Poop question

[garygecko]

My son got a leo about a week ago. The pet store gave him giant crickets and mealworms. Gary was eating 1 cricket per day and refusing the mealworms. Someone on here said we should be feeding smaller crickets, so I found a local pet store that had babies and Gary was overjoyed. He ate 5 in about 2 minutes. He has been eating 4-5 a day for 3 days. His poop is bigger, which is good as he is eating. But the dark part looks like it has undigested cricket parts in it. There is the white stuff also and it looks normal from afar, but up closes like a compact cricket part poop. Is this normal? He is a baby - about 3-4 inches long. He does look a little skinny to me, but he has been eating more and getting more active the longer we have him. And he has been pooping once a day like clockwork for almost a week.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Any change in diet can cause a change in poop. A photo would help us better help you.

 

[garygecko]

I should have thought of that, but I tossed it. Today was smaller but without any cricket parts. He seems to be eating more every day. His midsection is darker, but my guess is that is because he is eating more and his skin is practically translucent. We are adding one more cricket per day and he eats 3-4 while we watch and the rest are gone the next day. So he is up to 5-6 a day. Here is a pic of Gary

: View attachment 38388

 

[Reptile gem]

It sound's like he is eating fine now ,i am please that you have put him onto smaller cricket's as they should not be any bigger than the space from eye to eye of your gecko as it can cause problem's.
Not wishing to alarm you but please keep an eye on the dark mid section as i have known
some pet shop's to sell gecko's that have worm's,but the fact that your's is eating fine it doe's not seem the case here.
One's that are not eating are the one's to worry about.
The other day i was talking to someone who had brought a bearded dragon from a pet shop with calcium deficiency and the pet shop owner knew this but still sold it her at the full price.

 

[garygecko]

Thanks! He is still eating really well. He did not poop last night which concerns me a bit. But he also somehow managed to splash all the water out of his dish. We found him in his new moist hide this morning and his skin looks a little different so I am wondering if he is starting to shed. What should I look out for about the worms??? I am a bit paranoid as I would not have bought a leo without a lot of research and being prepared, and definitely not from a pet store, but my 8 year old son went to the petshop with a gift card and his Dad. They are not allowed to go unaccompanied again! We had a horrible experience years ago when we had an iguana. My dh bought it at a store that seemed to know what they were doing. It was a baby and very docile. After a few months it started acting funny and died. The vet said it had worms all along, and that he had seen that a lot with pet stores. He advised us to deworm any future iguanas as a precaution. Is that advised with leos??? I think it is a positive sign that he is eating more and more active, but the fact that he was a $14.99 special at a big box pet store concerns me.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

No you should NOT treat for parasites as a precautionary measure. Medications are harsh on a gecko's system and without a positive diagnosis it could cause more harm than good in a baby gecko. Your vet may run a fecal test without seeing the animal to check, but in order to treat, if he does have them, you would have to take it to the vet's office to be certain of the proper dosage and frequency. It's not the same protocol for all animals! No gecko can be observed for their normal behavior patterns right after you get it. It has to settle in and de-stress from all the changes.

 

[garygecko]

Thanks! I was just searching the site and reading a bunch of threads on parasites that said the same thing. I have an appointment with my regular vet on Friday for my dogs and am going to find out who does reptiles in the area. The receptionist thinks there is an exotic vet just up the road from their office. Once I locate a vet for Gary I may get a fecal test run if he still has the dark stomach. I don't want to end up like some of the stories I have read here! So far I think he is fine, but I want to make sure he stays that way. I just checked on him and his skin looks really scaly so my guess is he is going to shed? I wonder if he took a bath last night and splashed all the water out. He definitely had water at 11 last night and I fixed it at 8 this morning, so he wasn't without it for too long. And I can't believe I am spending all this time worrying about a tiny little lizard - but he is growing on me. And watching my son's joy in having him is wonderful too. Thanks so much for all the advise!!!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

As far as the dark stomach, it's not necessarily an indication of anything wrong, but their skin is translucent and you can see their guts. Especially if they are eating good, you see it. Occasionally there is a problem with the stomach spot, but not usually. Take a look at these photos so you can see how they are made up http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=71169 Everything would need to be ruled out, then an exam by a qualified herp vet. New gex can be worrisome, especially babies that are more fragile.

