"They will rebuild"

[RideLowInAGTO]

I decided to bite the bullet today and talk the manager at one of my LPS into giveing me two of his malnourished Leo's. I figured I would give them my best attempt at recovery and maybe learn a little more on the way.

I'll start with the first guy at Gecko 90210. Im not sure of what sex, age, morph and hardly anything else about the little bugger, but I think he may be a young Tangerine (correct me if im wrong). He's alot smaller length wise than the other gecko I took in, but is the most active.

Pictures are terrible, because I was using my IPhone and they were moving.

The next gecko is a Mack Snow that is older than the other, but in the worst condition. He's alot skinner and isnt very active.

They both have eaten a small amount of crushed crickets. I also used a syrenge (or how ever you spell it) to apply a small amount on there lips to provoke them to eat. They both licked on the juices for a while then grabbed a hold of the crushed cricket on the end of the syrenge. I also took each a placed them in a lid of a container, with a thin amount of warm water. They both layed in it for a minute or two and licked up a little bit of water.

Tomorrow I plan on going out and buying some more vitamins for them and some waxworms. I dont plan on using the waxworms much, but ill probably mix them in with the crickets and feed that to them once a week. For vitamins ill mix it with the cricket paste and feed that to them every other day.

So far they seem like there doing better, even though i havent even had them for 24 hours. If there is anything I missed or something you see I should do another way let me know. BTW these arent my first geckos, I brought them in hoping to give them a second life.

 

[abrahamavelar]

Good luck!!! Do u have a uth???

 

[PhoenixCoconut]

I hope they do great for you! Thank you so much for saving them!

 

[Dimidiata]

Yikes, mbd, muscel loss and basicly emaciated by deffinition. Good luck, lets see how this goes. Calcium available at all times?

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

I had some Calcium, but ran out last weekend and still havent gotten some more. Tomorrow im going to get some Red Cockroaches, calcium, and some other vitamins.

Yes I do have a UTH, but I still need to get an over head RED light buld just to warm it up a little more. Right now it sits at about 82 on the warm and 74 on the cold. So Im planning on getting a RED bulb or switching it over to my other 10g, beacuse it has a warmer UTH, but right now its occupied by a Tang or Sunglow im not sure exactly what morph. Would this swap transfer infection to my healthy gecko from the sicks?

Also I just tried to feed them again, but there still not sure if they want to eat. So instead i made sure they were getting water and put a little water on there lips so they could lick it off. I plan trying to get some waxworms to hopefully provoke them to eat. Yes, i plan to use the Waxworms liberally.

Also they both seemed pretty active tonight and one of them i believe the Mack Snow made stool tonight. It was very pathetic looking, but atleast its something.

My grocery list so far...
Calcium
30-50w red bulb
waxworms
Red Roaches

Any other vitamins i should add? I heard some people use a reptile brand of electrlytes to stimulate them to eat. There still to weak to chase crickets, but i can get them to eat a cricket paste.

 

[Dimidiata]

Try Golden Gate Gecko slurry, you should be able to find the recipe either on here via search, online or you can ask marcia (Golden gate geckos) for the recipe.

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

Thanks, ill try to see if i can get a hold of all that stuff. Looks like most of that i can get at a Walmart, but some of it im not to sure.

The milk thistle pills i have seen are 1000mg, is that to much?
Also the Ensure, is it powdered or liquid?
What if i cant find Hill's pet food?
Also will any brand of calcium, herp vits, baby food work?

 

[Dimidiata]

Ill go alert marcia to the thread, im not one to answer those as i havnt used the slurry. BUT it has saved many many geckos, you be assured of that(its done miricales).

 

[acpart]

In my opinion if they can eat crickets or roaches, even if you have to crush them, it's a better bet than giving them slurry, since the crickets and roaches are closer to their natural diet. If you have any other geckos, keep them far away with really good quarantine and handwashing in case they have something worse than just being malnourished. Good luck with them.

ALiza

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

Im thinking i may go out and get some waxworms, red roaches, calcium and pedialite and make a slurry out of it. It will be alot easier for me to get a hold of and like you said its close to there natural diet.

I got the smaller one in the first picture to eat a cricket. They still need to settle in to there new home, so maybe by this weekend if there still alive, they might eat hand/tweezer fed roaches and crickets... ill continue soaking them in warm water and get some pedialite to add to it. Hopefully it will boost the Mack Snow's appetite.

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

Check in the little guys again and they were both out in the open and one of them, I believe it was the Mack Snow took another large fairly good looking poop. He seems more active after eating the little amount that he did. My worry now is that what ever I feed him might be passing through to quick. Is something to be worried about or sound about right since he's had hardly anything in his stomach in the first place?

