Serious injury, looking for pm from someone experienced only pls

[Mich]

Actually a few people have been quite helpful and sent a PM as I had asked, I only wish I had their contact names prior instead of having to ask. I didn't want this to be an ongoing thread at all, please feel free to have a moderator delete it. To any others who may have experience dealing with long term care geckos and neurological issues please feel free to msg me. Hearing your experiences for unusual care issues is interesting and insightful so I thank those few.

 

[LD404]

After all this is through, it might be nice to see an explanatory post of the issue, the suggestions, and the final resolution that you came to. Even though you do not wish to have an open discussion on this thread, which I can understand, many of us may like to learn from your experiences that led you to ask for aid in the first place. I certainly am curious, and think this forum and all who read it can always benefit from sharing experiences with our beloved geckos.

 

[Jusselin]

Basically (sorry mitch) it was a little girls leo...her cat got to it and messed it up pretty good....it has healed quite well from cuts and its tail was dropped but healing up great as well.... has been seen by vets and things are doing good.....Problem is.... It now walks around like an enigma (IS NOT ENIGMA THOUGH) walks in circles back and forth and will not eat unless hand fed gecko soup.....

will these symptoms fade away or will the leo be brain damaged for good? and is culling it even an option or should he give it time....

edit: did not post out of spite....hoping it helps mitch out

 

[Dimidiata]

^ I was not going to say anything. BUT since its been thrown out there. Mitch has been doing everything possible for this lil gal. Shes doing the circles and will not eat unless fed by hand. The main concern is that she wont eat. I personaly reccomended wait a month and see how it goes as stress could still be playing a factor.
The current question at hand is this. How long can a Leo be sustained on a babby food/bug slurry.

 

[gecko4245]

^ I was not going to say anything. BUT since its been thrown out there. Mitch has been doing everything possible for this lil gal. Shes doing the circles and will not eat unless fed by hand. The main concern is that she wont eat. I personaly reccomended wait a month and see how it goes as stress could still be playing a factor.
The current question at hand is this. How long can a Leo be sustained on a babby food/bug slurry.

If it is a product given by the vet which has all the needed vitamins and minerals it can be given for a long time. I had to force feed for 3 months before he started eating on his own, but every situation is different. There is an old post that the person had to force feed for 6 months. Not baby food tho, the sugar is not good at least that is what my vet said. It has to be balanced food.

 

[lillith]

I see both sides of this. It could have all been prevented by direct communications rather than beating around the bush.

Next time, post the symptoms or a photo. The first two pages of this is arguing about whether the OP should post the issue. Once Jusselin simply said what was going on, it cleared the air quite a bit.

I honestly don't think the OP had an attitude, though; I think he was more worried about what other humans would think of him rather than deal with what's wrong with the gecko. And he was partially proved correct.

But, it could have been avoided by directly posting the symptoms.
Or a more general thread asking for advice from experienced vet techs in an odd situation, explaining that this really isn't your gecko to begin with, but you're trying to help it now.

 

[Mich]

After all this is through, it might be nice to see an explanatory post of the issue, the suggestions, and the final resolution that you came to. Even though you do not wish to have an open discussion on this thread, which I can understand, many of us may like to learn from your experiences that led you to ask for aid in the first place. I certainly am curious, and think this forum and all who read it can always benefit from sharing experiences with our beloved geckos.

If you have any advise (positive only) here is my issue. I am not looking to open a debate about culling or anything ot the effect. I am looking for advise from people who have dealt with serisou injury and rehab for geckos who have suatined possible neuro dmg.

This gecko was owned by a child and kept in a 10gal tank with a fish tank type hood. When moved to a lower shelf their family cat took interest in it and unfortunately got at the gecko. This gecko is young, under a year I'd say. She dropped her tail and had some cuts, I took her to my vet and had her treated, other then the tail she appears to have healed (and even that has healed over nicely and will of course just take time). She also had some shedding issue which I was able to get a prescription for (as I didn't want to handle or soak her) and visually she looks good .. only I fear she may have suffered some head trauma, she now shows a lot of what I'd compare to enigma symptoms. She goes in clock wise circles .. always. If you pick her up she’ll move backward or forward on your hand but in her tank she goes in circles. Right now I have to feed her the gecko soup with a dropper and water too so she stays hydrated, she very willingly accepts this but she will not look at mealworms when I try tong feeding. Maybe it’s still too soon ..? I was hoping she’d recover but the circle walking is bad. I am fully capable of taking care of a high maintence gecko however I fear now that she may not eat on her own, I haven’t seen this type of behavior expect in enigmas (I have one with moderate symptoms) and wonder if this is something anyone else has seen after an injury. I don't know if this behaviour is likely to lessen with time or if they are usually not recoverable. Someone also suggested vitamins that may help with neuro healing, I am looking for suggestions such as that.

