Sick leopard gecko

[elmuelmu]

I made the mistake of building my gecko colony too fast. I had 2 and the bought 3 more in the span of 5 weeks. Anyway, one of the stopped eating and I started weighing her at 40g. When she hit 35-37g I took her to the vet. She said she looked ok and not to worry unless she got under 30g. My gecko didn't respond and the I had her fecal matter tested. She has pinworms and I have given her panacea, as per my vet. Still didn't really respond so I started giving her carnivore care and attempting a cricket or mealworm here and there.

She is now 30-32g and looks like her she has a white line down her spine. Also looks weaker and she has runny poop and seems to poop the soon after she is fed, always within 12 hours. I put in a call to the vet to see what else I can do. She had said maybe vitamin A but the vet can't get any unless she gets it in bulk. Don't know what that would do anyway.

I want my gecko to get better but it seems as though she is getting worse fast. Is it possible for her to have pinworms and crypto? I should ask the vet if she was tested for crypto as part of the fecal test, yes?

Any help would be appreciated. She has been in her own cage, isolated, for a month or so. I don't want the other geckos sick. My smallest one may be sick too, though, and she has been isolated too.

The other 3 are fine and eating well so far.

 

[reps4life]

It seems like there is bad communication between you and the vet or maybe it's time for a second opinion. Can you fill this out so that I can read over your husbandry?

http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70912

 

[reps4life]

I am not sure that some people understand what to do when we post the link.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I am not sure that some people understand what to do when we post the link.

A lot of people just don't want to fill it out. They want answers right NOW and don't understand that we need more information in order to see what's going on. To the original poster- this was not in any way directed at you but a response to what I quoted in this post.

 

[reps4life]

A lot of people just don't want to fill it out. They want answers right NOW and don't understand that we need more information in order to see what's going on. To the original poster- this was not in any way directed at you but a response to what I quoted in this post.

I see and so sad because it sounded quite serious.

 

[elmuelmu]

2 years old
Female leopard gecko
Bought from reptile expo

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo 2 x wk
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. Sluggish
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe.
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal) pinworms detected by vet
- When was the last time he/she went today runny stools
Gecko not eating. 2. Months Housing: EnclosureSizeType (ex. glass tank) 40 gallon tank
Substrate paper towels. Had switched to sand and problem started about 3weeks later


Hides how many, what kind 3 humid, log hide, covered caveHeatingHeat sourceCage temps (hot side, cool side)Method of regulating heat source-
What are you using to measure your temps
Under tank heater, 88-92. Sometimes inconsistent because of dimmer I use to control heat
lights (describe) none
C) Cage mates 4 but isolated for last month -6 wks-
How many (males, females) all females
Describe health, or previous problems none
Describe Diet:A) Typical diet crickets
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) every other day 5 crickets
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) dusted and put in cage
B) Supplements (describe how often) none
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) nne
- What are you gut loading food with cricket orange cubes

Lemme know if you need to change the title, I wasn't sure what to name it.

 

[BrightReptiles]

First off you need calcium supplements to dust your crickets, as well as multivitamin for occassional dusting.

 

[elmuelmu]

Sorry. I do dust the crickets every time. No other vitamins used

 

[fl_orchidslave]

If one gecko is being treated for parasites and they had all been living together, they all need to be treated. They've all been exposed to the same things, illness included. You got rid of the sand and are back to using paper towel? If not, do so immediately. Feeding crickets on a diet of only orange cubes is like feeding wet cardboard. Little to no nutrition. Plus you need a good supplement schedule in addition to the feeders. Leaving crickets to roam the tank allows them to harass your geckos and eat poop, keeping the parasite cycle going. In order to properly monitor temperatures in different areas of a large tank, an infrared temp gun is most efficient. Your warm side temps should be in the 90-95 degree range, and with multiple geckos sharing space, they need more hides. They may also like a dish of mealworms left in for them to have a midnight snack. It's good that you have your sick gecko isolated. I suggest you gather the ingredients for the gecko soup/slurry recipe found in a sticky at the top of this forum section to offer a solid course of nutrition to the sick girl. Don't shortcut it, all the ingredients have an important function, even the human vitamins. By the way, the crypto test is not done as a standard parasite test, it's very specialized and most often sent out to a lab.

