SEVERE ANOREXIA ...

[Laaine]

Pretty much explains it all....PLEASE HELP !!

About your leo:
- Sex: Young gecko so we are unsure.
- Age & Weight: not too sure, about 4 inches long though.
- How long have you owned your leo: less than a week, about 4 days.
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Pet Store ..

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: have not handled it at all other than putting it in the tank.
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now?: sleeps all the time, doesn't eat, doesn't drink.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe: dropped its tail while at the pet store.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): a little bit of whiteness and some darkness. not runny
- When was the last time he/she went: sometime yesterday i think.
C) Problem
- Please briefly descrive the problem and how long it has been going on: very very skinny, skinny tail, and will not eat anything. sleeps all te time

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 10 US Gallons
- Type (ex. glass tank): Glass
- Type of substrate: Repto Carpet, Moss
- Hides, how many, what kind: 1 cave type hide with moss inside, then on the opposite end there is a rock hide with no moss.
B) Heating
- Heat source: leopard gecko heating pad (came with a leopard gecko starter kit) and a 75 watt red heat lamp
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): hot side fluctuated for 2 days, now we got an UTH and it's sitting at around 87F on the hot side and 75F on the cool side.
- Method of regulating heat source:
- What are you using to measure your temps: those stick on temperature gauges that have the arrows pointing to the temperature. (you know?)
- Do you have any lights (describe): have 3 lights. 1 day lamp which we have hardly used. 1 75 watt infrared red heat lamp, and a heat lamp that came in the kit, unsure of the wattage but it isn't strong and it is a dark purply-blue color.
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): just one leo , unsure of sex.
- Describe health, or previous problems: has previously dropped it's tail, it is not growing back healthily and the leo is very skinny. it is also refusing any food, but we have yet to offer crickets. we will be getting them tomorrow and gut loading them !! cross our fingers Slim likes it..

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): we have offered him waxworms and mealworms. getting crickets tomorrow and also some baby food. also looking into the gecko slurry, but we have not seen a vet about the problems. would it be okay to make the slurry without the optional ingrediants?
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): offered by tweezers, didn't seem interested. left 2 waxworms and 1 mealworm in feeding dish with calcium/d3 powder.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): Tetra ReptoCal Calcium & D3
- What are you gut loading food with: carrots, oatmeal, fish food . is this okay? is any type of fish food okay, and will it give good nutrients to the gecko?

basically I am wanting to fatten up my gecko but it refuses anything i put in the tank and it just hides and sleeps all the time in the hot moist bed. is there anything in particular you feed your insects that seem to cause interest in your gecko's? I have heard something about the different things you gut load with can have an impact on your gecko's interest in the insects. let me know any ways I can fatten 'Slim' up. THANKS !!

 

[ajveachster]

You have only had the gecko for 4 days, so it's not surprising that it hasn't eaten yet. It sounds like a hatchling or juvenile based on the 4" length you described. A picture would be helpful for us to aide in determining age if you want. At very young ages the tails can be a bit thinner, but not skeletal. You should not need any lights for the gecko. They are nocturnal, and really don't care for the light. I have found that crickets tend to be the most stimulating feeder to trigger hunting, but that isn't always the case. Keep offering food each night. You may want to make an appointment with a vet if you think it is an illness.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Since you got it from a pet store, I would just run a fecal sample to the vet. That's about 16 bucks if you don't bring the gecko in, just the poop sample. There might not be enough if your little leo doesn't produce that much, but maybe you could collect all you find and hope it's fresh enough to get a stain under the microscope. If the vet finds parasites, your little gecko might be doomed, because the smaller they are, the more difficult it is for them to survive medication. But if he doesn't find anything, your leo might be just nervous because he's in a new home. A skinny tail is always reason to worry (never buy a gecko with a skinny tail, not even out of mercy; you might lose all your others), so I'd go with a fecal sample. Pet store geckos are often $29-39, so if you take it to the vet and get a bill for $70-125, you have to decide whether you want to do this. Mostly, a fecal sample can tell you just as much as a vet visit with the leo present (because that's what the veterinary wants to do then).

Good luck!

Chrissy

 

[fl_orchidslave]

You will need a probe thermometer to measure floor temps on the warm side. Those sticky things only measure ambient. Most gex take several days to several weeks to settle in a new home and begin eating. I would leave a bowl of mealworms i, rotate and count them daily. If he's pooping, he's eating. Some are shy eaters and wait till no one is watching. Can you post some pics of him?

 

[Dog Shrink]

Just like everyone else said... let him settle in, get use to his new environment etc. Also you might want to try and make your hot side warmer. Optimum range for most leos should be between 88-95 degrees. He sounds like from sleeping all the time that he might be cold. ALso when trying to fatten your elo up, take your time. If he truly is emaciated then you have to feed slow steady meals offering a limited amount of feeder with in reason to avoid re-feeding syndrom. Please google it. Be careful with the wax worms they're like gecko crack and he could refuse other feeders if he gets too many of them. Just keep offering food on a regular schedule (preferably after sunset) and he should start to eat for ya. Personally I don't know that I would keep the feeders in the calcium dish, I know Ero's doesn't eat nearly as aggressivly on dusting days as he does non-dusting days, so you might just want to keep that in mind, maybe offer a small dish with and with out calcium suppliment but make sure the dish is alrge enough for the worms to walk around in. I wouldn't leave crickets in the tank overnight with such a small young leo tho. They can nibble on him and stress him more when you do that. It's the movement that gets their attention and triggers feeding/hunting response. You also might want to leave a piece of food in the feeders dish too so that they are more active and don't perish before your leo has a chance to eat them. My leo would never eat out of a dish so he gets fed with tweezers. Just make sure whatever food item you leave for the worms (potato, carrot, apple with out core or seeds) is bigger than your leo can accidentally eat just in case he accidentally grabs the food not the feeder. If he doesn't start eating in like a week or so then you might want to have the fecal exam done like mentioned, but being a petstore leo you might want to do the fecal regardless. Contact your local vet to see if they have a herp specialist on staff and what the cost would be for office visit/fecal exam.