Sick baby leos

[Rebecca]

My sister has hatched several babies but they don't look so good right now. They are all pretty thin and a couple have died. She gave them to me to look after this weekend and I ordered a bunch of mini mealies for them. I am not sure what to do to help them gain weight. She had them in a small cage lined with paper towels. In her humid box she had a paper towel also(which was usually dry). I have them in a bigger cage with coconut dirt in the bottom and their humid box has vermiculite in it. I haven't noticed them eating though. I saw a few of them go up to the bowl and watch the mealies but then they would just walk away. If anyone has any suggestions of what to do please let me know. I don't want them all to die. Also her last three that have hatched had eye problems. One didn't look like it had eyes and then it finally opened them and the last 2 (clutchmates) they look like they don't have eyelids. Is there anything that should be done with them to help.

 

[bubblez825]

first of all, take the coconut dirt OUT of the cage and put paper towels down. in the humid hide make sure its moist paper towel. the babies can die if the y ingest anything loose and get impacted. try pinhead crickets or hand feeding the mealworms. you can also try wasworms, btu they are like candy to a gecko so dont feed them too often, like feed them 1ce every 2 weeks. they can each probably have 3-4. These might help them gain a bit of weight and/or make them realize they are hungry and they might go after the mealies.


Good luck!

Emily

 

[acpart]

Here are a few more suggestions:

feeding: hold it gently and press a mealworm against the mouth till it opens up and then let it bite the mealworm. If it's strong enough to eat a mealworm, it should chomp on it till it gets it down. Hand feed twice daily for a few days and if that's working, see if you can drop a mealworm in front of it and get it to hunt for it.

If this doesn't work, mash a mealworm and rub some of the guts on the mouth to see if it will lick it off.

If this doesn't work (or even before trying this) find the recipe for Marcia's slurry and feed that

If none of that works, it may be too late.
If you don't think it's drinking, put some drops of water on its nose and see if it will lick them off.

I have had a number of hatchlings that were very slow to get started, and still weighed less than 5 grams after a month. All of these guys were active and energetic, but I did hand feed them for awhile. All of them have become independent eaters (except for a few younger ones that I'm still working with) and are gaining well.

I did have one who was failure to thrive almost from the beginning. I hand fed it but it was less and less willing to take anything and died after 2 weeks. One thing to note is that if the eyes look really small and sunken, the baby is probably dehydrated. You can try to hand feed it water and also give it a warm soak.

As far as the eyes go, I have one hatchling with poorly formed eyelids and I've been moistening its eyes. At first I did this several times a day; now it only needs it every other day or so. It is growing slowly, but well, frequently has its eyes open and can definitely see.

Aliza

 

[Rebecca]

Thanks for the suggestion. I held them and fed them some mealies. After forcing the first one in most of them readily ate more. Unfortunately one is so far gone it can barely walk right now. I tried to feed it still but it wouldn't take anything. I don't think it will make it. Hopefully the rest will as long as I can keep them eating. Thanks again!

 

[bubblez825]

UR welcome good luck and hang in there

 

[MSMD]

How are they doing? Some more info might help us adress what is going on....What temps are their terrarium? Warm side? Cool side? Are they being supplemented with calcium? D3? Multi vitamins?

Good luck with the little ones!

 

[Rebecca]

A little more info..... The temps are in the 70's on the cool side and 80's on the warm side. They do have calcium and vitamins. I dust the worms and also leave a little in a small container. There was one that was too far gone and it died. The rest are still alive but still look thin. I have tried to force feed them and they seem to enjoy the mealies but they don't seem interested in getting them theirselves. I bought some worm medicine from my local pet store and wanted to ask if it would be safe to give that to them. If you have a comment on that let me know. I wanted to ask someone more experienced before I used it. I am just doing the best that I can for them but I have no clue why they don't want to eat. I hatched several babies myself but they have all flourished and not had any problems. All of their tails are very thin also. Once again any info to try to save them is greatly appreciated. Thanks