 

[reps4life]

I made the mistake of building my gecko colony too fast. I had 2 and the bought 3 more in the span of 5 weeks. Anyway, one of the stopped eating and I started weighing her at 40g. When she hit 35-37g I took her to the vet. She said she looked ok and not to worry unless she got under 30g. My gecko didn't respond and the I had her fecal matter tested. She has pinworms and I have given her panacea, as per my vet. Still didn't really respond so I started giving her carnivore care and attempting a cricket or mealworm here and there.

She is now 30-32g and looks like her she has a white line down her spine. Also looks weaker and she has runny poop and seems to poop the soon after she is fed, always within 12 hours. I put in a call to the vet to see what else I can do. She had said maybe vitamin A but the vet can't get any unless she gets it in bulk. Don't know what that would do anyway.

I want my gecko to get better but it seems as though she is getting worse fast. Is it possible for her to have pinworms and crypto? I should ask the vet if she was tested for crypto as part of the fecal test, yes?

Any help would be appreciated. She has been in her own cage, isolated, for a month or so. I don't want the other geckos sick. My smallest one may be sick too, though, and she has been isolated too.

The other 3 are fine and eating well so far.

I wanted to add a few details which I believe are important. First make sure to correct all the husbandry issues that was mentioned.

I really believe you need to find a reptile vet with lots of knowledge.
Here is a few things that your vet should mention and help you with.

#1 runny stools and a line going across her spine= at least moderate dehydration. Without proper hydration her kidneys will be ruined.

You were told to give Oxbow carnivore care. I hope the vet gave you specific instructions. It is designed to meet 100% of dietary needs on a daily basis mixed with water. Meaning nothing else can be offered while using it and only the specified amount per body weight should be given. (no supplements or food) should be given at the same time.
It is an excellent product and completely balanced.

Their diet should not only consist of crickets. Variety of insects is important. Although rare there is a chance of selenium toxicity when only fed crickets.

The vet mentioned Vit A deficiency. Obviously if you are not dusting their feeders with a multivitamin at least once a week they will be deficient in many vitamins besides A.

In her current status dehydration must be dealt with before attempting to feed solid food if not the body does not have sufficient water to digest the food.

The vet should also rule out other possibilities like partial impaction which will need an exray.

Possible blood test to rule out systemic infection.

A acid fast stain done on fecal to check for crypto.

Write all this down and discuss it with the vet if your not seeing progress in order to be able to find a diagnosis and if not mentioned by the vet.


Good Luck

 

[elmuelmu]

I left a message tot he vet to call me. Right now my gecko doesn't seem to be holding food down for any amount of time. I usually feed her at night and see the poopmin the morning. Yesterday I fed her in the afternoon and within 4 hours there was a pool of poop. Maybe she is throwing it up because it looks too much a liquid spill. She is 28-29g. Way down from 40g 2 months ago. Also, she looks very anorexic. I can't stand to se her this way and am thinking I should have her put to sleep Very soon to prevent her from suffering any longer. I can't see how she would suddenly justbturn around and start gaining weight. Am I being too quick tomgive up? Should I give her panacea again? She snapped at a cricket a couple of days after I gave her the stuff last time. Maybe even ate one but I'm not sure as I put a few in there. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[reps4life]

I left a message tot he vet to call me. Right now my gecko doesn't seem to be holding food down for any amount of time. I usually feed her at night and see the poopmin the morning. Yesterday I fed her in the afternoon and within 4 hours there was a pool of poop. Maybe she is throwing it up because it looks too much a liquid spill. She is 28-29g. Way down from 40g 2 months ago. Also, she looks very anorexic. I can't stand to se her this way and am thinking I should have her put to sleep Very soon to prevent her from suffering any longer. I can't see how she would suddenly justbturn around and start gaining weight. Am I being too quick tomgive up? Should I give her panacea again? She snapped at a cricket a couple of days after I gave her the stuff last time. Maybe even ate one but I'm not sure as I put a few in there. Any advice is appreciated.

