mrbrightside
New Member
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- Los Angeles
I got a baby leo from a local pet store around April of last year, and for the first 6 months everything was completely fine. She caught and ate gutloaded crickets and shed with ease; most of the time I didn't even catch her doing it. We handled her once a week so that she could be tamed and she didn't mind, and if she did, we would leave her alone for awhile. Sometime last October, she stopped pooping and didn't want to eat much, so I looked it up and assumed she had impaction, so I soaked her in warm water and fed her a bit of baby food for two days, and she went just fine. She had the problem again two months later, after we left her with a caretaker while we went on vacation, and it took much longer for her to recover. She had trouble catching the crickets, so I switched to the much less difficult mealworms. She seemed to warm up to them for a bit and ate and pooped after awhile. But then she stopped eating completely some time later. She stopped pooping and I thought it was impaction once again, and repeated the process, but weeks and weeks passed and she wouldn't recover. She was too weak to catch her food, or drink water from her bowl. She shed a lot more frequently, twice a month, then almost once a week as she got worse, and it would stick to her, she just didn't have the strength to get it off herself. I started carefully peeling it off when it was clear she had no interest in doing it herself, but a week or so later, it would be on her again. She can't move anymore, she just stays in one hide, not eating or drinking, except when I give her baby food and water with a Q-tip once a week, which she absolutely hates. I fear I'm stressing her out even more, but I don't know what to do anymore. Is it parasites? Impaction again? Something even worse? It's clear she's only been surviving from the fat in her tail from when she was healthy, but it's gotten so awfully thin now. I'm thinking of breaking down and taking her to a herp vet, but I'm not sure how much it'll cost me, and I don't have much extra money laying around. Can I get some kind of estimate? Thank you so much for any help or advice you may have.
About your leo:
- Sex: female, I think
- Age & Weight: probably just about over 1 year, not sure how much she weighs, but it's probably very little now
- How long have you owned your leo: 1 year
- Where was he/she obtained: pet store
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: only when she has trouble shedding her skin, which is quite often nowadays
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. She had what I thought was impaction, and after I soaked her a couple times in warm water and fed her baby food, it eventually passed
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): when she does, mostly white
- When was the last time he/she went: 2 weeks
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on
She has not eaten in months, and has no interest in moving or drinking water. she sheds incredibly frequently and cannot do so successfully without my help
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 10 gal.
- Type (ex. glass tank): glass tank
- Type of substrate: paper towel
- Hides, how many, what kind: two hides, one moist
B) Heating
- Heat source:
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): 70 to 85 F
- Method of regulating heat source: none.
- What are you using to measure your temps: thermometer that came with tank
- Do you have any lights (describe): 60W bulb above tank
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): none, housed alone.
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): at first crickets every couple days, but then mealworms because she had trouble catching them - but has not eaten anything more than a few teaspoons of baby food for 4 months now
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): dish, but had to start handfeeding with tongs after she stopped moving as often
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): Zilla calcium drops on her food
- What are you gut loading food with: cricket feed
About your leo:
- Sex: female, I think
- Age & Weight: probably just about over 1 year, not sure how much she weighs, but it's probably very little now
- How long have you owned your leo: 1 year
- Where was he/she obtained: pet store
A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: only when she has trouble shedding her skin, which is quite often nowadays
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. She had what I thought was impaction, and after I soaked her a couple times in warm water and fed her baby food, it eventually passed
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): when she does, mostly white
- When was the last time he/she went: 2 weeks
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on
She has not eaten in months, and has no interest in moving or drinking water. she sheds incredibly frequently and cannot do so successfully without my help
Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 10 gal.
- Type (ex. glass tank): glass tank
- Type of substrate: paper towel
- Hides, how many, what kind: two hides, one moist
B) Heating
- Heat source:
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): 70 to 85 F
- Method of regulating heat source: none.
- What are you using to measure your temps: thermometer that came with tank
- Do you have any lights (describe): 60W bulb above tank
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): none, housed alone.
Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): at first crickets every couple days, but then mealworms because she had trouble catching them - but has not eaten anything more than a few teaspoons of baby food for 4 months now
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): dish, but had to start handfeeding with tongs after she stopped moving as often
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): Zilla calcium drops on her food
- What are you gut loading food with: cricket feed
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