I wasn't intentionally beating around the bush, I've seen terrible threads where people try to ask for medical advise or anything involving the issue of culling and did not want to be a part of that and I wasn't look for basic first aid advise. I was hoping to make contact with a few experienced people who have tried to rehab geckos such as this in the past so I could speak to them one-on-one. Any negative posts just for the sake of posting is exactly what I hoped to avoid by going through PMs.

 

[gecko4245]

If you have any advise (positive only) here is my issue. I am not looking to open a debate about culling or anything ot the effect. I am looking for advise from people who have dealt with serisou injury and rehab for geckos who have suatined possible neuro dmg.

This gecko was owned by a child and kept in a 10gal tank with a fish tank type hood. When moved to a lower shelf their family cat took interest in it and unfortunately got at the gecko. This gecko is young, under a year I'd say. She dropped her tail and had some cuts, I took her to my vet and had her treated, other then the tail she appears to have healed (and even that has healed over nicely and will of course just take time). She also had some shedding issue which I was able to get a prescription for (as I didn't want to handle or soak her) and visually she looks good .. only I fear she may have suffered some head trauma, she now shows a lot of what I'd compare to enigma symptoms. She goes in clock wise circles .. always. If you pick her up she’ll move backward or forward on your hand but in her tank she goes in circles. Right now I have to feed her the gecko soup with a dropper and water too so she stays hydrated, she very willingly accepts this but she will not look at mealworms when I try tong feeding. Maybe it’s still too soon ..? I was hoping she’d recover but the circle walking is bad. I am fully capable of taking care of a high maintence gecko however I fear now that she may not eat on her own, I haven’t seen this type of behavior expect in enigmas (I have one with moderate symptoms) and wonder if this is something anyone else has seen after an injury. I don't know if this behaviour is likely to lessen with time or if they are usually not recoverable. Someone also suggested vitamins that may help with neuro healing, I am looking for suggestions such as that.

I wasn't intentionally beating around the bush, I've seen terrible threads where people try to ask for medical advise or anything involving the issue of culling and did not want to be a part of that and I wasn't look for basic first aid advise. I was hoping to make contact with a few experienced people who have tried to rehab geckos such as this in the past so I could speak to them one-on-one. Any negative posts just for the sake of posting is exactly what I hoped to avoid by going through PMs.

Brain injuries is not very common here so there is not going to be to many people that know what to expect and it's something that only time can tell. the truth is if the vets did not know chances are neither will the average keepers that only delt with the normal problems, but I know there is a few people that have lots of knowledge but probably don't have the time to email or just don't feel like it. I would just post all the info on here so that you have a better chance of it being viewed. Even if we don't know and you tell us everything we may know people who can help. So maybe it will be good to post the whole store and info like: age, when it happened, more details.
if you want of course.

Everyone has had different types of experience. So maybe even people who had simple experience can have good info. I am just saying you never know. You can just ignore the comments that don't make sense. A person who has only been keeping a reptile for one year could have had a similiar experience but because they read the word experience they will not pm you thinking they don't qualify.

Another thing is that you are not 100% sure if the weird behavior is due to that. If a little girl had him maybe she was not giving it calcium or other things that can cause the brain not to act right. things like low calcium can cause shaking and alot weird things.

 

[gecko4245]

I asked a friend of mine and she told me that the vet has to treat with antibiotics if there was open injuries because cats can pass certain bacterias which can spread to the brain if left unteated. Any open cuts?

 

[Mich]

I've seen this gecko before, several times as it was owned by a friend, which is why it was brought to me. It was well cared for and I know the circle issue is new. I've dealt with calcium issues and even crypto but not neuro issues and your right I doubt many other people have either, I'm sure a lot of geckos with these injuries would have been culled. That is why I was looking for people who had experience with serious injury or have done some gecko rehab, I had hopes those people would PM me (which lots did) and those who haven't would simply move onto another post instead of jumping in with their negative posts. If people thought they could help I gladly welcomed any of their msgs and went into detail with all that info. If others judge and post comments without knowing whats going on then that was the opposite of what I intended and why I tried to go the way I did. Oh well.

