Shaky Leg and Crusty Vent.

[Hankj]

- Female
- 2 years old (maybe), Unknown weight.
- Had for two months
- Some kid sold them to me.

A) Health/History
- Handle daily usually.
- She is a little lethargic it seems like, weird bathroom activities.
- She used to be deathly skinny, looking back at pictures of her is haunting.

B) Fecals
- She is pooping kind of sporadic. Only one big chunk since she last ate
- Yesterday or last night.

C) Problem
- She just laid an egg last Thursday and started eating a lot of mealies. Then I fed her a pinkie on Friday. She ate it eagerly and since then I have been seeing some problems.. Seems like she would be trying to poop a lot but not a whole lot would come out, just a lot of fluids and maybe a little bit of fecal matter, but after a lot of little poops sure it added up. She had one larger long poop but that's it. She is refusing mealworms at the moment. I have also noticed some kind of liquids on the opposite side of the tank of the water dish. Right by her or where she just was so she is dripping something away from their designated bathroom. Yesterday and today I have noticed when she walks her back feet shake and are all twitchy. Today while trying to get a visual on the problem I noticed her vent looks kind of crusty and impacted with a yellow whitish crust.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- 20 gallon long
- Glass
- Tile with fine sand in the cracks
- A "stone" hide, a moist hut, a little cave thing.
B) Heating
- Heat pad and red light. 40w for the light.
- Not sure, hot, 90, 90+
C) Cage mates
- One young, maybe 5-7 month old male
- He was little and has a regenerated tail

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- Mealworms, that one pinky.
- I'll hand feed her a ton (10+) of worms at a time, and there are worms left in the tank in a dish.
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- ReptiCal. I don't do it too often but the worms in the dish are dusted, but occasionally, not enough, I will dip her worms in the calcium. There is also a dish of calcium available to them at all times.
- Wheat bran and carrots that are hand fed. The worms in the dish are with carrots, a bunch of calcium and Zilla cricket food.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Get her in a warm shallow soak for 20-30 min to loosen the vent crust, you should be able to clean it up with a qtip. I think the pinkie was too big for her and she's having problems breaking it down enough to move out. Whenever we offered pinkies in the past, they were fresh (just born), those are much smaller than a regular pinkie. A few dots of pharmacy grade mineral oil on her lips to lick would be helpful, it's a laxative. The shaking could be her straining to poop. If this doesn't improve very quickly, she will need to be taken to a qualified herp vet.

She has a rank mate that should be removed. Laying females don't need the stress of being bothered by a male. One that is struggling with a health issue needs to have warmer temps, around 95. You can pick up a digital probe thermometer at the pet shop for around $10. Lower temps also affects digestion, which will hinder her body in processing the pinkie.

Prepare to take her to the vet, just in case.

 

[Hankj]

I know it is plenty hot, that's not really an issue. I'm 90% sure. I will throw her in a soak, and the pinkie was at least three days old = ( I should have known better.

And lets say the mineral oil doesn't work, and I take her to the vet, what would they do for her?

What would the crust be from?

 

[Hankj]

I removed the crust last night, and it was back again today, for me to remove. This isn't sperm or a sperm plug is it? I gave her some mineral oil and had her in warm water for the vent and was massaging her belly a little bit. I have never done this before but I she seems very soft and squishy to me except on her lower abdominal, towards the right, I could feel some more solid material. Could this be the compaction or is that just some kind organ?

Also, another question, non-related, from one act of sex with the male could she lay several eggs, several clutches?

 

[TokayKeeper]

Also, another question, non-related, from one act of sex with the male could she lay several eggs, several clutches?

Yes. I've never had to repair geckos within a season to have multiple clutches. Best I've done was 8 and 9 clutches (16 and 18 eggs respectively) from one pairing and all fertile.

Regarding the pinkie, you're fine. Some of my larger males have taken fuzzie mice that are on the smaller side with no complications; they're also a little more nutritious and not just a blob of fat, milk, and underdeveloped bone like pinkies.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

It could be either. Only a vet could say with certainty following an x-ray. When a male and female are housed together- yes. Separate them immediately and be 100% certain of your temps, and get it up to 95 so she can digest that pinkie.

 

[Hankj]

That is fascinating.

Directly under the bulb, the regular little reptile thermometer was reading just under 100 and the prob thermometer was reading just over 100.

 

[sausage]

female leos can store sperm for atleast a year so even if they are apart they will still lay if they feel happy to