rescued albino super malnurished

[pogo and apophis]

I just rescued an albino male. He hasn't been able to eat due to his previous tank mate. The woman i got him from had no idea what she was doing. His shed isn't coming of correctly and is covering his eyes and mouth. He is very small but doesn't seem interested in food. He has never been given any sort of vitamin ever.

I have him in a humid hide to try to moisten and loosen up the skin.

I have a bearded dragon but this is my first leopard gecko. Please help. I dont know what my next step should be?

 

[Keith N]

You should set it up in maybe a 10 gallon with under tank heater. You need a humid hide and a few hides located in various. You can try to feed crickets or mealworms dusted with calcium or vitamins. They do not need overhead light as they do better with belly heat. You can soak him in warm water to help with shed removal.

 

[pogo and apophis]

worried about my albino

that's what ive been doing. He wont eat. We've tried to feed him using large feeding tweezers but he wont open his mouth. I also noticed that his left ear is full of skin.

Are there any tricks to getting him to eat. im afraid he wont survive.

 

[snakegirl]

first try removing the shed, Photos of him would be wonderful to see how bad it is, and what action would be best to take, Soak him in warm water for 10 min or so afterward you can try Removing the shed with tweezers. i tend to even dap some glycerin over there toes to help remove some of the shed, Make sure you keep him on paper towel, Once removing the shed might help him want to eat + its just good to get the shed off him.

Dont try to feed crickets, this is right now pointless since he is weak and cant see well (i guess) your better off with mealworms or even wax worms see if he might take a wax worm at this point try getting a photo up of him. Make sure you have heat over or under him to help keep his system warm.

 

[Tony C]

Pics would be very helpful to see how bad off he is. If he is very skinny and refuses to eat, gecko slurry/soup is an option.

 

[pogo and apophis]

i have an under the tank heater as well as a humid hide. i'll try to get pics up soon. He refused wax worms as well as meal worms. I read online that they will eat calcium powder or vitamin powder out of a feeding dish so i have made this available to him too.

I have a bearded dragon so i know general reptile stuff but my pogo (bearded dragon) has never refused food like this...

My leopard gecko's tail is as skinny if not skinnier than his body.

 

[pogo and apophis]

ok so after a soak in the bath and an aggressive bout with q-tips we got most of the shed off his face. Were trying to feed him now. he has skin inside his ear not around the outside part but inside it. only one of them though?

p.s. i also just found out he bites

 

[snakegirl]

try now just getting the shed off the eyes,face,toes, Body parts that he can either lose (toes) or interfere with feeding (head and eyes) are the main things to work at. if he he trying to bite and run this is in a way a good sign (he has some strength) but lets not over stress him out. you can try keeping him fed by places live worms in the cage or making the slurry, try putting some Calcium up to his nose...see if he will lick it. try dropping a little on his nose

 

[pogo and apophis]

he is missing toes from previous shed im assuming. he turns his head when we try to put food near him to see.

 

[Haligren]

Sounds like you may need to leave him alone for a bit, and try feeding him once or twice a day. I'd strongly suggest the slurry recipe someone posted. If you can't afford all the ingredients then I've made a tone-downed version that seems to work quite well although it doesn't have all the nutrients that the full version has:

1-2 handfuls of extra large mealworms
1 jar of squash baby food
1/2 tea spoon calcium
1/2 tea spoon vitamins
1/4-1/3 cup Pedialite

Blend in a blender until milk-shake consistancy although it may turn out slightly thinner. Fill a syringe or eyedropper with the mixture. Put some on the face (careful not to clog his nostrils) of your gecko and let him lick it off. After a while he may start licking the droplets directly from the eyedropper.

There's also a caloric supplement that you can get from r-Zilla, I think. It's mostly sugars however, but seems to work pretty well as an appetite stimulant. We used to use it at the pet store where I worked with good results.

He also may not be eating simply because he's so stressed from being handled so much. So that's why I was just saying to leave him alone for most of the day until feeding time. Try to get him to eat about 100 ccs to start. It takes lots of patience but it's worth it to see your gecko eating again. Good luck!

Oh, and you can freeze the slurry in an ice cube tray and then thaw the cubes whenever you need it.

 

[ddkgeckos]

dont remove the skin from inside his ear. leos have what could look like skin inside there ear as a sort of net to stop dirt and things. are you sure its skin and not this. take a photo so we can see.

 

[pogo and apophis]

i may try the slurry afterall

the problem in having is he wont open his mouth. ive had him for going on 4 days we only handle him a few times a day as to not over stress him. I finally got him to eat A mealworm but it was completely force fed. I tried putting dabs of calcium powder on his face but he wont lick it off. Is there another trick?

His coloring has comeback. He is supposed to be albino but he pretty orange now. im thinking it has something to do with the stable heat that i have him on now versus what he had before.

 

[pogo and apophis]

dont remove the skin from inside his ear. leos have what could look like skin inside there ear as a sort of net to stop dirt and things. are you sure its skin and not this. take a photo so we can see.

it was def. skin. we got all the previous shed off the other night but by the tim ewe woke up the next morning to check on him his whole head was covered again. We just got that off and it pulled the shed skin out of his ear with out us doing anything. It was just one ear thats why i was worried. who often should he be shedding? I was told that he is just getting caught up, since the last shed never came off. does that sound right? why isnt the rest of his body shedding too?