 

[gecko4245]

I've seen this gecko before, several times as it was owned by a friend, which is why it was brought to me. It was well cared for and I know the circle issue is new. I've dealt with calcium issues and even crypto but not neuro issues and your right I doubt many other people have either, I'm sure a lot of geckos with these injuries would have been culled. That is why I was looking for people who had experience with serious injury or have done some gecko rehab, I had hopes those people would PM me (which lots did) and those who haven't would simply move onto another post instead of jumping in with their negative posts. If people thought they could help I gladly welcomed any of their msgs and went into detail with all that info. If others judge and post comments without knowing whats going on then that was the opposite of what I intended and why I tried to go the way I did. Oh well.

If it was me the last thing I would worry about would be the negative comments. I would be taking in all the info I can from whoever gives it. it's easy not to answer and keep on going. it sounds that you just want to cull it. if that is what you want to do then just say it so that people will move on. if you got enough responces just let us know. The comments that were stated were not exactly negative, it was that not enough info was provided which let some people think he was just laying there suffering. once we knew the situation the comments stopped.

 

[Mich]

I DO NOT want to cull her or I would have done it long ago, I will if I have too, but I'd rather not. Like I said my only experience with neuro issues with with enigmas. My enigmas went from appearing normal to developing worse and worse syndrome issues over the years so it makes me wonder if perhaps this isnt the kind of thing that can be recoverable and she is just suffering ... or if people have had similar experiences with positive outcomes then that is what I was looking for, opinions from people with more experience in gecko rehab or who have seen similar injuries and neuro problems after an injury. Anyone fed a gecko long term on the soup diet, or is there a vet prescribed one I could possibly request? These types of msgs are welcome, as far as the first 2 entire pages I hope a moderator just deletes it all.

 

[Dimidiata]

^ would be best. Im thinking only time will tell. even if someone else had a positive outcome it cant determine the outcome here, for all we know their could be damage to the spinal cord. So, lets wait a month or so and then watch for improvment.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I'm sorry this thread has had so many 'issues', as I feel it it a very good topic all of us can learn and share by. Ultimately, only Mich can make the decision of what the most appropriate course of action is, especially if the gecko does not begin eating on it's own within a hypothetical time frame. If it were my gecko, I would give it a chance to recover before making any quality of life choices.

 

[gecko4245]

I'm sorry this thread has had so many 'issues', as I feel it it a very good topic all of us can learn and share by. Ultimately, only Mich can make the decision of what the most appropriate course of action is, especially if the gecko does not begin eating on it's own within a hypothetical time frame. If it were my gecko, I would give it a chance to recover before making any quality of life choices.

+1 Since not much info was given and not all vets have enough knowledge so it's always good to make sure the symptoms was actually from the injury and not from a cut or scrapes the cat made because you know reptiles get infection easy. I think he said that the only thing the vet did was give local antibiotic. Most times the vets give oral antibiotics as to prevent infection. I also thought it be nice to share with everyone incase someone else experienced the same thing it would be helpful. I would share but I know it's up to him.

 

[JordanAng420]

My bad. I had to go there.

 

[Mich]

love your quote too lol

 

[Jusselin]

Geckoforum.com/endthread/win

 

[M_surinamensis]

I'm sorry this thread has had so many 'issues', as I feel it it a very good topic all of us can learn and share by.

If it had been public, maybe.

The problem with relying on private messages for things like this is a lack of review and accountability. Mich states he doesn't know who is credible, or exactly what to think about the scenario he's faced with. How then is he to separate quality information and informed perspectives from the contributions of people who are not qualified to comment, but have done so anyway? Take a look at some of the people who have apparently communicated with him via PM; some are people I would trust, many are not. If it had been handled in public, the more egregious errors or the people who were known to be under qualified could have been identified by the community. As it stands, it's anyone's guess what he's been told and what he believes.

With the massive caveat that I would never issue definite comments about a veterinary topic on a message board because I am; not a vet, not looking at the animal in person-

In addition to trauma and infection as potential sources of neurological damage related to the cat attack, be sure to investigate the medication and dosing levels which were used to treat the wounds. Overdosed or incorrectly prescribed medications can have an impact on the brain and other systems in a fashion that can manifest as motor difficulty.

Further, as a precaution, double check other potential conditions that can cause similar symptoms to manifest; unrelated infections, trauma and poisoning, exposure to high temperatures, congenital issues, nutritional issues, problems with sensory organs.

... that kid looks like the illegitimate offspring of Johnny Unitas and Ronald Lee Ermey. I wouldn't mess with him.

 

[Dimidiata]

^ knew youd be here eventualy. Good info. Honestly its anyones guess but only your decision and ability to provide the reason this may be happening.