Sick Gecko & vet doesn't know what it is

[MelissaDiane]

On 10/1/08 Sobe's front legs started to shake. She has always had calcium in her dish. Within a few days she was unresponsive (looks dead). At first it looked like MBD & the vet did an X-ray that he said he see's the start of MBD in her spine. Then about a week later the vet felt a lump & thought it was impaction (that is not likely either as I use paper towels or reptile carpet & coco fiber for the moist hide). He did a tubal feeding with mineral oil twice now. He gave her two dewormings as he had found hookworm larva. He gave her two doses of antibiotics.

We've been feeding her Slurry ever since she's been like this. She does eat this at a very slow pace when we place it on her mouth & stroke her head. She barely moves. We've been given her warm soaks too.

Any words of wisdom? Temps are 88-91 in the warm hide where we keep her.

Thanks.

 

[acpart]

This is not meant to solve your problems, but may be some things to consider: you may want to raise the temp on your hot side. A lot of people think 92 is about the best temp, and maybe even a big higher for a sick gecko.

Are you supplying her with vitamin D3 as well as calcium? Some calcium formulations come with D3 and some without. If she's getting no D3, she may not be absorbing the calcium well.

I hope she gets better soon.

Aliza

 

[RepBex]

O my i hope she pulls through she is a very nice looking leo

it sounds to me you are doing everything you can Good luck

a thought:

has anything fallen over in her tank that might have hit her ?

or anywhere she could have gotten her head stuck and struggles free
its just the lack of movment etc seem to me maybe to be a head injury

just a thought is all

 

[Superior]

Does the calcium have an expiration date? You might want to double check that it isnt expired.

 

[MelissaDiane]

This is not meant to solve your problems, but may be some things to consider: you may want to raise the temp on your hot side. A lot of people think 92 is about the best temp, and maybe even a big higher for a sick gecko.

Are you supplying her with vitamin D3 as well as calcium? Some calcium formulations come with D3 and some without. If she's getting no D3, she may not be absorbing the calcium well.

I hope she gets better soon.

Aliza

Thanks Aliza. Yes, I do have D3 in her calcium. I am using Rep Cal with D3.

 

[MelissaDiane]

O my i hope she pulls through she is a very nice looking leo

it sounds to me you are doing everything you can Good luck

a thought:

has anything fallen over in her tank that might have hit her ?

or anywhere she could have gotten her head stuck and struggles free
its just the lack of movment etc seem to me maybe to be a head injury

just a thought is all

That is a good point & made me think but no. Wait.....I had just put two upper levels in her tank. I did check on her & she was up on the upper level so I was excited. I went back to my chair & I looked back & she was gone. I couldn't find her but then I found her back behind her stone castle which meant that she had to fall between where the glass wall & the platform. She wasn't moving but she was in the right position so I didn't think too much about it. Eventually she did go back into her lower level hide (castle).

But you know what....it was a short time after that that her legs started to shake. I put the platforms in on Sept 27th & she fell that night. By Tuesday I felt she wasn't so good & by Wednesday it was obvious with her legs shaking.

Man....your a genious:main_thumbsup: I think your right but I am not sure she hit her head but could have hit her back since the vet saw something with the spine & it certainly can't be the calcium.

Now....the sad part....what can be done if anything? I am guessing nothing except God's healing of her body.

At least now....its all making sense to me & this is why NO ONE could figure it out. It was a mystery. At least I feel I have something to go on.

Thanks again!

 

[RepBex]

i am glad you now have something to work from

my best thing would be if it is her spin limit the distance she can move raise her tank temp a little and give her cal and vit twice a day i thought my female was not gettin enough cal so i got some on my finger and she cleaned the lot try putting it on ur finger or adding abit more the the slurry time heals in the end and that might be all she needs just watch her weight make sure she is not loseing any and just really hope for the best

good luck

 

[MelissaDiane]

i am glad you now have something to work from

my best thing would be if it is her spin limit the distance she can move raise her tank temp a little and give her cal and vit twice a day i thought my female was not gettin enough cal so i got some on my finger and she cleaned the lot try putting it on ur finger or adding abit more the the slurry time heals in the end and that might be all she needs just watch her weight make sure she is not loseing any and just really hope for the best

good luck

I was wrong on the date. She fell from the platform on 9/20/08. That would be about 1 1/2 weeks till she showed obvious signs to me but her poop kept getting smaller & smaller until there was none. I think she had stopped eating. It isn't contagious as her cage mate is fine. I do believe this is it. When the Vet said he saw something with her spine & thought it was MBD than we started to put calcium on our finger & she would lick it off with no problem & even to the point of putting my finger in her mouth. It's like she couldn't get enough but was too weak to walk to her calcium dish on her own. It has to be with the spine.

Thanks again. I will call the vet tomorrow & tell him this. You just made my day:main_thumbsup::main_thumbsup:

 

[MelissaDiane]

Here is the way my tank looked.

