Should he be put down?

[SPJ]

Vet visit showed Metabolic Bone Disease (already knew that) and Cryptosporidium.

He is on treatment and I am using full strength ammonia to clean everything he came in contact with.

This now opens up a whole #%$load of problems. I now have to keep a close eye on all the critters. I am now afraid of what might happen with the other animals I have.

I brought him home instead of euthanizing him but am now second guessing that.

 

[brandy101010]

I'm so sorry your gecko is sick. As far as I know there is no cure for crypto. and It might be easier on the gecko to let it go now instead of suffering.
Hopefully someone else that knows more about crypto will post for you.

 

[SPJ]

Supposedly this stuff called Alinia works to kill the reptile species of crypto.

 

[BalloonzForU]

IMO I would have gone ahead and put him down. It's a death sentence with crypto, and you risk infecting more of your critters at home. Best bet would to have them all tested now, because an animal can have crypto without symptoms for months.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Im sorry to hear about him and sorry to say that I would put him down too, its just not work risking your other leos.

 

[leopardgecko95]

Really sorry to hear this. I would probably put him down. I myself have a lil leo with mbd and she seems to be doing ok but we are balancing out if we are going to put her to sleep or not. But with crypto i think that your best bet would to be going anhead and putting it down...sorry

 

[Dottie]

I had a little guy very ill with MBD but not the crypto. I had to struggle with the choice but decided to keep on trying. Using neocalgulcon syrup really brought him around! He's now thriving, growing very fast, no more shed problems and is my only kid that will eat mealies out of his dish. The rest all have to be hand fed. When I took him to the vet the first time, we thought for sure the next visit would be to put him to sleep. That was 2 months ago. However, only you can make the decision by watching him to see if there is improvement or not.
Good luck
Dorcas

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I am so very sorry your gecko is so sick, Steve.

To the best of my knowledge, crypto is always fatal in leopard geckos, and treatment is still experimental for the specie. You would have to wear gloves anytime you handled the gecko or anything it came in contact with, and disinfect it's enclosure, water bowl, hide, and all furniture items daily in straight household ammonia to prevent the gecko from re-infecting itself. You may also be putting the rest of your reptile collection in jeopardy of infection.

Steve, only you can make the decision on whether or not to put the little gecko down, but if it was my decision to make I would humanely euthanize it by putting it in the refrigerator until it went into a cold-coma and then freezing it, or by putting it in a CO2 chamber.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Steve is this the one that you just got, that I pointed out the MBD on?

I'm also sorry, I forgot to mention this in my earlier post. Pool little one.

 

[acpart]

I'm very sorry for all the trouble you're having and your worries about your other geckos. Have you notified the pet store, especially if the one you got was housed with others?

Aliza

 

[SPJ]

Steve is this the one that you just got, that I pointed out the MBD on?

I'm also sorry, I forgot to mention this in my earlier post. Pool little one.

Yes. The same one.

 

[SPJ]

I'm very sorry for all the trouble you're having and your worries about your other geckos. Have you notified the pet store, especially if the one you got was housed with others?

Aliza

Yes I did and they were not exactly helpful. First they deny this is the same gecko they sold me, then they say even if it was the same gecko, I have no guarenty on it.

Get this.
This is their reptile guarenty.

"All reptiles are guarenteed for 10 days unless it is removed from the premises. In order for the guarentee to be in effect, the animal must remain here after being paid for in full the duration of the guarenty period."

What a load of crap. What kind of stupid, backwards, give the shaft to the buyer kind of guarentee is that? This is actually posted behind the register. I didn't even notice it when I was there and no one bothered to point it out until I went back with a complaint.

I also noticed they had not one single leopard gecko in the store this time. Either they sold every one they had less than 2 weeks ago and have not gotten any replacements or they all died and they aren't replacing them. Kind of odd to have so many empty cages in a retail store. But of course I was just told they were sold when I asked about it.

 

[justin-branam]

What store did you buy this from? best thing to prevent these things, is to let buyers know where to stay away from.

I agree with the others, go ahead and put him down.

 

[SPJ]

Amity Pet Center in Amity CT.

 

[LadyGecko]

I am so sorry to hear about your beautiful new gecko's illness

OMG-I thought that I had heard/read everything that was past the point of ridiculous but that guarantee is just plain stupid

I wonder if there is a way that you could get the health dept.involved with that store for selling geckos with a highly contagious/infectious disease?
just a thought........

It has been my experience when buying from pet shops that most of them mention their guarantee at the time of purchase but I can see why this one would not even bother

Is there anyway to find out the source of this gecko-whether it is coming from a local source or a large distributor?

As was said-the supplier would be a good place to steer clear of and knowing the source wouldn't hurt either
I don't find it to be a coincidence either that they no longer have any Leos in their store at this time
I feel so very sad for all of the people that may have bought Leos with this same condition if they were in fact all sold and pray that everyone of them shows the good judgment that you did by practicing quarantine

Take care


Sandy

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

That guarantee is ABSURD!!!

 

[Jeanne]

That isn't even a guarantee! They seriously should be ashamed of themselves.

I am so sorry that this happened, the poor little Gecko! I know that you will do the right thing, whether it be putting him down or not. You just need to do what's best for the Gecko.

 

[Melody]

How did the vet test for Crypto? My vet wanted over $150 with no guarantee that they could even tell - unless it was actively shedding the parasite at the time. Times xxxx? geckos?

 

[BalloonzForU]

Oh man Steve, I'm sorry to hear that. That place should be out of business already.