please help

[madmc]

I have had three hatchlings this year from the same female, everything was going fine until one of them (at 4 weeks old) started having fits and couldn't move its back legs. I asked my reptile supplier for advice, he told me the symptoms suggested it was metabolic bone disease and advised me to get liquid calcium. i ordered it but she died before i could it came. i gut-load all my insects and give my babies 1 drop liquid c a week so i cannot understand why this is happening, three weeks on and my oldest and healthiest (11 weeks) suddenly started having the same problems and died within 3 days. Its a week on from that now and i'v found my last remaining baby's left back foot doesnt seem to be working properly. i am desperatly trying to solve this problem so if anybody has advice could you please help!?!

 

[acpart]

Some people have hatched babies that don't seem to metaboliza calcium well even though they're supplemented properly, so that could be an issue, maybe hereditary? Are you providing vitamin D3 as well as calcium? They need that to metabolize the calcium. I hope your last baby makes it, but if for some reason it doesn't, you might consider a necroscopy by a reptile vet to find out what happened so you don't run into this next season as well.

Aliza

 

[madmc]

I do provide D3 in the form of gut loading my insects. It was the mothers first season and she was just big enough. She also stopped feeding properly when she started laying but i knew this would happen. She wouldn't eat any dusted insects, only giant meal worms (which i cant seem to gut load) so i dont know if that might have caused it.
Many thanks for the reply!

Shaun

 

[Gmom08]

Same symptoms in a baby beardie

I was at a vet visit with my beardie when someone brought in a baby beardie with the same symptoms-paralyzed back legs, that happened at about 4 weeks in age. The vet said it was a type of parasite and the animal needed to be treated weekly to stop the disease, which in this case was reversible.

I'm not sure about baby geckos with this. Be worth a trip to the vet maybe.
They can do a fecal and check 'em out.

Good luck-G

 

[fallen_angel]

You can also leave a dish of the calcium powder inside of the cage, and geckos will lick it as needed, even when they aren't eating on a normal basis. Best of luck to you and I'm sorry to hear that this has happened!

 

[daveim]

isn't there a parasite that causes symptoms like this? I think I saw it on another thread.

 

[madmc]

thanks very much for all the suggestions i have pretty much narrowed it down to a lack calcium, i have bought a liquid calcium and uvb and have been treating him as prescribed. His legs are working fine now and he is pretty much right he is just not eating to well so i'm keeping a close eye on him. He seems to be a fighter, he was the smallest of the three and looked weaker when he hatched but he seems to be fighting to survive and is putting on weight. thanks again!

 

[LeapinLizards]

UV rays can actually be harmful to leopard geckos. If a vet told you to treat the geckos with UV, he was sorely mistaken, and does not specialize in leopard geckos. Unlike other lizards that bask to convert UV rays to Vitamin D (which aids in calcium absorption), leopard geckos are mainly nocturnal, therefore their eyes and skin are not adapted to do this.

My first leopard gecko, years ago, actually almost died from over exposure to UVB light (I obviously had no idea at that point). She got extremely sick, went off food, her color changed, she was lethargic, etc. Once I removed the light she made a 100% turn around.

I would suggest ditching the UVB...it's not necessary, and the reason the vet prescribed it is because they were unaware of the difference between a leopard gecko, and other desert dwelling lizards.