 

[fallen_angel]

Hmmmm that is a very interesting thought and I am glad that it is a direction that you can at least take in figuring out what happened to her. I too want to thank you for that idea Bex, because I couldn't really figure out what was wrong with her either and this is the first time that it seems like Mel has been a little bit happier since all of this has started.

I am now afraid for one of our little ones because she fell from my hands and hit the side of a pastic bin, on her back

But anyway, at least Sobe is still fighting and taking the calcium. We are always thinking of you and hope that she continues to hold on so that she can get better!

 

[MelissaDiane]

and its possible she did get her head stuck on the way down. I knew there was a little gap but didn't think it was big enough for a gecko to slip through. The bad thing is that she would have landed on that stone castle. This is the only thing that makes any sense at all. I knew she couldn't have MBD because I always had calcium in her dish. I am so cautious & have read so much that I just couldn't figure this out. No one ever mentioned about a fall or head injury before. I never read anything in my books about this. It was just so strange because she just acts dead & has no life in her & never moves. But the first office visit the vet gave her a calcium shot & that night she was doing much better. Today after we gave her some liquid calcium that we made she actually crawled out of her hide :main_yes: This is the most life I've seen in a few weeks. I think the calcium is the key. This is a good thing for all Gecko owners to know too.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I am at a loss for anything that could explain all of this. I think using the liquid calcium (NeoCalglucon) is a good suggestion.

Sobe's symptoms could very well be neurological, or from some sort of injury. I wish I had better knowledge of gecko anatomy and neurology!

 

[shadowx362]

What kind of wood are you using? Did you use any glue?

I once had a leo that I received in a rescue and he was "paralyzed' and so I almost put him to sleep a couple times because he was pathetic looking. I gave him liquid calcium daily and he got better in 2 month. He was normal ever since. Thats all I could relate to you poor gecko I also heard some type of wood could be bad for them and maybe if yo used glue. I hope she pulls through for you

 

[Alusdra]

Calcium is needed for muscular contraction... but to be so low on it that it's causing her to stop moving? And still be in good body condition? I guess it's possible.... Very weird. Did the vet try to do a neurological exam on her? Lots of the tests are inconclusive and/or can't be done on reptiles, but maybe it can get you more info. I hope she pulls through for you!

 

[shadowx362]

ok I forgot about one. "silent Killer" meaning overheating. I know you said the temps were fine, but are you sure there was no way the temperature could of gone high? Maybe she slept right on top of the heat source and got overheated? I hear about many geckos getting this and they usually show signs of MBD and neurological problems.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

ok I forgot about one. "silent Killer" meaning overheating. I know you said the temps were fine, but are you sure there was no way the temperature could of gone high? Maybe she slept right on top of the heat source and got overheated? I hear about many geckos getting this and they usually show signs of MBD and neurological problems.

Edgar, you are absolutely correct! Exposure to high temperatures can cause the parathyroid gland to overact and leach out all the blood calcium, as well as cause serious (and sometimesfatal) neurological problems.

 

[MelissaDiane]

What kind of wood are you using? Did you use any glue?

I once had a leo that I received in a rescue and he was "paralyzed' and so I almost put him to sleep a couple times because he was pathetic looking. I gave him liquid calcium daily and he got better in 2 month. He was normal ever since. Thats all I could relate to you poor gecko I also heard some type of wood could be bad for them and maybe if yo used glue. I hope she pulls through for you

Hi Edgar, Thank you. That is encouraging....encouraging in that there is hope she may get better but two months seem long but we will keep on as we don't want to give up on her. We were using press wood & we used small nails along & thumb tacks to tack down the reptile carpet. I will be calling my vet soon to see if I can get some liquid calcium from them & if not I will order some on line.

 

[MelissaDiane]

Marcia, here's a question for you....I don't believe this liquid calcium has D3 in it (the one you recommend - Neo Calglucon). If that is correct, how will she get her D3? If anyone else on the Forum can help that would be great too. It does appear to me that she has lost her calcium in her body - for whatever reason why, I don't know. Temps have never been higher than 93 or 94 degrees. Plus she always spent most of her time in her reptile den.

 

[MelissaDiane]

Calcium is needed for muscular contraction... but to be so low on it that it's causing her to stop moving? And still be in good body condition? I guess it's possible.... Very weird. Did the vet try to do a neurological exam on her? Lots of the tests are inconclusive and/or can't be done on reptiles, but maybe it can get you more info. I hope she pulls through for you!

Something has made her appear to be dead except breathing. Since we've been giving her calcium mixed with water she's been crawling to the outside of her hide (small part of her tail is still in it). But this is more than what she was doing. I see some improvement with the calcium. The slurry has some in it but we weren't giving her calcium until a few days ago but its not the liquid stuff. This is a real mystery. My vet did not do a neurological exam.

 

[RepBex]

Maybe her movement is her saying im too hot
try giveing her one Large hide that is over both the hot side and the cool side to give her an easyer choose