Medications will not work if her temps are not correct. Did you fix the temperatures?

 

[reps4life]

It sounds like her gut is hypermotile possibly due to a infection. It's the vet's job to find the problem. The vet needs to run more tests. If you have given her a few doses and she continues to empty out, it's possible that she has more than one thing going on. Reptiles will not respond to treatment well unless their temps are warm enough so that their immune system can fight.

 

[reps4life]

I have had plenty of reptiles close to dying and with the appropriate tests and medication they did a whole turn around. Blood tests should be done to rule of infection, check kidney function, and calcium levels. Any chance she can be impacted? if so she will need an ex-ray.

 

[elmuelmu]

Thank you.

The vet told me she would be fine with just the food as it hydrates her but if she can't stomach it, it makes sense to get her hydrated. Should I soak her in pedialyte? How much pedialte? For how long? She has been going in the humid box lately so maybe tha's a sign. I soaked her in water last night.

I am going to make an appt. with a place that is more specialized in reptiles. Can't hurt. I need to take action right away before she gets worse

 

[reps4life]

Thank you.

The vet told me she would be fine with just the food as it hydrates her but if she can't stomach it, it makes sense to get her hydrated. Should I soak her in pedialyte? How much pedialte? For how long? She has been going in the humid box lately so maybe tha's a sign. I soaked her in water last night.

I am going to make an appt. with a place that is more specialized in reptiles. Can't hurt. I need to take action right away before she gets worse

yes, I agree you need to take action rather quickly. The longer you wait, the less chance of recovery. Either your vet has a suspicion it's husbandry related or the vet has little reptile knowledge. I am glad to hear she is in the humid hide which will aid in hydration. In her situation I would not soak her as it can cause more stress. You never answered, did you make the temp adjustment?

 

[elmuelmu]

I soaked her in pedialyte and water. I then fed her the carnivore care. She is now in the humid hide which I had with terrarium moss and water but now have replaced with paper towels. She was licking the paper towels so I soaked them further.

Those under the tank heaters are so unreliable and I use a strip thermometer. I decided to just plug it in without a dimmer and put more paper towels over the area to adjust for it being hotter. It shows 105 if I don't use a dimmer as it gets very hot.

She is now 27-29g. It's hard to say how much she weighs as only areally good scale will be exact. I am using a digital food scale.

I have an appointment in the morning with another vet. Hopefully she will get better.

 

[elmuelmu]

Btw, the original vet told me almost always it is a husbandry issue. Not sure if she is correct.

 

[reps4life]

Btw, the original vet told me almost always it is a husbandry issue. Not sure if she is correct.

The majority of the time yes. Unless of course she had a lingering infection or a high load of parasites when you bought her.

Not having the appropriate temperatures and/or stress, poor diet will almost always lead to illness. You must get those temps under control and you must buy a reliable thermometer. At least a digital one with a probe so that you can measure the surface temp. If you do not fix this she will not recover.

 

[elmuelmu]

Ok, so i went to the vet and had all the tests done. Blood, test for impaction, calcium, ect. Even another fecal. She has a lot of bacteria in her stomach. Other than that, nothing new.

The gave me an antibiotic to administer 2 x a day. I bought overhead lamps and got the digital thermostats with suction cups as well as the infrared one. Both show different readings. I don't know how the he'll to get consistent readings on any of this stuff. It's reallyfrustrating.

Use had a hard time getting in her humid hide and I had to make it more shallow so she could get in. After $350 I feel I am just prolonging her death and I am the one that has to take care of her everyday and it's stressing me out very bad to see her so sick and getting worse. The vet says she is still strong in her front paws and seems alert but see her very weak and just not getting even close to better.

The vet says she may have crypto. 50-50 shot of survival based on how she is right now. Also said is she dies I should determine the cause because I have 4 other geckos and one may be sick(not sure but is isolated also). I told him if I had a sick gecko I would just assume it was crypto. I don't see the need to have an autopsy done on one to figure that one out. Any thoughts. I can't stand seeing her like this. I was going to give her 3 days and see if she gets better but don't know if I can stand seeing her like this anymore. I feel really bad about it.

Any advice?