He thinks he has a pool Weeeeeee!!!!

 

[Reptile gem]

Sorry i was not trying to alarm people i was just suggesting to keep an eye out as i rescue different reptile's,gecko's being the main one's.
I also help at our local reptile zoo who have gecko's brought in from people who have brought gecko's from another shop and 7 time out of 10 it'd been gecko's with worm's and the owner's dont have the money to take them to a vet so i have taken them on and had them checked out by a vet.
I would not give treament to them without first checking with the vet's as i to know it can be harsh on them.
So yes i agree with fl_orchidslave.
I have a gecko here atm that has just gone through treatment for worm's and she is now recovering well and is now putting weight back on.

 

[garygecko]

Thanks - the photos are really interesting. I'm going to show them to my son after school. He is fascinated with animals. He actually did a lot of research before strategically getting his Dad to buy Gary. Unfortunately he did not realize that research on pet leos would be very different than research on leos in the wild. I'm putting on the UTH tonight. Then I will remove the light entirely or get one of the red ones if we need it for temp. I'm hoping that will help too. Quick Q - do you put the warm hide on the UTH or just near it??? I got the one that is sized for a 20g tank. I don't have a probe thermometer yet, but will have one by the end of the week. I don't want him to get too hot, but I think the temp has been on the low side with the lights and he hates them. He has one hide that he loves and will stay in no matter where it is. He has even figured out exactly where to position himself so you can't see him from any of the holes. It makes the kids think he ran away. With that and his overnight swimming session I'm thinking he is going to be a lot of fun over the next few years!

 

[garygecko]

I appreciate the heads up! Having lost a pet to worms, I am a little paranoid. Luckily there seems to be a vet nearby that I can take him to if needed. I'm going to keep an eye on him and if anything seems amiss I'll take him in for a fecal check just as a precaution. I'd rather spend the money on a checkup than find out too late that he had something I could have fixed if I had caught it earlier.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

In order to minimize stress in the new home, it would be a good idea to go head and accumulate all the new things BUT wait until you have it all and change stuff out at one time, rather than little changes here and there. Except for the UTH and light, which doesn't require doing anything inside his tank. That way he won't be insecure, wondering what's next. They need to settle in with as little contact as possible for a week or so.

Pet shop gex are notorious for having parasites, so even if he does have a small amount, he is in no immediate danger. If he began to get lethargic and stop eating for a couple weeks, as a baby (adults can go much longer without eating), a fecal test should be run right away. Stress will cause a gecko to stop eating, so again, you will want to minimize that.

It's great that you can line up a vet ahead of time in case it's ever needed

 

[garygecko]

I had my son read your post as he is planning all kinds of things for Gary's cage. We got the wet hide in a couple of days ago and now he has everything he needs - 2 hides plus a wet hide, two water dishes in case he goes swimming again and calcium. So we are going to leave the inside as is for at least a couple of weeks and let him get settled while my son gets ideas. We do have tiles, but will install them later. My son wants to build something out of legos as he saw someone on here do that. And he wants plants. If he sees some of the beautiful setups on here, he will want a second level, and a big tree branch and......

I was a little worried that Gary didn't poop last night, but he also didn't have any water after he splashed it all out of the dish. I snuck down to check on him just now = 1 hour after lights out = and he was out prowling around and already pooped. He also ate at least 3 crickets that we saw and has 3 more to stalk tonight. So it looks like he is doing well. Thanks so much for all your help! As you can see I am a nervous newbie as my son would be crushed if something happened to Gary. I think once we get the light off (tomorrow) we will see a lot more of him. And by Friday I will have the vet lined up just in case.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Sounds like everything is going well There's a thread on here that shows a photo of a lego hide, it's very cool. And they are completely washable! There's a lot of threads that show different set-ups to get ideas. Kids love geckos, and with good care they can provide many years of enjoyment. I'm glad you are enjoying Gary too

You're welcome