores. Pinkys do not carry the nutritional requirement to be fed to domesticated geckos on a regular basis. Too many pinkys can result in hepatic lipadosis (fatty liver disease) which is usually terminal. If your gecko is losing weight, I recommend Marcia's Slurry for daily suppliment until she starts feeling better. This mixture has MUCH better nutritional value. BTW, your vet could find NOTHING wrong? Did you have a stool sample analyzed?

 

[Halley]

Is a pinky-only diet a good idea? Or would it be too fattening and unhealthy?

Yeah, I wouldn't do it.

Leopard Geckos are natural insectivores. Pinkys do not carry the nutritional requirement to be fed to domesticated geckos on a regular basis. Too many pinkys can result in hepatic lipadosis (fatty liver disease) which is usually terminal. If your gecko is losing weight, I recommend Marcia's Slurry for daily suppliment until she starts feeling better. This mixture has MUCH better nutritional value. BTW, your vet could find NOTHING wrong? Did you have a stool sample analyzed?

That pretty much covers it.

 

[puppiesandkitties]

Yeah, we had a stool sample analyzed. The vet also made her "throw up" the food, I guess to see if she is digesting right.

She has a slender belly, but no skin hanging off of it, showing signs of starvation. It used to be rounder, and her tail is fat.

 

[JordanAng420]

Well, if she's throwing up, obviously she's not digesting correctly. I don't think, (I hope not anyway) any vet would intentionally make a reptile regurgitate. First off, does this vet have experiance with reptilian medicine? It's compleatly different from mammalian medicine. Did he give you any kind of diagnosis? Recommendations? Anything? IMO, seek further advice from another veterinary expert.

 

[puppiesandkitties]

It is a mainly mammal clinic, with only one doctor that does both reptiles and mammals. The one I usually take my leos to didn't have any vets in, and I didn't want to wait till my next day off, which was a whole another week, when a vet still may not be in. (I usually take off for vet visits)

I bet that doc had little experience in reptiles, they just said he was experienced to make some money off the people with lizards. I know they make mammals regurgatiate (when I was a kid, they did that to my puppy), but reptiles? That was fishy, but they took her to the back for tests, then told me what they did and found. They probably used some mammal crap on my leo.

The vet said supplement more and feed more fattening foods. I'm gonna take off soon--I just have to not get paid for a few hours. Losing 20-30 dollars off a check is a lot.

 

[downthebeatenpath]

Yeah I would get her to a reptile vet, because if she still eats and is losing weight then there is a problem. How much and how often does she eat now?

 

[puppiesandkitties]

She actively eats. I try to feed her every other day, and fill her up.

Could her weight loss be due to temperature fluctuations? The temperature has changed drastically in my room. It is hot, and during the day, the lamp is off.

 

[JordanAng420]

I am so sorry you had a bad experience. In cats and dogs (and people too!) when they swallow something they're not supposed to, occasionally forced regurgitation can help get the object/food/medicine out of the body quicker. Usually this is followed by a charcoal-like substance that coats the stomach to further prevent caustic substances from entering the bloodstream. Reptiles do not have diaphragms. Their respiratory and gastrointestinal tract are completely different from mammals. The diaphragm plays a major part in our breathing process. Forcing regurgitaion is very, very dangerous and not recommended by any board certified exotic specialist I have ever worked for.
Anyway, focusing more on your little girl. As I stated earlier, you can try Marcia's slurry, they tend to really like that. It's packed with essential nutrients. If you're trying to put on weight, you can start giving a little more mealies than crickets, with an OCCASIONAL waxworm or 2. Try to make sure the food item is no larger/longer than her head & neck. Anything larger can actually cause regurgitation. Make sure you have a reptile multivitamin and a calcium supplement- alternate dustings at every feeding. And good luck! Keep us posted!

 

[puppiesandkitties]

I will keep you all posted.

Hope whatever they did to her does not have any side effects.

 

[LadyGecko]

I am sorry to read about the problems that you are having with your gecko
You mention temp fluctuations
Do you have an under the tank heater on this tank?

Get rid of the over heard light and get a uth and a thermostat and you will have much more control over the tank temps

If your Leo does not have belly heat and the air temps are too hot -that could be a reason that she is doing poorly

Also get a digital thermometer with a probe on the end of it to accurately measure the ground temperature both on the hot spot over the uth and on the cool side of the tank

If you can not find all of the ingredients for Marcia's excellent slurry-Flukers makes a reptile formula that will help put some weight back on your Leo

It is called Rept-A-Aid and it is a powdered formula that you mix with water
It comes with a mixing dish and a syringe

You want the Insectivore/Carnivore formula

Mix according to the instructions and place a drop on your Leos snout.nose
Chances are that she will lick it off
Most lizards really like the taste of it

Feed slowly and 2 to 3 times per day

If she does not improve soon with more stabilized temps then i would definitely find a reptile vet to bring her into see

I feed super worms to all of my adult geckos(along with other insects) and they really put the weight on them
Meal worms are good for smaller geckos and you can leave a dish of them in the tank (dusted) all of the time
Just replace the uneaten ones with fresh every day

But if her temps are not right or she does have any internal parasites she will still not be putting on weight

Good Luck with your Leo

Sandy

 

[SteveB]

Great posts Maia.

 

[puppiesandkitties]

Thanks, Geckoqueen.

You are always full of helpful information. I didn't know under cage heat pads help digestion. I'll give that a shot.