 

[Russellm0704]

It's very unfortunate that the pet store will now just get more geckos to make suffer. I really hope your geckos make a full recovery though

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

Yea it's pretty sad what there lack of knowledge is doing to these beautiful little creatures. I even asked what they were going to do if i don't take them and they said they just were going to get more healthy ones. Well they'll probably let them sick ones die off only to have another sick group later on. There basically a fish store that's trying to earn an extra buck by selling reptiles. All of there animals didn't look good, but there is not really anything you can do to prevent them from selling reptiles. It's stupid how humane societies don't care for reptiles, or do anything to prevent things that I'm dealing with now.

 

[Russellm0704]

Well...It is what it is. I just dont think its great to rescue geckos from a store that will just repeat the process. But since the gave them to you then I wouldnt of said no either. I just recently rescued one from craigslist who has some eye and shed problems. It's amazing what a simple moist hide can heal.(and some eye drops and a vet visit)

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

The Golden gate Geckos slurry is designed for geckos that are off food and being treated by a qualified veterinarian for a diagnosed illness. It will not cure anything. If the geckos are willing to eat on their own, that is best. If one of them produced a good, normal stool, that should be taken to the vet for evaluation for parasites. There is really no point in trying to slurry-feed a sick gecko if it needs medication as well.

 

[katie_]

Yea it's pretty sad what there lack of knowledge is doing to these beautiful little creatures. I even asked what they were going to do if i don't take them and they said they just were going to get more healthy ones. Well they'll probably let them sick ones die off only to have another sick group later on. There basically a fish store that's trying to earn an extra buck by selling reptiles. All of there animals didn't look good, but there is not really anything you can do to prevent them from selling reptiles. It's stupid how humane societies don't care for reptiles, or do anything to prevent things that I'm dealing with now.

Theres been a pet store in the area I live in thats been fined several times by animal control. Its complaint based, maybe you should give them a call next time you see something inhumane.

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

I got some of those red roaches, some mealworms, calcium and vitamins. I blended them up and put it in a syrenge and tried feeding them again. I tried the stuff with gecko 2 first and he absolutely loved it. I figured what he was going nuts for was the roaches, so I took some feeding tweezers and fed him some live roaches. He ate about 3 of them before he decided he was done. The other one, Mack Snow was all over the roaches to and he ate 2 of them. Seems like the Roaches are a huge hit with all grckos, because my other healthy one was drestroying them as well. He ate 5-6 mealies, 5-6 crickets and about 10 roaches. The crickets and roaches were small that's why he ate so many.

I just need to keep making sure the sick ones are getting fluids. I plan on soaking them every other day, so I don't stress them. There showing improvement, but there still terribly skinny. I'm hoping they both make it, because that would really make my day or even year.

When it comes to hydrating sick geckos is best to soak them in warm water or put drops on there lips so they lick it up?

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

Im probably cut back how often I soak the gecko's. I noticed the Mack Snaow coming out and drinking water. He still didnt eat, but the other one ate a waxworm. I hope they start developing more of an appetite in the next week or two. They have been eating every day, but not very much. Its probably, because there stomach shrank from not eating. I also went out and got the light bulb I was wanting. Now the heat right above the warm hide it at 87-88 and on the cool side its about 76.

I dont think they have any illnesses at this point, there just malnourished. Still hoping they make a full covery by the end of this month.

 

[brillobee]

Best of luck. I have pet store I go into often with leos that look that bad. It takes all my will power not to take those poor babies home.

 

[RideLowInAGTO]

Its hard not to take them, but they were free so im giving them a better chance of survival under my care.

Feeding was slow today, probably still full from yesterday. Mack Snow ate half a large meal worm and spent some time drinking his water. The other one ate half a waxworm and a roach. I havent seen gecko 2 drink any water, but he's probably not as dehydrated as the Mack Snow. After seeing how much the MS has been drinking, im definently going to get some pedialite tomorrow and put it in his water. Cant wait to see what kind of effect it has on him. The MS seems to be alot more active than when i got him. He has been exploring his cage the last few days.

Temperatures are 88-90 on the hot side and 78 on the cool...

Whats a good way to make sure the geckos are digesting there food completly? They have been taking some massive poops that look like there hurting them and the occasional runny one. It almost look like the size of a whole bug coming out the rear. I was able to see the MS take one and it looked like it took all his energy to do so. When he was finished he just layed there; poor guy.

I thought i heard something about using ENSURE, because it helps build up fiber that retain the food longer, which allows them to digest longer.

I also plan on borrowing a digital scale from a buddy or buying one, so i can track their weight.